Being an upstanding citizen

I thought this topic was a good one to start with early in the year.  By now, a number of our student groups have had their first tutorial around sustainability so hopefully will have some ideas around this topic.  

For those who haven't, remember sustainability is not just about saving the environment - its about the personal/social, the financial, and governmental aspects as well.  This post relates to the personal/social aspects.

You will all be familiar with social media.  Many of you probably use it as a way to keep in touch with friends and what is going on in the world.  Most of you will also be posting comments online in these social networks.  

What impact do our comments have on others?

Have a look at this short clip where TVNZ reporters read out online feedback they have received

• How do you think that feedback made those people feel?
• Does anyone deserve feedback like that?
• Does doing this anonymously/on the internet make it ok?
• Do you always make an effort when posting online (and speaking to people face to face) to always ensure what you say is positive and constructive?  

With little effort, we can see all over the internet that comments are being made that denigrate others. In simple terms, people are passing judgement, often without the full story, and without thinking about the effect of their comments on other people.  These comments can have other effects too. Comments can last for a long time online and may be seen by someone influential, potentially affecting future employment or other opportunities. What you say online can affect not just the person you may be commenting about, but also yourself. 

Think before you post. 

Make sure you maintain a professional and beautiful presence online, when on the phone (both spoken word and texting and that also includes the answer phone messages you have recorded) and in person!  Keep comments positive and feedback constructive.  Behaving well in print, as in person will have positive effects on you, your happiness, and on the people you interact with.  

Designing the system

Welcome back to all the students starting on our first programmes to roll out for the year.  I will start the official blogs next week when all the students are back but I thought to give you something to go on, especially those that are currently at a block course who have hopefully been inspired to think about the subject of being future-focussed!

When thinking about making good choices we often just look at the end product and try and make the best choice, which is a good thing but inadvertently may not always be the best for the environment because of all the other impacts along the way.  As consumers we might not have the power to re-design the system, but we can ask questions about the system and pressure designers. Some of us might be able to influence the system.  

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There is a very interesting TED talk (link here) that gives some inspiration into thinking about the whole system and designing with the whole system in mind.  It uses a good example of a paper bag and how, to the consumer, it looks like the best choice. Paper might be the better choice but not if the paper is from unsustainable production. Depending how it is transported - paper may be 10x heavier than a plastic bag, and take that much more space and fuel to transport the same number of bags. Similarly, bags that end up in the landfill are taking up space and not biodegrading rapidly - it would be better if they were composted or recycled. Of course paper vs plastic is not the only option and is not the whole story either. This talk is well worth a watch.   

For more on consumers choosing wisely, see the Conscious Consumers website

Next week we'll explore why we need to have these discussions and as we move through the year, we'll look at how you can influence your workplace even if you are the most junior staff member. I welcome your ideas for blogs and look forward to any and all contributions from students, including stories of what you are doing, or have done.  Join us! Get involved!

Have a great day! 

Summer Playlist - A better you

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Since the academic year is winding up, my regular blog posts will too!  So I thought for my last official blog for the year I would share this TEDTalks playlist that offers a selection of recent talks under the title "A better you"

As we head towards to end of another year, most of us like to review our year's performance and set goals to improve ourselves for the following year.  This set of TEDTalks could provide some inspiration you need. Use this link and play one a night for the next couple of weeks.  

We'd love you to follow this blog and then post your feedback. 

Thanks for reading this year.  I look forward to being back with you really soon!

Simple personal sustainability solutions

I am sure that this topic has come up several times before but I thought this might be timely as the year of study comes to a close and we have more time to consider how to look after ourselves better and perhaps put something in place to allow you to be more personally sustainable moving forward into new careers or the next year of study.

I discovered this little link from an advertisement in Good Magazine which is promoted by Blackmores called "Little Less Little More"  - it is simply asking: What are the things you could do a little less of? What are the things you could do a little more of to make you more personally sustainable?    If you need more motivation than just the idea, you can sign up on the website to help you commit to change.

I think its a great message and something that is easy to aspire to and set little goals.  Recently I have deleted a number of silly time wasting games off my iPad which lead to me having less sleep because I keep saying "just once more" for example.  I stopped using a scooter to travel with the kids to school but instead walk (very fast) or run which uses more energy than scootering.

Please share your ideas here to help inspire others.  Together we can have a more personally sustainable life.

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Going all-out on Sustainability

In line with the theme this term of just getting out and doing it - the home furnishings company Ikea is an example of just that. Sure they are not perfect, nor would they claim to be, but Steve Howard, chief sustainability officer at Ikea, talks about his role in in the company driving them forward in sustainability.  They have made some pretty big gains and drawn some pretty clear lines in the sand.  

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Have a listen to the short talk, its only 13 minutes - so watch it while you are doing the dishes or something!  Its time well spent.  

Steve Howard: Let's go all-in on selling sustainability

Now that you have been inspired, have a think about what your business or industry can do to make some gains in improving sustainability - both financial, social, and environmental. 

I'll get you started:
Energy - How do your buildings perform? Are they insulated? What heating do you use? Is there double glazing? What about lighting - do you have energy efficient bulbs? Some simple building changes could reduce your energy bill.  Record what it is now (your energy bill will tell you monthly units of energy used over the past 12 months).  Look for areas of inefficiency and fix them and see what happens in the next month comparative with the same month the previous year.     Replace you appliances with energy efficient ones and ensure their placement in the building is not making them have to work harder - like fridges in direct sunlight!  Watch your energy bills go down and each month do something else.  This list is not exclusive.  Simple actions like maintaining a drier, warmer building are better for the environment, better for staff health, and better for the bottom line in ways such as energy costs and reduced sick days. 

Staff well-being - Do you listen to your staff (or are you listened to as an employee)? Are there regular staff meetings where all input is valued? Are staff given responsibility and trusted? Are there adequate down times in each day for people to recharge?  What changes could be made to make staff feel more included and valuable to the team?  Most of the time its not simply an increased pay rate!  

Disinfectants - Have you audited the disinfectant you use?  Does it have zero effect on the environment? Is the company that produces it looking after their staff? Is it safe for your staff to handle every day? Are there toxic by-products produced when it is made?  Make sure you can satisfy yourself that you are using the best disinfectant with the lowest impact on the environment. 

There are many other areas that can be looked at to improve sustainable practices in your business, workplace, home and community. If you are not the boss and want to get traction on a project in your workplace - start with a project that will save the boss money!  An energy audit would be a good place to start.  Simply showing that you can spend a little to save a lot could be all that's needed to get them on board.  Once implemented, your successful project will provide  traction for other projects that may not affect the bottom line but instead will reduce environmental impacts. 

Take a moment to comment below on some ideas that you have. I look forward to hearing what projects you are putting in place.  

Have a great week.  

The Story of Stuff - working on solutions

You will have hopefully all seen the original Story of Stuff videos, showing how our systems are causing problems. Now they are producing videos that are looking at focusing on solutions.  This video outlines in very simple terms what it takes for change.  Its 6 minutes well worth viewing. Click here to view the new video.

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Can we see this sort of change already happening? 

I think we can, and this will only increase.  All over the place you can see citizens mobilising to grow their own food in food forests (check out this website as an example), we can see the Student Volunteer Army originally in Christchurch but now with branches nationwide, we can see the Gapfiller project and the Ministry of Awesome also at work in Christchurch.  These are all citizens mobilising and taking action. 

In "The Press" on Saturday 28th September 2013, there was a fascinating article by John McCrone called "Game Changer"  about how local councils are changing from a corporate style to organisations that consult with, and consider what the people want. This is all happening due to the explosion of social media.  The article was absolutely inspiring and offers hope for the next term of local councils if those elected buy into that. 

What other examples of active change have you seen recently?  Please share them!

Amazing technology - does this have the potential to be the answer?

Does this amazing technology hold the answer to our future? If it does, how much will it affect the environmental impact of our primary industries? 

The TedTalks I have linked below show case some amazing new technologies that make it possible to reproduce the qualities of leather and meat in a test tube and to use viruses to create batteries.  The first talk really makes you think about the potential future changes in primary industries.  The second shows the potential of nature to produce things we are currently producing while potentially destroying nature.  

• Andras Forgacs: Leather and meat without killing animals
• Angela Belcher: Using nature to grow batteries

After viewing these - all I could think of was - WOW. Science has come along way since I was at university.  I challenge you to think about how wide-scale use of this lower-impact technology could affect the New Zealand environment and economy  considering that we currently rely strongly on primary industry to make export dollars.

I look forward to your thoughts.

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