This week SAP announced that one percent of its workforce will eventually be adults diagnosed with a form of autism. That number could eventually be as high as 650 employees spread across 60 of its locations where SAP runs laboratories as well as research and development operations. What started as a pilot project in India will morph into one of the more compassionate, creative and necessary job programs within the private sector.

SAP's announcement is important for several reasons. If you think it is difficult to pass a a human resource screening because you are over 40; have a spotty resume because you are entrepreneurial, lived abroad or took time off to raise a child or assist an elderly relative; do not have a college degree; or have been unemployed for six months or longer . . . then you can imagine what adults with autism face. Furthermore, SAP's move is a call to the HR profession to wake up and end its (despicable) practice of finding reasons NOT to hire someone and look at applicants as human beings and find a reason TO hire them instead.

And with one in 88, or as many as one in 50 adults in the U.S. currently coping with a form of autism, SAP's initiative is a big step forward to meeting the needs of this growing population.

The story starts with Thorkil Sonne, who with his wife, suffered through countless assessments of their now 16-year-old son, and was told their child would "never fit into the labor market despite his skills.”

Sonne decided that his son was not the problem, but it was society, and that it was time to change society for the better. Hence, an eventual partnership with SAP would develop and thrive.

SAP first started ramping up work with autistic individuals in India two years ago. Project Prayas, an SAP Labs initiative in Bangalore, focused on the education, employment and professional development of autistic individuals. It did not take long for SAP's managers to figure out that for the most part, adults with autism could perform well in jobs that involve a high degree of repetition, such as testing and QA analysis. The key point to remember, however, is SAP did not hire these adults because of any disability--they had skills offering business value to the company.

10 years ago, Sonne realized those with autism had a unique skillset that would make them beneficial to certain companies. He founded a consulting firm, Specialisterne, that hires high-functioning autistic adults to perform a variety of detail oriented, repetitive tasks--not out of charity, but because they are often the best qualified.

But Sonne will not stop with just a few dozen employees. His goal is to find one million jobs for those with autism and change global attitudes towards this disability--and show that in the end, autistic workers have plenty of ability but just need an opportunity to shine. To that end, Sonne founded the Specialist People Foundation, which operates on the “dandelion model.” Where may sees those yellow weeds, others see salad; and so when it comes to autism, where many see limitations, Sonne views potential.

Sonne and his family have since moved to Delaware, where he opened the North America headquarters of his company. And, among the companies he will partner with is SAP. According to SAP’s Anka Wittenberg, Specialist People will work with SAP to help develop processes to interview, test, assess and eventually place candidates who apply for jobs with SAP. For now the program is a pilot in the New York and Chicago areas.

“It’s not about building bridges, but removing the divide,” said Sonne as we wrapped up our talk at SAP’s annual conference in Orlando yesterday. He was boldly optimistic that “innovating from the edge” can force businesses to reassess their hiring practices. Sonne noted the hiring of autistic adults was a jolt to a business community that prefers order in the workplace.

And while one cannot generalize autism, such a mindset is odd considering most autistic children and adults prefer order--which makes them compelling candidates for jobs required a high level of detail and repetition.

This road will be a long one for SAP and Specialist People--after all, in the years Sonne ran his consulting firm, many who applied for jobs were not hired. Nonetheless, the hope for a promising career instead of a life of rejected job applications should inspire other companies to step back and evaluate whether they should be part of Sonne’s very bold plan.

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

Disclosure: SAP paid Leon Kaye’s expenses to attend the SAPPHIRE NOW Conference this week in Orlando.

[Image credit: Specialist People Foundation]

The post SAP Pledges to Hire Adults with Autism For 1% of Workforce appeared first on greengopost.com.

There are several reasons why companies should pursue a more sustainable supply chain: diminishing resources, human rights and consumer demand to know more about what goes into their favorite products.

Add the financial benefits of energy and resource efficiencies, and supply chain sustainability creates a competitive advantage for companies worldwide. Yet as a company's supply chain team stamps out waste and inefficiencies, communication with suppliers is key to having all stakeholders on board. Rather than a top-down approach with a list of demands, companies have got to advise, counsel and even support their suppliers, and their communities, logistically and sometimes even financially.

The home furnishings giant IKEA is one company that works with suppliers on a variety of challenges, from energy efficiency to sourcing materials responsibly. During a conversation I had with IKEA's chief sustainability officer Steve Howard earlier this year, he explained how much of the company's sustainable supply chain work is underway in countries where much of its supplier base is located.

Read the rest of my article on Guardian Sustainable Business.

Unilever is another company building a more sustainable supply chain.

[Image credit: Leon Kaye]

The post Why Sustainable Supply Chain Builds a Global Competitive Advantage appeared first on greengopost.com.

In my latest article on Guardian Sustainable Business, I discuss how it is time for leading consumer brands to take the lead on more sustainable consumption. We get plenty of tips from celebrities and tech entreprenuers . . . but most of their suggestions are impractical and even border on the absurd.

The post Sustainable Consumption – Should Brands Should Take the Lead? appeared first on greengopost.com.

With the Global Reporting Initiative's upcoming conference in Amsterdam and the growing interest--and execution--of integrated reporting, it is still important to remember the combination of the financial and non-financial data is a challenge for many companies.

Yesterday, during a meeting with SAP's Chief Sustainability Officer Peter Graf at the company's annual conference here in Orlando, he shared some insight of the journey he and the enterprise software giant together have taken on their path towards issuing its integrated report.

Some points may be obvious: for example, Graf's team worked closely with SAP's CFO and finance to make the case for issuing an integrated report, including discussing how both quantitative and qualitative performance were important in disclosing the company's overall performance to shareholders and stakeholders.

But integrated reporting, Graf insisted, is not just about creating an annual report with the expectation a more sustainable business will be the end result. Instead, the conception, drafting and execution of such a report should be a catalyst to inspire more innovation and creative thinking within a company.

So in Graf's view, here are the 5 steps behind an integrated report, or more precisely, integrated thinking within a company at all times, and for the long haul:

Understanding the business impact

What is material to both the mid- and long-term successes for your organization? It is important to identify the most crucial objectives, whether they are financial or non-financial. Once you understand how they are all related, outline their effects and how they are related to each other. For example, "employee engagement" is a common buzzword, but stakeholders have got to understand why engaged employees fundamentally matter. It certain makes a difference at a company the size of SAP: the company's senior management realized a one percent gain--or loss--in employee retention had a €62 million financial impact one way or another.

