Blog1: In this entry, list 5 threats and 5 opportunities relating to sustainability for an organisation with which you are familiar.
Write one sentence for each explaining the reason behind your choice. For example, ‘I believe climate change will be a major issue for my organisation, a local Council, because we will face the risk of trees shedding limbs in times of extreme drought and possibly injuring passers-by.’
Write no more than 250 words for your ‘opportunities and threats’ analysis.
Blog2: How far do you think businesses should go in developing public policy? Or should this remain the domain of Government?
What about in developing countries where there exists in many instances a governance deficit?
Post your thoughts on the Learning Journal as an entry for Week Three, in no more than 200 words
Blog3: Watch the interview with Ray Anderson, former CEO of Interface Carpets at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2LOUBme8rw.
Now go to the Interface website at http://www.interfaceglobal.com/Sustainability.aspx and read through the sustainability sections of the website in detail.
Also watch the short video on Circular Economy and Interface at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPQ9x_Y2of4.
Reflect on the video and the Interface website and summarise in no more than 200 words under Week Four in your Learning Journal
(a) what you consider to be the key factors driving the success of Interface’s sustainability initiatives, and
(b) how Interface has integrated the principles of natural capitalism into the people, process and culture?
You may find it useful to compare the innovation of Interface to the achievements of your own organisation or an organistion with which you are familiar'.
Blog4: Fuji Xerox Australia Eco manufacturing Centre: A case study in strategic sustainability
http://sustainability.edu.au/material/teaching-materials/fuji-xerox-australia-eco-manufacturing-centre-case-study-strategic-sustainability/
Fuji Xerox is a leader in the development and application of sustainable operations. A key aspect of the company’’s leadership is in its ground-breaking development of remanufacturing. Before 1993, broken or damaged parts from Fuji Xerox equipment were sent to landfill and replaced with imported parts. This meant that, for example, a AU$10,000 circuit board with only minor defects was considered waste. This system carried considerable financial and environmental costs. In Australia, it was decided to roll out a trial remanufacturing project that had begun in the US. The Fuji Xerox Australia Eco manufacturing Centre (the Centre) was established, with the mandate to develop technological capabilities to enable remanufacturing. The Centre now accounts for 80% of Fuji Xerox Australia’’s spare parts requirements –– these parts would otherwise have gone to landfill. The success of the Centre rests on both technological advances and a new, high performance workplace culture. In this case, we explore the challenges faced in developing strategic sustainability at Fuji Xerox.
1. Reflecting on Baumgartner’s view on efficiency strategy, can you find evidence of this strategy in the firm’s values and corporate philosophy?
2. Is Fuji Xerox a sustaining corporation as defined in the text? Please justify your response.
3. What lessons can you take from this case that might be relevant to your own organisation?
Detail your ideas in no more than 200 words for Week Five in your Learning Journal. Reflect on your responses, in particular how they relate to your own organisation.
Blog5: Review ANZ’s corporate responsibility website at www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility and answer the following questions:
- What major categories of indicators does ANZ report against?
- How did the bank determine these indicators (i.e. which guidelines did they use?)
- What does ANZ mean by responsible banking?
Create an entry for Week Six in your Learning Journal Journal and write responses of no more than 250 words in total.
Blog6: Go to http://apps.epa.vic.gov.au/AGC/animations.html#anim-greenhouse and watch the four short animations on greenhouse, the carbon cycle, ozone layer and carbon footprint.
Now go to the Australian Greenhouse Calculator (AGC) at http://apps.epa.vic.gov.au/AGC/home.html and click on ‘begin’. The AGC helps you explore how your lifestyle contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. We all enjoy the benefits of modern technology such as heating and lighting, but we can do things to reduce our production of greenhouse gases and help combat climate change.
Use the AGC to explore how to live more sustainably. By changing your behaviour and selecting energy-efficient options, you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in ways that do not compromise comfort and quality of life. Work through the calculator until you have completed all screens and generated the total amount of greenhouse gases generated by your household.
Choose whether you want the quick or detailed approach. Once complete, compare your households carbon emissions to that of an average Australian household. Identify the major factors that contribute to your environmental impacts.
Reflect on your findings and in no more than 250 words, post on the Learning Journal for Week 9 on how you might reduce your overall emissions.
Blog7: Read the case study on page 309 of the text on Food Sustainability: Challenges and Responses and reflect on the key issues arising. Clearly this is a relevant issue for all developed and developing countries and one that is often discussed in the Australian press - see http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/01/how-supermarkets-flog-you-junk-food-to-maximise-profits/.
Now answer the questions following the case, in particular focusing on questions 1 & 3, namely the barriers that exist in your region to consuming healthy food that has been sustainably produced and the key elements that you would include in a social marketing campaign to support the adoption of sustainable food options?
Create an entry under Week Ten in your Learning Journal and write no more than 250 words that address the issues raised.