Less is more

For some living the normal life with a nice apartment, a nice comfortable job, going through life earning and spending is not enough. In the article “But Will It Make You Happy?” by Stephanie Rosenbloom she describes how for one couple this mundane existence was not enough to sustain them. The couple quit their jobs and gave away all their personal belongings in search of something more. This couple decided rather than to fall prey to the trap of consumer society they were going to live off what they had. This couple constantly tries to reduce what how much they live off of, as time passes they do away with more and more. From selling their cars to moving into a smaller apartment this couple has really set an example of how companies convince us we need to live off of so much. Although this article shows us how companies can trap us in our own consumer society this article does not do justice to a company’s stand point. For this couple they may have seen their lives as mundane and seen that they could live off less but why should a company that well pays their employees and allows them to live normally be shown as negative.  As consumers in today’s society I am happy that there are companies that allow employees to live normally with good pay and that we live in a country where we are allowed to spend our hard earned money within our society. Without companies and a society in which we were encouraged to earn and spend our economy could not flourish and the life we know would be that much less. I for one am comfortable with our consumer society.

 

Companies behind your ideals

“There is one rule for industrialists and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.” This ideal helps promote Chip Conley’s ideas of business and society in his video ‘what makes life worthwhile. Chip Conley also discusses in his video presentation his take on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by transforming it into a business hierarchy, the transformation period. This pyramid, Transformation success and survival, is not only his business but also his life order of needs. Conley puts together a good foot in order to promote his take on life and business. Unlike most business men Conley wants his employees to know and understand the mission of his company he wants to reach out to customer’s employees, members of our consumer society in order to have them understand a deeper meaning for companies. Like Conley I believe that for today’s consumer society to be sustained and for us as the human race to continue striving forward we must understand what we support and stand behind. I believe in the future of us as people, companies are striving to support good causes; consumers are striving to do well in the easiest way. Although it seems counter intuitive this process helps aid programs otherwise left behind and supports things like the environment in times when support is needed. We all need our own hierarchies to live by, and if companies can align themselves with our needs to improve the world then why should consumers not buy into support.

 

How to change a child’s future

How do kids become entrepreneurs? How do kids learn to be proactive and to take it upon themselves to discover and to make changes in the world of tomorrow? In the video let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs; Cameron Herold takes a very different approach to answering this question. He describes how parenting kids in a certain way influences them towards being entrepreneurs and future inventors. Herold describes how not giving a child allowance and letting them hold jobs and have to think of new ways to obtain money helps kids be creative. Also rather than telling parents telling children bedtime stories having children make up their own stories at bedtime invites willingness for creativity. Much like Herold I agree that the way children are raised and educated has a looming effect over the type of adults they become and what they put into society. By pushing our children and future generations to be more creative through few parenting tricks it seems it is all worthwhile for a better future. Unlike all the videos and products on the market now that “teach kids how to read” and “unlock parts of their subconscious” Cameron Herold describes real free ways that logically make sense to allow children’s creativity to bloom. Very simple ways to drastically help change a child’s future in order to enable a child’s mind to be more imaginative seems like the right way to go.

 

 

Electronic Waste and Sustainability

Electronic items – computers, entertainment devices, mobile phones, television sets, refrigerators etc are widely used today. Some of the items bring in great efficiencies in our day to day work like the computer or mobile phone; others like television and entertainment devices are a great facilitator of entertainment; and others like refrigerators and microwave oven are great tools in a house hold. Most of these items have become a necessity in today’s world. However, the increased usage of these items has also resulted in tremendous increase in the generation of electronic waste.

 

Electronic waste is broadly defined as “used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycle or disposal”. However, this is too broad a definition. There are several items like computer or a television which can be refurbished and used, similarly several components of the electronic items can be salvaged, recycled and reused in the production process. Yes, after all this – there are still items to be disposed.

 

Several manufacturers today are conscious of the fact that there is a tremendous amount of electronic waste being generated and they have put in place process to reduce this waste. Nokia for example encourages the user to return the old hand set to them so that they can recycle usable items and thereby reduce waste. Similarly Best buy has collection points, where consumers can return used electronic items – irrespective of whether the item was purchased at Best Buy. There are several other corporations with similar initiatives.