Build a SUSTAINABLE strategy, not a "sustainability" strategy

“When you build a sustainable strategy, you understand what creates the core value for your business.” - Peter Graf, SAP

Many view sustainability--and pitch such ideas--as a way to save money. And indeed many companies (Walmart comes to mind) have proven that point. But in the view of SAP and Peter Graf, sustainability must be at the very center of how an organization builds value for its customers and investors. A “sustainability” strategy will not work if it is a silo agenda within a company. In the end, a business that will remain sustainable is a far more worthy goal. So what is central at SAP? Creating innovative products that in turn help their companies run more responsibly, ethically and responsibly. “It’s not just about cost savings,” Graf reminded me as we talked about sustainability, “but value creation.”

Innovate differently

I personally find “innovation” excessively overused and a favorite buzzword of the corporate communications and public relations crowd--as if everyone suddenly started to innovate two years, not 200 years ago. So what does “innovate differently” mean? In Graf’s opinion, innovation is not only about improvements and efficiency, but transformation. Don't just revamp: rethink. Instead of flying more fuel efficient carbon fiber airplanes, consider a cutting edge virtual meeting platform. Rather than printing less, use more mobile-friendly technologies.

Engage employees

How can you motivate employees? Show “immediate value for them they create a better future,” said Graf. For many employees (and consumers), altruistic motives are not enough. The cold hard fact is that many of us want to know the immediate value for himself or herself and will not be inconvenienced. So at SAP, Graf and his team took on a bevy of projects. Eye-catching posters with QR codes gave employees tips on everything from health living to energy saving suggestions. And when the company developed an internal carpooling tool, now an SAP product, the CEO led by example and commuted by carsharing to SAP’s Germany headquarters. Finally, each team within SAP has access to a dashboard that monitors carbon emissions and how much money the team has saved--and how the group ranks globally. In sum, make it easy, make it matter and make it fun.

Deliver new value to customers

Many of these problems are far too complicated for one organization to handle on its own. The successful companies who will thrive in this era of volatile energy prices and diminishing resources will be those who have already have started to “co-innovate” with customers and suppliers. The stronger organizations will be the ones who view their entire value chain as an ecosystem and ongoing circular process--the old ways of looking at business as a linear progression, with waste and inefficiencies merely as the cost of doing business, is no longer viable.

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

Disclosure: SAP paid Leon Kaye’s expenses to attend the SAPPHIRE NOW Conference this week in Orlando.

[Image credit: Leon Kaye]

The post 5 Necessary Steps to Better Integrated Reporting AND a More Sustainable Company appeared first on greengopost.com.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and four universities recently completed a study that sounds an ominous note for the future of many cities’ water supplies. At least half of all cities with a population of over 100,000 are in regions beset by water scarcity. Many of these cities have long depleted their surface and groundwater sources.

To that end, the study covers the water infrastructure of four cities: Adelaide in Australia and Phoenix, San Antonio and San Diego in the U.S. The study explores various rural-urban partnerships that showcase how cities can work with farmers to adopt irrigation conservation technologies and therefore free up water for environmental and urban use.  By working with local farmers to reduce their water consumption, cities save money by reducing the need to import water long distances while the farmers reduce expenses on water-related costs.

While the growing stresses of populations coupled diminishing water supplies is obviously problematic, this convergence also demonstrates how the future looks bright for clean water technology entrepreneurs--while businesses now are tasked with ensuring they are part of conversation over water conservation.

So what are each of these four cities and surrounding regions accomplishing and what are the challenges in the years ahead?

Adelaide

Australia has long been ravaged by drought, and Adelaide is no exception. For decades much of the city’s water has come from the Murray-Darling River, and that source has been stretched to the limit. Adelaide has since turned to aggressive water conservation measures and water recycling--and a desalination plant running entirely on clean energy will soon open. But the desalination plant will cause prices of water to spike even further, and the study notes how 15 percent of the city’s households struggle to pay their bills.

Meanwhile 75 percent of Australia’s water is devoted to agriculture, and the study’s authors insist the city should explore working with farmers to enact water conservation programs to bridge the gap between Adelaide’s water demands and current supply.

Phoenix

Despite the Colorado River’s ongoing depletion, the nation’s sixth largest city still relies on importing water from this source--with the result of continued environmental degradation and the energy required to haul the water such a long distance. Despite ongoing conservation measures, half of local water consumption goes to outdoor landscaping. While water recycling is increasing at an incremental level, the study calls for more of it as well as ramped up conservation within local farms as well as the city.

San Antonio

This city of 1.4 million had long relied on one huge aquifer for its water supply, but has since leased water rights from other sources. San Antonio has since leased other aquifers to meet the demands of a growing population, but has led on water recycling efforts. The city is mulling desalination of brackish water and seawater, which the study insists is too expensive compared to expanding agriculture water conservation efforts.

San Diego

California’s second largest city faces huge logistical and geographic challenges: it is surrounded by desert to the east, Mexico to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and another crowded municipality (Orange County) to the north. Add the decreased imports from northern California and the Colorado River and at first glance it is easy to see why the city is investing in two desalination plants. But the study also touts San Diego as a leader in collaboration with the agriculture sector: the city long ago reached an agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District. For 10 years farmers in the Imperial Valley have received compensation for installing smarter irrigation technologies. Incidentally, nearby Orange County’s work on water stewardship and recycling is a model many cities including San Diego could follow.

In sum the study’s authors insist that a return to sourcing more local supplies of water is what cities need to keep their businesses in operation and leave residents with an ample supply of water. But such an assumption assumes farmers, who generally enjoy hefty political clout and are frequently resistant to change, will agree to such conservation measures.

Two facts are certain as the reader concludes reading this study: 1) municipalities will have to become smarter about their water strategies if they are going to remain economically viable and attract and retain businesses 2) massive or token conservation aside, companies that can provide technologies to clean and reuse water at a cost-competitive rate will have ample opportunities in the near future as cities struggle to provide water to a thirsty population. Otherwise, a long term trend witnessing companies leaving the southwest and west coast for regions with more reliable sources of water is not out of the question.

Previously published on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credit: Wikipedia]

The post The Water Future of Cities Will Become More Dire appeared first on greengopost.com.

