This weekend the climate negotiations within the United Nations ended in Lima, Peru and most if not all media outlets are expressing their discontent and show how little real progress was achieved.
Corporate responsibility
Harley Davidson to plant 50 million trees by 2025
Not only do we have to stop deforestation, we also have to plant trees, billions of them, in the cities, in the countryside… What if companies land not only a hand, but thousands of them ?
Book review : Changing business from the inside out
As you might have gathered from my specialised list on Twitter I am starting to interest myself to the world of Corporate (Social) Responsibility, aka CSR. After a long search, I found the perfect book on this fast expanding field in business.
How companies could save money and our climate
According to a brilliant report published in 2013 by the WWF : ” The US corporate sector, excluding utilities, could capture up to US$190 billion in net savings in 2020 alone by reducing energy related emissions by 3.2 percent each year on average. “
” Between 2010 and 2020, the US corporate sector can unlock up to $1.26 trillion in savings. Unlocking those savings would require capital expenditures of approximately $480 billion, resulting in a savings of up to $780 billion “
You won’t be surprised to read that this would be possible by investing more in increased energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, mainly solar PV.
The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid
While reading Richard Branson’s latest book, Screw Business As Usual, I came across an interesting concept : the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. The term refers to the basic goods and services to sell to the poorest people.
To a report from the World Resources Institute quoted in Branson’s book, the Bottom of the Pyramid in Asia and the Middle East represent no less than 2.8 Billion people, with a total income of $3.47 Trillion.
Counting in Africa, South America and Eastern Europe, this amounts to a $5 Trillion market which can be addressed ethycally by companies.
Annie Leonard presents the Story of Solutions
Annie Leonard, of Story of Stuff fame did it all again and presented another great video on how we have to and can change the world. Called The Story of Solutions, it focuses on changing the end-game of MORE to a one focusing on BETTER.
We have seen it already, working on ever increasing the Gross – gross as in disgusting ? – Domestic Product (aka GDP) simply depletes natural resources to make money.
As a graduate in Management and Business – for hire – this message particularly resonates with me as this blog has shown time and again that the current model simply isn’t working.
Screw Business As Usual, by Richard Branson
Richard Branson is the serial entrepreneur of genius behind Virgin. Having studied him in my management classes at Audencia back to 2006, I have to say that I really wanted to read his latest book, Screw Business As Usual.
Having read it in a couple of days, I have to say that it is highly motivating as Sir Richard explains how so many people around the world are currently changing the world away from Business as Usual to a new, better, greener way to do business.
This has a name : Capitalism 24902, for the 24902 miles – 40,000 kilometers – that make the equatorial circumference of our beautiful Planet.
Book review : Cradle to cradle
Inspiring : that’s the adjective that comes to mind as I have just finished reading Cradle to Cradle, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. I had heard about that book for quite some time and I understand now why.
The book was written in 2002 –with a 2008 reedition – and is replete with enlightening examples of how we can re-imagine the way we design and produce our products, cities and way of life.
I believe Cradle to Cradle is just THE book that should be read by engineers and people working in related fields (including architects and designers)
Major company to stop deforestating Indonesia
To the Agence France Presse : ” The world’s third-largest paper producer Asia Pulp and Paper said Tuesday it had stopped using logs from Indonesia’s natural forests, after fierce campaigning by green groups against the company.”
” The firm has in recent years lost packaging contracts with big brands such as foodmaker Kraft and Barbie’s Mattel after Greenpeace accused APP of clearing carbon-rich forest, home to endangered Sumatran tigers and orangutans. “
These are truly good news. We have seen time and again that deforestation in Brazil is at its lowest levels in decades and keep on decreasing.