 

We, as responsible citizens have a role to play in reducing electronic waste.

1. Do not buy a new product unless essential
2. Defer the purchase as far as feasible
3. Donate the used product or resell to another user
4. Do not discard the item in the trash bin; instead return it to the seller or organization which will recycle it.

-Rahul

Collaborative consumption

Collaborative Consumption describes the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer power in ways and on a scale never possible before. In the video what’s mine is yours; Rachel Botsman gives an insightful look into the world of collaborative consumption. Rachel Botsman starts by addressing the idea of what collaborative consumption is. She unveils how collaborative consumption, basically the idea of sharing goods in order to cause a less wasteful society, is a principle on which to solve so many of our world’s basic problems. After watching this video and seeing all the potential for collaborative consumption to be easily implemented in our lives I agree completely with its principles. When I think of collaborative consumption I think back to a time in American culture in when people looked out for one another, where if you were homeless strangers would take care of you. Even though this was culturally only accepted in the times of a great depression are these ideals not what today’s society should strive to be. Today it is so simple to come together there are now so many different organizations like freecycle, zipcar and zopa that collaborative consumption is at our fingertips. Let us as a whole not make waste of recourses so prominent and so available, instead let us allow ourselves to know each other better, allow us to come together more as a society rather than as individuals and let us strive to make our world better collaboratively.

 

Sustainability and Georgia Tech

Tech and Sustainability

Georgia Tech was given the grade of a “B” from http://www.greenreportcard.org. Tech is known for being conscious of how it deals with waste and how it raises sustainability awareness. As a student, one of the more  obvious ways that Tech is raising awareness is through the labels on their trashcans. Instead of the word “trash” on the outside of the bin, the labels were replaced with the word “Landfill.” By changing the way we label trash bins, we change the way we look at trash on campus.

By making students more aware of where their empty Coca-Cola bottle is going, it makes them more likely to place the bottle in the recycling bin next to the bin labeled “Landfill.”

What Else Can We Do?

While labeling trash bins with different words raises awareness, it does not nearly do enough. Even though Tech is doing things that aren’t seen on the outside, like have LEED approved buildings, there are more things that can be done to make the student body more aware and active in sustainability and keeping Tech green.

1. There should be more places for recycling. The bins on campus always get filled up too quickly and that makes people more likely to just throw things in the trash bin.

2. A recycling/reward program. If there was some sort of incentive for students to recycle, they would be more likely to do it.

3. Getting students involved. A program that has students involved would automatically make the students more aware.

http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2010/schools/georgia-institute-of-technology

 

-Tami

Paper and Sustainability

Sustainability…‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own social, economic, and environmental needs worldwide’.
(Source: Brundtland Commission).

CEO Of Amazon.com with the Kindle DX

All of us use paper extensively in some form or other on a daily basis. We have text books, note books, journals, magazines, newspapers, novels, all of which are printed on paper. Wood is the raw material for paper and several thousands of trees are cut each year to manufacture paper. Cutting of trees in such huge numbers is having an adverse impact on the environment and the flora and fauna which is dependent on the forests. While the impact of cutting trees is one issue, the other element which needs to be addressed is the impact of the paper producing mills on water and air. Manufacturers of paper are now sensitive to this issue and have now adopted the process of planting trees to replenish the depleting stock of trees and are also taking steps to reduce the air pollution and water conservation. Some companies like Fiberstone also manufacture paper that is made out of stone. This causes even less pollution then the pollution that is created through recycling of paper. The paper is heavier, but it just as thin and smooth as normal paper and it is a small cost to pay for a better environment.

There has been a conscious effort from various organizations to reduce usage of paper. We have seen the Air industry do away with the issuance of paper booklet tickets. There is now an effort to do away with the electronic paper ticket as well, instead use a cellular phone to swipe the barcode at the airport. Similarly, we have seen shipping carriers use electronic commerce to reduce printing of draft copies of bills of lading. Electronic book readers like kindle have also contributed significantly to reduced usage of paper. And importantly the effort is on to try and innovate further on reduction of paper usage.