Will your summer vacation, or job, be affected by sequestration? Memorial Day Weekend, the official start of summer, is fast approaching, and with it are millions of trips across the country to visit one of America’s most stunning assets, our national park system. I am lucky enough live in the San Joaquin Valley and therefore have three of them within 90 minutes of where I live. Whether they are those stunning natural wonders of Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks, or urban treasures such as the National Mall in DC or Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, the National Park Service (NPS) does an admirable job running hundreds of parks on a shoestring.

But the sequestration cuts are hurting our national parks. Despite the fact defense and entitlements eat up almost two-thirds of the federal budget, the bizarre dance between the Obama Administration and Congressional Republicans have led to budget cuts at the NPS. While a five percent cut may not sound like much--after all no one gets rich working as a park ranger--the cuts have caused chaos within an agency already operating on a shoestring.

As Think Progress writer Jessica Goad pointed out on Wednesday, the small budget allotted to the NPS annually pays big dividends. Congress clearly does not get it, however; during a Tuesday dog and pony show on Capitol Hill titled, “Vacation Nation: How Tourism Benefits our Economy,” plenty of cliche’s were tossed out about collaboration and economic development . . . but no one mentioned the sequestration cuts and their effects on tourism and how they are cutting at the bone, from air travel to roads maintenance to of course, our national parks.

And our national parks are economic engines for many local communities and of course, small businesses, whether they are the diners in 29 Palms near Joshua Tree National Monument or shops renting out winter equipment along the roads leading to Rocky Mountain National Park. Supporting over 250,000 jobs and generating over $30 billion in revenue, $1 of government spending on national parks equals $10 economic activity within the private sector.

The cuts will not affect entrance fees. Instead, fewer staff will be hired, hours of operation will be reduced in parks such as Yosemite and in the urban parks trash collection will occur less regularly. As Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell explained during a recent web chat:

“There is no question that sequestration will impact a visitor's experience, whether it's a closed camp ground, the inability to get an expert to help answer their questions, the maintenance that needs to be done. 

And that in turn will have a domino effect on countless small businesses, many of them family run, and many of them committed to a sustainable and environmentally responsible approach to business and their communities.

Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for this mess. Even if we eliminated the $600 billion outlays for discretionary spending, we would rack up deficits. Nevertheless the fact our leaders (and people who voted for them) are avoiding the hard decisions will lead one of our most important resources to crumble if the sequestration fiasco is not dealt with soon.

Based in Fresno, California, Leon Kaye is the editor of GreenGoPost.com and frequently writes about business sustainability strategy. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credits: Leon Kaye]

The post National Parks Struggle Due to Sequestration appeared first on greengopost.com.

As the death toll from the Rana Plaza factory collapse climbs over 800, it is easy to heap blame on the factory owners and the companies who source in a country where the average monthly wage is $70 to $100--and often even lower. But consumers also ought to work inward: our desire to have a cheap t-shirt in every color or desire to purchase an outfit at H&M or Zara and wear it only once is part of this vicious circle.

The Guardian’s Lucy Siegle minces no words: “Fashion still doesn’t give a damn about the deaths of garment workers.”

So that begs the question, where on earth can one shop where workers are not exploited, locked into factories, or forced to work long hours or else lose the only opportunity to support a family? Obviously any list is going to be subjective. And the solution is complicated. My personal M.O. is to do most of my shopping at thrift stores, though the obvious retort is that plenty of those clothes were made in sweatshops (though I always seem to find blazers and other garments made in the U.S. or Italy--and I know, sweatshops exist in the U.S. and Italy).

Bryce Covert from Think Progress issued a solid and thoughtful list of ethical clothing manufacturers yesterday, though many of the article’s readers voiced a huge concern: is what a company says about their supply chain really the reality? Do they really know whether workers in those far off factories are really treated ethically and equitably? Nonetheless Covert’s list is an excellent jumping off point.

Here are a few suggestions of more eco, fair, ethical, and local companies from which to purchase clothing. Remember one point--it is easy to object to spending $100 on a pair of trousers, but if they are made well, they will most likely outlast the five pairs for which you spent $20 a pop. 3p and I invite readers to share their ideas in the comments section.

EthixMerch: Have an event coming up and you need a bevy of t-shirts? Consider EthixMerch, which is a great clearing house of eco-friendly, fair trade and union-made clothing.

Fabindia: For 50 years, Fabindia has manufactured sublime clothing, accessories and housewares sourced from artisan workshops resulting in beautiful clothes that are ethically made--many of their products are crafted in rural areas where employment is limited. Many of their garments have a modern, edgy touch yet use traditional techniques and are woven and cut by hand. Most of their stores are in India but the company has stores in five additional countries. Best of all--the shirts I bought have buttons made out of shells, which I thought had not been done in 100 years.

Land’s End: They still have a line of menswear made in the USA. It’s shrinking, but the prices are fair and this midwest mainstay has always crafted excellent clothing.

New Balance: Again, another manufacturer that no longer exclusively makes all of their athletic wear in the U.S., but still has a respectable collection. By the way, Zappos makes it easy to search online for shoes made on this side of the pond (including New Balance!)

Osmium: Not only is this menswear collection hot: Mark Paigen’s company manufactures all of his clothes in the U.S. using the finest fabrics sourced from across the world. The prices are a happy medium between cheap big box stores and the boutiques out of reach for the majority of us. Plus those Mariner pants are to die for.

Timberland: Yes, they have a few factories in Bangladesh, but Timberland is one of the more proactive companies when it comes how they work with employees within its supply chain. We would love to hear from this venerable outerwear company about the projects they have completed in Bangladesh.

So that is just the start, and yes, I realize this list is heavier on the men’s side (for once!). Take a holistic view of trying to shop smarter and strategically instead of more frequently: less carbon emissions, providing decent work at decent wages and buying fewer but higher quality products. Fair trade fashion, eco-fashion, ethical fashion--you can still look edgy without racking up credit card debt and contributing to even more misery abroad.

Again, give us a shout out over your ideas of companies who manufacture ethically or locally.

Published earlier today in Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credit: Leon Kaye]

The post After the Bangladesh Tragedy: Six Ethical, Eco and Fair Clothing Manufacturers appeared first on greengopost.com.

A year has already passed since Marks & Spencer launched its Shwopping campaign in many of its United Kingdom stores. In partnership with the NGO Oxfam, Shwopping has helped move textile and garment recycling a huge step forward. The premise of the Shwopping initiative is customers can drop unwanted clothing into a specially labeled box when they shop for new garments--even if the clothing was not purchased at M&S. With beloved actress Joanna Lumley as Shwopping’s spokeswoman, the program launched in April 2012 with gusto.

So how has the program fared one year later? Yesterday morning I chatted over the phone with Adam Elman from his London office. As Marks & Spencer’s Head of Delivery for Plan A, the company’s sustainability and ethical agenda, Elman updated me on Shwopping’s successes and challenges.

“Customers want to be ‘green’ but say, ‘Don’t preach at me; so help me to live more sustainably and make it easier for me’” - Adam Elman, Marks & Spencer

To recap how Shwopping works: customers can drop off unwanted garments at an M&S store in a “Shwop Drop Box” (only Ms. Lumley can elegantly articulate that term). Customers in return can enter drawings for prizes, and today, in fact, those who walk into an M&S store today and “Shwop” receive a £5 voucher redeemable at the stores.

M&S delivers the garments to Oxfam, where they are sorted. Some are sold in charity shops in the UK; warm weather clothes end up in Eastern Europe while garments suitable for warmer climates end up in Africa. Clothing in poor condition is recycled into mattress bedding, carpet inlay or even as dishy winter coats sold in M&S stores and online. Each coat boasts a QR code that the owner can scan and understand the origins of the fibers within that coat.

As a last resort, some end up incinerated in waste-to-energy plants; none of the garments ends up in landfill.

The goal of M&S is to engender a “one-to-one shopping culture” in which consumers will eventually “shwop” a used garment for a new one. Widespread garment recycling, however, has a long road ahead.

Textile recycling has longed lagged behind the reuse and reprocessing of other goods. The numbers are daunting: globally 500,000 tons of textiles, or about 1 billion garments, are sent to landfill annually. Crunch the numbers and 114,000 clothing items hourly end up in municipal waste streams. In the UK alone, 350 million new garments are sold annually.

“It’s a journey,” Elman said, “mass consumer change is not going to happen overnight.”  But Shwopping has already made progress. So far almost 4 million garments have been “shwopped,” with the result that 1300 tons of clothing have not ended up in landfill. The program has generated $3.7 million dollars for Oxfam and the programs the NGO funds worldwide. And M&S is experimenting with procuring unwanted cloths: the company has a pilot “Shwop at Work” program in which companies can place Shwop Drops within their offices and employees receive a voucher in return for the clothes they drop off. “There is a lot we could do to make it better,” Elman said, and he listed some ideas such as Shwop Drop boxes at M&S food stores and picking up clothes when furniture is delivered. Everything is a learning process, from the location of the boxes, pick up of those boxes, and even gauging feedback from customers and employees.

Earlier this year H&M launched a global garment recycling program. I asked Elman whether M&S would do the same. Currently M&S has pilot programs in Greece and the United Arab Emirates, but for now the focus is on the UK. Part of the challenge is the environmental trade off: in smaller markets the carbon emissions and fuel consumption would more than offset the benefits of recycling those clothes. Then there is the cultural aspect: India, for example, has many M&S stores but a culture of reuse already exists. 

In Senegal, Shwopping has begun to bear fruit. Many of the recycled clothes end up in Senegal because Oxfam has long run programs in this country of almost 13 million. The focal point is Frip Ethique, Oxfam’s second-hand clothing distribution center in the business district of Dakar, Senegal’s capital. Almost 50 people, who are paid far more than the average local wage, sort through the clothes and sell them to wholesalers who in turn sell them throughout Senegal. According to Sally Williams of The Telegraph, the operation last year netted over $330,000 in profits, which Oxfam then uses to fund various programs including a rice-growing project in the north of the country and another assisting residents in a flood-prone slum area of Dakar.

As we wrapped up our chat, I asked Elman what he thought of other recycling programs such as the aforementioned H&M scheme. His response: “If it continues to other stores, we will be really proud . . . extremely proud.”

So while there is a long road until Shwopping truly scales, the foundation has been set. American retailers, are you listening?

Watch the video below to learn about Joanna Lumley’s experience in Senegal.

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credit: Leon Kaye]

The post Marks & Spencer’s Shwopping, One Year Later: Progress and Potential appeared first on greengopost.com.

A recent Deloitte study offers a concise overview of the challenges companies face within their supply chains and how they, in turn, can partner with their suppliers to solve current problems and prevent new ones. The challenge is huge for multinational companies and their vendors because the increased demands for transparency clashes with the reality that the supply chain for many a business is becoming more complex and opaque.

As energy prices become more volatile, commodities surge in price and manufacturers look for new markets in which to hire workers, it behooves companies even more to ensure their supply chains are more resilient and socially responsible. NGOs are scrutinizing supply chains across the globe in this age of social media that can turn the shenanigans of a wayward supplier into a massive global headache for a company. Add the recent tragedy in Bangladesh, which follows only a few months after another avoidable catastrophe, and the importance of a more collaborative and transparent supply chain becomes even more crucial.

So what are the “four steps to effective supplier collaboration,” according to Deloitte, and what are some examples of what leading companies are doing to confront these challenges head on?

Establish goals and expectations from the beginning

The authors of the Deloitte study remind us that engaging suppliers is about more than setting demands: companies must set clear goals and expectations for their vendors. And if a company does not have a lucid supply chain code of conduct, the organization is already way behind on its social responsibility agenda.

PUMA, for example, has worked with its suppliers on transparency and sustainability challenges as far back as 2006. And Ford Motor Co. was amongst the first multinational companies to declare human rights to be a central component within its supply chain code of conduct.

Identify “hot spots” and opportunities within the supply chain

How is your supply chain, as an ecosystem, performing? A life cycle assessment (LCA) is one tool to identify social and environmental hot spots within your supplier base. Finding a solution to such flare-ups within a firm’s supply chain could end up an expensive proposition, but they prevent even more costs and crises in the near future and even offer a chance for increased collaboration between a company and its suppliers.

Novozymes, the Danish enzyme manufacturer, has conducted life cycle assessments for almost a decade, and uses the data to identify impacts and potential savings within its customer base. As an important cog in leading firms’ supply chains (and, of course, having its own complicated supplier base), such as its largest customer Proctor & Gamble, Novozymes’ LCAs help the company understand the effects of all of its products from their origins as raw materials to how customers use them in their final products.

Evaluate and prioritize suppliers

When the number of your suppliers reaches into the hundreds or even the thousands, managers need an idea of how to gauge potential risks within the supply chain.

Within its food product lines, Unilever developed its Sustainability Stakeholder Rating Tool (SSRT), which the company’s managers can use to assess supply chain actions based on environmental, financial and social issues.

