Tag Archives: Sustainability

A phone to feel good about?

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Essays, Links, Videos    TAGS:  ,

Since we were talking about sustainable product design last week, discussing the need for longevity and repairability as well as social and environmental values becoming a natural part of doing business, there seems to be a cell phone accomplishing theses issues: the Fairphone 2. It’ s a modular phone, ethically produced, open and build to last.

The only point to raise questions is why the developers have chosen Android 5.1 Lollipop with Google Apps and Google Play Store as operating system. Sure there would have been alternate solutions…

A diamond among authors

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Book and film tips    TAGS:  , ,

330px-Jared_diamondSo we talked about the history of business and trade. Which came first, money or markets, money or interest?

If you’re interested in human history in a broader context, more questions may pop up: Why have we stopped living as hunter-gatherers? Why and when did states evolve? Why did the Mayan and Greenland Viking Empires collapse but not Spain or China? Why did Europeans conquer native America and not the other way round? Why are most African countries notoriously poor while Europe and North America seem to be predestined for wealth? Is it because Africans are less bright than we are?

Guns_Germs_and_SteelJared Diamond, an American biologist and historian, has probed into these questions and gives surprising answers based on his broad knowledge of both natural sciences and society. His most famous books include: *

His books have also been translated into German, but if you want to improve your English, I’d recommend the original versions.

* I don’t want to imply that you should use Amazon. Search for these titles anywhere else, and you may find better offers.

A triple issue emerging

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Homework, Vocabulary    TAGS: 

keep-calm-and-do-your-homework-252This is your homework. If you came to class this week, you will have noticed that we talked about CSR and introduced some new words.

Here’s the CSR worksheet again. Match the underlined words in the text with the definitions below. Then use the words to fill gaps (on page 2).

When you’ve completed the task, check out the answer key.

BTW, the triple issue headline is just a pun. It’s because there are three tasks on the worksheet. The third task is to devise CSR principles for your enterprise, which we already did in class.

CSR

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Writing    TAGS: 

csr_logo-2Corporate Social Responsibility

  • is a way to describe responsibility in business. (Yvette)
  • should help keep a balance between social, economic and environmental factors in business (Julian)
  • is a system to evaluate companies and to provide employees with better social standards so as to promote understanding within the company (Kim, Lena, Andi)
  • explains the responsibility of a company towards society, the environment and the economy (Stephan, Lara)

Our CSR principles

Clothes manufacturer (Julian, Vanessa W.)

  • Better working conditions and payment
  • Buy cotton from sustainable growing

Food producer (Yvette, Nga, Nadja)

  • less plastic packaging
  • produce more vegetables than meat
  • flexible working hours for pregnant women

Coffee producer (Kim, Lena, Andi)

  • support familiy farming
  • provide appropriate payment
  • farmers’ children should go to school
  • use organic growing methods and fertiliser
  • equality for men and women
  • packaging should be made of recycled materials
  • transparency for customers
  • get a Fair Trade label

Organic sportswear (Cindy, Anna, Jan, Christopher)

  • use healthy, organic materials without chemical additives
  • working conditions (fixed working hours, minimum wage, workplace safety)
  • no child labour
  • get a certificate (Fair Trade, Organic Farming)

A positive vision

BY      POSTED:      CATEGORIES:  Book and film tips    TAGS:  ,

Here’s a small excerpt from the Transition Handbook book I told you about in class:

It is one thing to campaign against climate change and quite another to paint a compelling and engaging vision of a post-carbon world in such a way as to enthuse others to embark on a journey towards it. We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of the power of a positive vision of an abundant future: one which is energy-lean, time-rich, less stressful, healthier and happier. Being able to associate images and a clear vision with how a powered-down future might be is essential.

I like to use the analogy of inviting a reluctant friend to join you on holiday. If you can passionately and poetically paint a mental picture of the beach, the sunset and the candle-lit taverna by the sea, they will be more likely to come. Environmentalists have often been guilty of presenting people with a mental image of the world’s least desirable holiday destination – some seedy bed and and breakfast near Torquay, with nylon sheets, cold tea and soggy toast – and expecting them to get excited about the possibility of NOT going there. The logic and the psychology are all wrong. …

new-old-town-800x561x8

As a species with the creativity, adaptability and opposable thumbs that enabled us to create an Oil Age in the first place, we can be pretty certain that there will be life beyond it.

—Rob Hopkins: The Transition Handbook – from oil dependency to local resilience. Green Books, Totnes, UK, 2008. ISBN 9781900322188