We as responsible citizens have a role to play. We can reduce the amount of paper that we use, which will result in lesser paper being produced, which will mean lesser number of trees needs to be cut. For starters, we can print on both side of the paper while printing. Also, we need to limit our printing to what is absolutely necessary, instead of printing “all pages “. We can go digital by reading E news on the websites instead of subscribing to newspapers and last but not the least by encouraging recycling.

Are we ready to play our part in Sustainability?

-Rahul

What does Collaborative Design mean for us?

Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers talk about Collaborative Design in the book “What’s mine is yours”. Design drives the raw materials that are to be used, the way the product is shipped and stored and what happens after the product’s useful life is reached. The authors state the environmental impact of a product or service is determined at the design stage and the designers have to address the ecological impact of the products that they design.

Architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart , authors of the influential book Cradle to Cradle, state that One organism’s waste is food for another and nutrients and energy flow perpetually in closed-loop cycles of growth , decay and rebirth or in other words cradle to cradle. These authors were the pioneers in thinking about the relationship between business, sustainability and consumption. Increasing environmental pressures and consumer demands have resulted in a shift from design creation to design thinking. Rachel Botsman also states that ” Design thinking means taking the process of intentional creation and applying it beyond discrete products to solving big problems using systems and experiences. When design in conceived this way, the designer’s role is to think about human experiences first, rather than just the thing itself.”

Ezio Manzini, a thought leader on strategic design for sustainability, breaks down the process of designing into four components: fluidity of use, replication, diversified access and enhanced communication support. Manzini is passionate about strategic design – finding solutions that work for consumers and achieve widespread levels of use.

Sustainable Design to designers does not mean reducing the use of paper or creating a banner on Sustainability or creating a community to generate sustainability awareness. It is about incorporating sustainability ideas and principles to get innovative product design that would have a positive impact on the environment, not only through the producers but also through the consumers of the product.

Design thinking will be critical in taking the world of collaborative consumption out of the realm of possibilities and into real workable solutions.

-Rahul

SHARING and SUSTAINABILITY

In Four Degrees of Sharing, Janelle Orsk speaks about sharing. Janelle says that sharing is a growing industry, a new field of study, a new way of life and a concept around which people are restructuring their world. Janelle goes on to add that sharing could be the answer to some of the biggest questions being currently faced by the society.

Janelle adds, while sharing is a relatively simple concept, people are applying sharing in innovative and far reaching ways which requires planning, new ways of thinking and organizing and new technologies. As people progress into higher and higher degrees of sharing, the time and resources required are greater, but one gets much more use and value of each shared object and meets the needs of a much larger group. The benefits of the whole are much greater than sum of parts.

Sharing can be as simple as car pooling or borrowing goods and services to sharing rental housing or co housing communities etc.

Sharing has an important role to play in sustainability of environment.  An act of an individual in car pooling or using a shared resource like public transport ,will result in lesser number of vehicles on road, thereby saving fuel and reduction in carbon emissions. Similarly if corporates use shared resources like fleet of vehicles, lease machinery etc., it can result in substantial savings for the environment.

We have an important role to play. Are we ready to do our bit by starting to share?

– Rahul

 

Born to share…?

“Sharing is a fundamental consumer behavior that we have either tended to overlook or to confuse with commodity exchange and gift giving. Sharing is a distinct, ancient, and increasingly vital consumer research topic that bears on a broad array of consumption issues ranging from sharing household resources versus atomized family possessions to file sharing versus intellectual property rights.” This quote from Russell Belk’s essay on Sharing emulates his stand on how as a society we know so little of what we have always done. Something that is second nature for most is one of the worst things for us as people. Belk first begins by explaining the difference between sharing in and sharing out and tells how sharing in dissolves boundaries between people. The paper goes on to describe how sharing is the most basic form of economic distribution for several years. Even in our society several things are based upon the principles of sharing down to our food and drinks. Our entire lives we have been living on the subliminal idea to share. Even the excepted norms of society have to do with the idea of sharing. As people as one society ourselves as human beings without sharing we could not sustain our own very existence. We as a people need to share in order to continue or existence in a positive manner, sharing knowledge, recourses and our ideas so that forward growth is possible.