Execute the plan

Once expectations fall into place between a company and its suppliers, the execution of the plan will give everyone the data necessary to assess future risks, performance and potential for new innovations. Everyone should share how results are measured, and of course, share in the successes and benefits.

Nike is one company that transformed how it evaluated its supply chain performance. Last year, the company implemented a new manufacturing scorecard that placed sustainable practices “on equal footing” with conventional metrics such as costs, quality and delivery. Lean, however, does not have to be mean. Nike has worked with suppliers to engage their employees and even empower them because those on the shop floor actually have the best insight on how to optimize efficiency within factories.

The Deloitte report, done in collaboration with ASQ, is accessible here.

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credit: Deloitte]

The post Balancing Resilience and Growth Within the Supply Chain appeared first on greengopost.com.

As Africa emerges as the latest continent to experience vigorous economic growth, the demand for science and engineering education is clearly obvious. One should not generalize a continent with over 50 countries, but one truth about Africa is that the desire for education far outstretches the opportunities available throughout the region. Many global organizations including UNESCO are striving to ensure education remains high on the agenda of governments throughout the region.

The challenges confronting Africa are analogous to what countries in the Middle East face--long term success means enough locals have got to be skilled in fields such as mathematics, engineering or the physical sciences. But the difference in the Middle East is that for now the wealthier countries can import scientists and engineers as a temporary measure--as well as the professors who can transfer such skills and knowledge. Africa does not have that option.

So the ability to spark interest in the sciences has got to start at home. One up-and-coming science museum in Cape Town aims to spark interest among local youth who eventually can help build South Africa’s, and the continent’s, capacity in the sciences.

The Cape Town Science Centre and Observatory opened its doors in late 2000. At first the centre was located in the city’s Canal Walk shopping district, but the museum faced a huge challenge: the lack of convenient public transportation meant it was inaccessible to most students within the greater Cape Town area. In December 2010 the centre reopened to a more convenient part of town for most of the city’s residents.

Led by the tireless Julie Cleverdon, the Cape Town Science Centre serves as a locus for science education and awareness. Like other science museums, the centre is a hands-on experience for children, with a bevy of exhibits and activities from the “world’s largest cellular phone” to learning about construction materials in a mock building site exhibit. Our visit two weeks ago included a demonstration of a robotics project by one team that placed highly in a local competition. The centre also serves as a sustainability lab: the facility harvests rainwater for use onsite and eventually will score most of its energy from solar panels.

The centre receives support from a variety of organizations in the private and public sectors. MTN, one of Africa’s largest telecommunications firms, has long been a sponsor. SAP Africa is another benefactor, and also funds education programs throughout the year. SAP also supports a program that builds skills for mentors and coaches from disadvantaged communities, and also provides employee volunteers to work at the centre. The company also supports similar science centers in Johannesburg and Durban.

For companies such as SAP and MTN, supporting educational programs and facilities such as the Cape Town Science Centre is not just about philanthropy and community engagement. Such investment is also smart long term business. Companies will continue to need professionals with the latest technical skills and are best served if they can hire qualified applicants locally. And based on the enthusiasm I saw amongst the staff and students visiting that autumn day, keen interest in the sciences in Cape Town and across South Africa is well on its way.

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

Leon Kaye’s expenses in South Africa were paid for by SAP. SAP also provided data and statistics in the article to Leon Kaye.

[Image credits: Leon Kaye]

The post Supporting Science Education One Key to a Prosperous South Africa appeared first on greengopost.com.

This article was originally published on Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso on May 6, 2013, by Marjola Rukaj.

For ten years Alban Muja of Kosovo has been doing research into the names of towns, places and people; at the moment he has an exhibition in the centre of Tirana in a small gallery called “the fly”

Alban Muja is a young Kosovan artist, one of the more active on the alternative scene in Pristina. Mixing various techniques, including video, photography and texts, the artist shows some of the curious and unexpected phenomena of Kosovo today.

For about 10 years his artistic studies have been focused on understanding the concept of ascribing names to people and places, and their meaning in time and space, which go back to unresolved political questions, identities and frustrations, illustrating the life led by people in a particular period.

My name, their city

Recently, Alban Muja brought one of his current projects to Tirana. Hosting it is a minute gallery, Miza (the fly) newly inaugurated in the capital's centre and which looks like becoming a focus for alternative, young people's art in the Albanian capital. A small space, but sufficient for hanging 7 photographs of 7 young Kosovans portrayed by Alban Muja, each holding a panoramic photo of a town in Albania. Hence the project's name – My name, their city.

What do those youths have in common with those towns? They have the same name. In fact young Kosovans often have names of Albanian towns, mostly based on tourism and with a musical sound, like Elbasan, Vlora, Saranda or Shkodran. “Kosovan parents used to give their children the names of Albanian cities towards the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s” explains the artist. “These were the years when there was no contact between Kosovo and Albania and the Kosovans had idealized Albania and these cities immensely, though having no information about them.”

A generation of Saranda, Vlora, Berat and Elbasan to claim an Albanian identity at the time when Yugoslavia was beginning to plunge into a political crisis. “Some of these youths had no idea what their name represented in Albania. A boy called Milot thought his was the name of a plain, then, after the Kosovan conflict in 1999, he discovered he had the name of a small town north of Tirana, with no tourism connections.”

But the name of the project also alludes to other aspects of this history, the contrast between the Albanians of Albania and those of Kosovo: the former amused to find people named after Albanian cities, the latter disappointed on discovering the real Albania, far from the idealised image they had of it.

Even so, the melodiousness of the names in the Albanian language and the “Albanianness” which after all characterizes them, mean that young Kosovans are happy to be called like the toponymy of Albania. “I didn't want to criticize this phenomenon, just describe it,” Alban Muja clarifies. Rather than making an issue of it, therefore, offering, in Tirana, an occasion for Kosovan and Albanians to meet.

Tibet, Palestine and Tonibler

This phenomenon of curious names with a historical or political content is not confined to Kosovo and its history. One need only think of those called Italia and Benito during the Italian fascist period, those called Slobodan and Yugoslav after WWII in Yugoslavia, or Perparim (Progress) and Revolucionar (Revolutionary) in communist Albania. “This is a typical phenomenon of societies in transition with numerous political problems, as was the case in Kosovo”, Muja continues. “Names carry the history and slogans of the moment when the people were born. The subjects dearest to their parents.”

Another video-project of Alban Muja's had as protagonists two young people born in the 80s: Tibet and Palestine. “I presume it was a form of solidarity their parents were expressing towards Palestine and Tibet in those years. They probably associated the situation in Kosovo with the political events in those two countries.”

Names can also express feelings, gratitude. Like the Tonibler generation: the boys born in 1999 who bear both the name and surname of the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. “Blair is seen as a hero in Kosovo, among those prominent statesmen who contributed most to the liberation of Kosovo. Those boys were born in that moment of history”, the artist recounts. Muja has photographed 9 Tonibler, dressed up for the occasion, posing for a group or team photo, with a gigantic poster of Tony Blair behind them.

His interest in names has taken Alban Muja outside Kosovo with projects like “Tourist city” set in Novi Sad in Serbia, where the artist has placed the transcriptions of the names of the main streets of the town in Latin script alongside those written exclusively in Cyrillic, following a decision of a political-identity nature by local politicians.

The fly and the motorway

Alban Muja is one of the first young Kosovan artists to exhibit in Albania. The exhibition was made possible by “Kosovo 2.0” which fitted out the new “Miza” gallery, recently founded by three young Albanian artists. This exhibition is only one of the activities in a wider project known as “Autobahn”, a linguistic loan from German to Kosovan-Albanian which means motorway, and clearly refers to the “Patriotic Highway”, the new motorway which has facilitated movement between Pristina and Tirana.

“The project aims to present the culture and art of Kosovo in Albania”, explains Muja. “Up till now, cultural communication between Tirana and Pristina has been very fragmentary. The commercial sector is different, but remains confined to profit motives.”

The “Autobahn” project coincides with a period of more qualitative and less stereotyped relations between Pristina and Tirana, but also takes place within a new, more open phase, recently felt in the Albanian capital with the establishment of an alternative scene which seems to want to free itself of the restrictions of the cultural institutions. “It's a reciprocal exchange”, Muja comments. “But I think Tirana will get more out of it, because the artistic scene in Tirana is much less lively than in Pristina.”

The post Kosovo: My Son Tonibler appeared first on greengopost.com.

On September 4, 1882, Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street power station went live and started supplying electricity to over a hundred different buildings. Ever since then, homes and businesses have relied on large scale energy distribution. More recently, energy consumers have become more aware of the need for environmentally friendly power production. As a result, many are exploring an idea which also got an early start with Edison: kinetic energy recovery systems.

Mr. Edison was the inexhaustible developer of several modern devices, like the phonograph and the motion picture camera. His work with electricity generation took many twists and turns, one of which centered upon the old rusty fence gate in front of his house. Visitors found it difficult to open, as it had more resistance than an ordinary gate should. When they complained, Edison would promise to “get it fixed”. To him, however, it was already working exactly the way he wanted it to. The gate was hard to open because every time it was, the kinetic energy of its motion was utilized to move water into his private swimming pool. This example shows how creative he was with energy production, and is an early example of a kinetic energy recovery system.

Modern Versions

Edison’s dedication to using energy produced by motion was admirable. Many individuals and businesses are carrying on his tradition with innovations of their own. One example is a revolving door which converts human physical energy into electricity. Called The Revolution Door, it demonstrates the potential of kinetic recovery systems. 

The port city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands has taken the process to a fun next step: literally. At the nightclub called WATT there, a dance floor has been installed which uses the motion of people dancing to generate electricity via an electro-magnetic generator. That electricity is used to generate lights, creating an entertaining experience for patrons while minimizing electrical expenditures.

Practical Home Use

An increasing number of homeowners are finding practical value in setting up kinetic energy recovery systems at home. Often referred to by the acronym KERS, these system can lower electricity costs and provide a helpful way to “go green”. Since they depend upon human motion, a variable input, it is most reasonable to use them to power specific items and actions instead of entire buildings.

The E-bag is one such item. When a person holds its handle, the motion of them walking makes that handle spin. The spinning in turn is a source of energy which is used to power a cooling system within the bag, keeping snack items like juice and fruits from getting hot.

An equally cool gadget is the Minute Glass, an amazing alarm clock which doesn’t need any batteries and never needs to be plugged in. Each day, it wakes you up by playing your favorite radio station. There’s a catch though: to get it to turn off, you have to supply some kinetic energy by shaking it. That motion is converted to power and when there is enough for the next day’s alarm, it shuts off. It is a great example of a device-specific kinetic energy recovery system for your home.

Going Forward

So far, the development of home kinetic energy recovery systems has been limited simply because they don’t generate enough power to supply a whole house. However, now that people are realistically viewing these systems as being for one device at a time, they are becoming more and more popular.

The possibilities for creating additional systems are endless. For example, you might have a rocking chair that you could relax in at the end of a long day. Rocking back and forth in it would supply the motion needed to power a nice big fan, cooling you further.

What other kinds of motion at home could be used to power specific devices? It’s fun to get creative and speculate.

[Image credit: Energy Floors.com]

View more of Mr. Mehlig's work here: www.TexasElectricityProviders.com

The post Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems For Your Home appeared first on greengopost.com.

Yesterday, the adidas Group released its 2012 Sustainability Report, which focuses on the company’s work on environmental, supply chain and community work. As is the tone of most current sustainability and CSR (corporate social responsibility) reports, “innovation” is the clarion call that rings throughout adidas’ 100 page report.

So whether the company tries new approaches when communicating with workers within its supply chain, rolls out new, modern and more sustainable fabric or motivates its workers to volunteer within the communities in which they work, adidas is working on some compelling programs that could inspire other companies to launch similar initiatives. Clearly some will flatline, others will thrive.

Here are some highlights from adidas’ recent work:

Innovative fabrics

It is no secret the apparel industry has one of the largest impacts on the planet and people, and for the most part not in a good way. One step adidas took late last year was a rollout of shirts using the company’s new waterless dying, DryDye technology. Rather than consuming the typical 25 liters of water necessary to dye one t-shirt, the DryDye technology uses none--instead, the dye is injected using compressed carbon dioxide. The result is a garment using not only 50 percent less chemicals and energy, but in the long run has a lower environmental impact because the CO2-based dye actually lingers in the fabric longer. So far, adidas has colored over 50,000 shirts using this technology.

Where adidas is vague, however, is about the long term viability of this new method. Could CO2 dying become a game changer that can reduce the fashion industry’s excessive water consumption? Is it cost-competitive for the company and consumers? What are the obstacles to scaling this technology?

Virtualization

Product samples may be fun, but they sure are wasteful. Adidas designers and marketers are turning to virtual technology to share ideas and communicate with sales reps--and in the last two years, reduced the number of samples made from 2011 to 2012 by 600,000 compared to what the company sent out during 2010. Virtual fashion is not only breathtaking, but saves resources--watch for more firms to do the same.

Volunteerism in Brazil

The evidence suggests that interest in socially conscious companies is actually higher in developing economies; hence more companies, local and international, are keen on enacting CSR in emerging markets. One adidas program that turns heads is Ginga Social in Brazil. The sports-based program in football-mad Brazil, in a partnership adidas runs with Gol de Letra, leverages coaching to impart life skills and values to children and teens between the ages of seven and 17. For now, the program operates in low income neighborhoods in Sâo Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Salvador da Bahia. These 2014 World Cup host cities are also home to neighborhoods where poverty is still a festering problem and opportunities to engage in sports is limited.

Grievances in the supply chain via SMS

Last year, one of adidas’ largest footwear suppliers in Indonesia agreed to a pilot program in which employees with grievances to air could communicate them by texting from their mobile phones. The grievances-by-SMS system was cost-effective to install, allows workers to air concerns from anywhere and can give the factory’s managers a better idea of where to focus on improvement. The communication was also two-way: employees who opted into the program could also gain updates from the factory’s management. The result posed challenges for the factory: 79 percent of all texts sent were related to grievances in the workplace. Not a flawless system that can cure all the ills typical in garment and footwear factories, but far more innovative than popping a DVD into a machine and saying your workers are “trained.”

For additional information on the adidas Group’s sustainability goals versus the results, the company also provides a brief report outlining its recent performance.

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credits: adidas]

The post Sustainability at adidas: Water, Engagement via SMS, Volunteerism appeared first on greengopost.com.

Take six and a half minutes to watch Joanna Lumley show how Marks & Spencer’s Shwopping, the retailer’s textile recycling and waste diversion program, has made a difference in Senegal. I have had a two-decade crush on Ms. Lumley, and her partnership with Marks & Spencer (M&S) has only ramped up my admiration that I have for her. Yes, you may know her as the indefatigable Patsy Stone on Absolutely Fabulous, but Ms. Lumley really should be known for the various causes she has championed throughout her career.

This beautifully shot video shows what happens to the clothes Marks & Spencer customers in the United Kingdom donate. Ms. Lumley follows these garments’ path from London to Dakar, and she also shows other challenges Senegal’s citizens face, from drought to sanitation. She wraps up by showing how M&S’ partnership with Oxfam helps create economic opportunity while preventing clothing from ending up in landfill.

Now if Marks & Spencer can only convince American retailers to do the same. I am a huge fan of Plan A, M&S’ sustainability initiative, and Shwopping is only one reason why this venerable retailer is one of the companies I most admire. 

[Image credit: Marks & Spencer]

The post In Joanna Lumley’s Words: How M&S’ Shwopping Makes a Difference in Senegal appeared first on greengopost.com.

One week after returning home, I am still gushing over my too few days in Cape Town. South Africa’s legislative capital, ensconced within a dramatic setting between mountains and beaches, tempts you to shred your passport and stay behind forever. I almost did.

And bicycling in Cape Town is a great way to see those beaches, as well as its architecture and waterfront--and hills if you’re ambitious. After a half day rushed tour through the Cape of Good Hope, I had an afternoon free. I had a taxi drop me off in the Green Point section of Cape Town, where I was led to believe a bicycle rental existed. I had struck out, and decided to walk along the Sea Point Promenade.

I then ran into Up Cycles, South Africa’s first rent-and-drop bicycle rental service. For R100 (a little over $10) for 3 hours (since I left the next day), I scored a cruiser and was able to ramble along Victoria Road and other streets flanked against Cape Town’s stunning sea line. I should have taken a mountain bike instead--some of those hills are quite the challenge, but not too strenuous--but nonetheless I was able to enjoy a day of sun, fun and coffee. I was not ambitious enough to cycle past Camp’s Bay; nonetheless I had an amazing afternoon of exercise.

Up Cycles has three locations for now: Camp’s Bay, the Promenade and the CBD (Central Business District, in the Mandela Rhodes Center on Wale Street). iRide Africa and Daniel Robinson together offer another option--Mr. Robinson offers more organized tours.

So when you travel to Cape Town, make sure you have at least one day to rent a bicycle. It is amazing, low-carbon way to explore one of the world’s most stunning cities.

See where else I have bicycled:

Amsterdam

Chicago

Fresno

Los Angeles

Missoula

Stockholm

[Image credits: Leon Kaye’s iPhone]

The post Bicycling in Cape Town A Fantastic Escape Route to Beaches and Adventure appeared first on greengopost.com.

Waitrose, the $8.4 billion United Kingdom grocer and often the grocer of choice for Britain’s royal family, is now tackling the amount of packaging the company uses for its food products. As part of the company’s new sustainability commitments, Waitrose has promised to reduce its packaging to half of its 2005 levels by 2016.

The company’s pledge is an ambitious one, considering the increased popularity of prepared foods amongst supermarket customers on both sides of the pond in recent years. Much of Waitrose’s commitments to reduced packaging relies on its lines of prepared meals and snacks. So how is the high end retailer tackling these waste diversion goals?

Lecturing consumers to buy from bulk bins or purchase fresh food is not going to inspire widespread change anytime soon. So for its prepared meals, Waitrose first snipped the size of the paper sleeves on the outside of the packages. The company claims that reduction alone will decrease its need for packaging by 33 tons. Waitrose also introduced lacquered aluminum trays consumers can use to both heat and serve such meals, and they are fully recyclable.

In its meat section, Waitrose will phase out plastic trays and replace them with a “flow wrap” packaging that requires less materials and also results in packs that are easier to carry while taking up less space in the refrigerator. Such a change will net Waitrose a 38-ton reduction in packaging alone. Other changes Waitrose plans to roll out include the elimination of paper labels in favor of pre-printed plastic bags as well as an increase in the size of the plastic window on sandwich containers--both of which together add up to a 36 ton reduction in paper consumption.

The slash in packaging use is among the company’s dozen “Waitrose Way Commitments.” Waitrose says it will invest in new clean energy technologies, move towards only sustainably sourced fish and commit to the purchase of more local products throughout the UK for its stores.

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credit: Waitrose]

The post UK Grocer Waitrose to Halve Packaging Waste by 2016 appeared first on greengopost.com.

On Wednesday, ForestEthics announced that more major brands have moved away from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) paper products certification program. Office Depot, Southwest Airlines and Cricket Communications have joined HP in the shift away from the U.S. paper industry-backed SFI in the tussle over certified paper products.

ForestEthics has long alleged that SFI is a front for the paper industry, and a Fall 2010 report accusing SFI of “greenwashing” was been just one battle in the fight between paper certification programs including the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The announcement comes despite what ForestEthics describes as tactics attempting to “bully” the organization into silence. According to Executive Director, Todd Paglia, SFI and its backers, which include Weyerhaeuser, International Paper and Sierra Pacific, have engaged lawyers in an attempt to squelch ForestEthics’ criticism of SFI.

Last month, a Seattle law firm sent ForestEthics a “cease and desist” letter over the semantics of how the Seattle-based group described SFI’s structure--and reminded ForestEthics of the technicality that a nonprofit cannot be “owned” by anyone. Nine days later, ForestEthics’ lead council responded in kind with a tit-for-tat response.

Meanwhile, ForestEthics displays an infographic on its site describing in detail the influencers behind SFI’s paper certification scheme.

Legal antics aside, the number of major brands who have either dropped SFI or are shifting away from it now stands at 24. HP has announced that all of its everyday paper products are now only certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. AT&T, Allstate, Pitney Bowes and United Stationers have also indicated they are moving away from using SFI-certified paper.

ForestEthics has long criticized SFI for what the NGO describes as “greenwashing” and has pressured companies to become more accountable for paper sourcing throughout its supply chain; expect more converts despite SFI’s well-funded backers--and the “SFI Program” meme who has penned a canned response to almost every 3p article mentioning SFI.

The shift away from SFI and alignment with FSC is in part due to the shakeout in certifications--expect more programs covering everything from paper to fair trade to ethically manufactured products to disappear over time. And the stubborn fact remains that as consumers pay more attention to what goes on behind the scenes and in the supply chain, transparency will win. SFI can indulge in all the legalese it wants--but SFI’s ties with pulp and paper companies leave it with a huge perception problem. Instead of hiring lawyers, SFI should start by cleaning house--with a chain saw.

Published previously on Triple Pundit. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can find Leon on Twitter and Instagram (greengopost).

[Image credit: ForestEthics]

The post More Brands Dump Sustainable Forest Initiative’s Paper Certification Program appeared first on greengopost.com.

The easy cliche to fall into is to describe what cities Cape Town reminds you when you drive into the city from its stunning airport. There’s a little bit of Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, London and Sydney.

But Cape Town is Cape Town, unapologetic and unique in how it taunts your senses, daring you to not burn your passport and stay forever. The food, the nightlife, gorgeous people, access to nature and beaches all beg you to extend your travel in South Africa.

And then you have got the architecture. Much of the Cape Dutch style was lost during the developing frenzy during the 1960s and 1970s, but enough remains to add a pop of color throughout the city’s neighborhoods. Mid century architecture and even some borderline Soviet design scariness is plunked here and there in the city. Lovely art deco and Victorian architecture add to what is one of the world’s most beautiful and seductive cities.

The post Cape Town’s Eclectic and Timeless Architecture appeared first on greengopost.com.

The Cape of Good Hope and nearby Cape Point have been part of the world’s folklore for centuries. This little tip in South Africa that juts into the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is arguably one of the first meeting points between East and West. Shipwrecks, mutinies, armed conflict and international trade centered around the Cape for centuries.

Now this area, about 75 kilometers from Cape Town, is a nature reserve and is one of the highlights of travel to South Africa. Part of Table Mountain National Park, the reserve anchors the 40 miles of stunning mountains that flank Cape Town and this farthest southwestern corner of Africa. Visitors can enjoy the windswept vegetation, soaring geographical formations, breathtaking coastline and even occasional glimpses of wildlife.

On the day we drove through the park, the weather was overcast and typically windy. But once we arrived at Cape Point, any clouds had parted and the sky glowed gorgeous blue. The sense of history was overwhelming, as was the feeling that you were on the edge of the earth. And as Africa becomes more integrated with the world, you cannot help but believe the continent is about to embark on a new set of challenges--and a new wave of optimism about its future.

[Image credits: Leon Kaye]

The post Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point Reach for Africa’s Future appeared first on greengopost.com.

The brief glimpse I caught of African wildlife while I was in South Africa was absolutely stunning. True, it did not compare to a visit to one of Africa’s national parks or going on safari; nonetheless my brief visit alerted me even more to the horrific thought of losing what is among the Earth’s most jaw-dropping collection of fauna. And edging as close as 20 feet away from lions and cheetahs reminded me as the global business community mulls investment in Africa, that they have a huge responsibility to help preserve the land and support local citizens. The time to do so, in fact, was yesterday. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Africa may as well start with bolstering two of Africa’s greatest resources: the animals and the dedicated people who watch out for them.

I am on the plane returning from Dubai and am just starting to go through pictures of my travel to South Africa. During my first day in Johannesburg, not even a couple hours after my arrival, a friend picked me up and whisked me away to a local game reserve only 30 minutes outside the city. The rather obvious name, Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, is understated considering the “up close and nearly personal” experience I had already had. This 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres) of space is one of many typical private game reserves offering a close up look at these gorgeous animals while fighting the uphill battle of preserving them for future generations and our planet’s biodiversity.

The awful tales of rhino poaching, which the local press describes as a natural disaster, are easy to find across the web so I will not go into detail. But I do have a message for Africa’s largest investor: it is time for China and its businesses to put their big boy and big girl pants on and fund a massive mission to help preserve the habitat for these incredible creatures as well as indoctrinate its people on the waste of imbibing in rhino horn powder in the name of Viagra or a fanciful dream of curing cancer. (The same message goes to anyone in any country indulging in this heinous trade.)

The tragic cruelty of poaching is not only immoral, but deprives locals of their heritage and economic opportunity. Private reserves and national parks do their part to educate locals and visitors on how the magnificent lions, sables, rhinoceroses and elephants are not only essential to sustainable living, but provide decent jobs that are otherwise unavailable. But as is true throughout much of Africa, funds for programs for wildlife conservation fall far too short of what is needed.

Which leads me to smart land use. The global land grab has serious implications for both Africa’s people and animals. In one of the presentations I attended last week, one graph estimated Africa has 60 percent of the world’s arable land. That statistic demonstrates both the promise of Africa’s future as well as the possible dangers of destruction. