Green Business - It's a Wrap....

Throughout the duration of this course my knowledge has been complimented and enhanced in a very positive way. Most importantly I have gained an awareness of how my daily living impacts the environment and that I should do whatever possible to reduce the negative effects my actions have on the planet. Furthermore, and interestingly, I learned that it is possible to have a sustainable business, which is very important to me, as a business owner. And not only, that, but often times having a sustainable business has positive repercussions, not only for the business, but for customers and the environment as well.

There were many interesting guest speakers that we had the pleasure of learning from, but I think the one I personally found most interesting was online session about green building. I have always appreciated architecture, both modern and historical and I love the idea of green building. I am interesting in building on my land here in Panama utilizing repurposed materials like shipping containers and the like, but as it is a very innovative and unique concept, I have had some difficulties finding someone to design a home and then finding someone to construct will most likely be just as difficult. However, I am not giving up the idea; it will just take a little time.

Additionally, I have had an opportunity to reflect upon my own sustainable practices and via the awareness this course has created for me, I am implementing (or trying to implement) a recycling program at my home. It is sometimes difficult, as there is no real recycling program here in Panama. But, none the less, I am continuing with my recycling and also my personal sustainability promise of taking monthly trips to the coasts to clean up the beaches.

Overall I have enjoyed the course more than I initially thought I would and I appreciate the dedication of the professor to the course, the students and also for keeping the curriculum interesting by bringing in guest speakers.

See you soon….

Regina Herrera

Human Resources and Sustainability

When thinking about sustainability in an organization, I consider it to be very present in facilities management as well as operations management, and in the company’s marketing campaign; however thinking about it in regards to human resources is an area that I had not previously associated with sustainability in this manner.  I really enjoyed viewing the videos this week, particularly UC David Human Resources, as I work at Quality Leadership University and we have practically no sustainability practices in place. I found the video very interesting, however it seemed to be lacking in implementation procedures and specific education techniques as far as how they motivate the employees to participate; this would have been very interesting to learn. As time permits in the future I hope to be able to work with staff here at QLU to implement further sustainability practices throughout the organization, but it will take time and will be a lengthy process as education is key and many times people are reluctant to changes.

What I have learned from the videos and readings this week is that Human Resources plays a vital role in sustainability as far as the organization is concerned, not in the traditional environmental sense that most people think about, but rather in terms of long term strategic success, in which case employees are the most valuable resource an organization can possess. I particularly like the concept that talent within an organization is connected and how it is presented in by the HC Bridge Frame work; it is categorized into three key points: Impact, effectiveness and efficiency efficiency (Boudreau, & Ramstad, p. 132). The content of the article has made me more aware of the importance human resources plays in the sustainability and long term success of an organization as well as how having the right talent in the correct organizational function can truly impact a corporation.

Boudreau, J. & Ramstad, P. Human Resource Management; Summer2005, Vol. 44 Issue 2, p129-136, 8p. retrieved from: http://eb.ebscohost.com.library.esc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0d6e33da-152c-4d1c-8955-1951d603630d%40sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=125

www.accenture.com/Global/Consulting/New-Era-CEO-Study-and-Video.htm

www.youtube.com/watch

Carbon Foot Prints...How big is yours?

When taking into consideration all the ways that our actions affect the environment, I looked at my own carbon footprint. The results were not necessarily surprising, as I know I am not especially environmentally friendly, as there are very few programs in Panama to support such activities. None the less, the results for my personal carbon foot print are 2.94, with the majority coming from transportation, both my personal vehicle as well as air line travel. Digging a little deeper exposed my secondary carbon foot print which includes many of the yellow portions indicated in the chart above. The results for my secondary carbon footprint reveal much higher numbers, revealing an average usage of 6.13 metric tons of CO2 usage; again, not shocking, but it leaves plenty of room for improvement. I think the most effective and immediate thing I can do is change my shopping habits, followed by looking for a place closer to work thus reducing the length of my commute.

 By Regina Herrera

Personal Sustainable Practices-Family Time and Turtles

After taking the Life satisfaction survey, you can follow the link to take it yourself, www.thehappinesscenter.com/survey/survey.php , I have discovered that a few of my answers are ways that I feel only sometimes. Upon further examination of these questions and answers, it seems that the majority of them are directly related to my personal life and the joy, or lack of, that I have. The reason being is that most of my time is occupied by work, studying and developing my own business. So, it makes sense that when it comes to taking time for myself, laughing, playing and taking time to enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer, I am usually too busy to even notice. As a matter of fact, I am supposed to be enjoying a day at the beach with my family, yet I am sitting here updating my blog, which BTW, is an assignment for one of my university classes. So I am going to get straight to the point, because my daughter is calling me to play with her in the cool blue water and enticing surf.

I have decided that as a result of taking the above survey, I am going to make time for me, for the things that make me happy and start a bi-monthly tradition of going to the beach with my family. There are a few things that we are going to do there. First, I want to take walks in the morning and clean up the beach and then, we as a family are going to meet with a local organization that protects sea turtles and ensure their safe release. My daughter, husband and I have always wanted to do this, so I am going to take the initiative to organize these trips that will not only be an enjoyable family get away, but we will be helping save a vanishing species.

ABC University and The Power of Education

In this section of my blog, I am going to discuss some sustainability practices at an educational facility in Panama, what they are currently doing and in what areas they can improve. For the purpose of this blog and to not disclose the name of the university or its employee’s identities, all names will be changed.

ABC University is a small university that has associations with prestigious universities in the United States. This university does not have very many eco-friendly practices or process in place. Their major contribution to the environment is in the form or recycling, primarily paper, which is a good place to begin, but I feel that there are other areas in which they can improve.

For instance, living in the technology age, the entire university should be paperless, with the exception of making copies for students etc. This can be accomplished by beginning at the beginning; the enrollment process should be paperless, no forms, no receipts, everything electronic. Also the university should implement a policy of utilizing books strictly online; these two items combined, in addition to the recycling practices currently in place, is a great way for the university to begin green business practices.

Although the employees interviewed are not necessarily willing to take a decrease in salary, they agreed that they would be willing to pay higher prices for products or services as long as the organization has sustainability practices in place. I think this is good, however they are not willing to sacrifice themselves or their own salary; so the question then becomes how important is the environment to them, really?

However I can understand their point of view as Panama as a whole is not very environmentally friendly; there are no city/country wide recycling programs and as far as the general population’s level of education regarding environmentally friendly practices, the government has an enormous amount of work to do in that arena; the public needs to be educated as to what they can to do to help the environment, what they can to do on an individual level and as a community, but more importantly, they need the resources and a support system provided by the government.

Returning to the issue of the university, I feel that they have the resources and the power to make a difference in the community, and even though they have some eco-friendly programs in place, there is much more that they can do to begin an environmental revolution, as they have the power of education behind them, to help preserve what is left of our precious Earth…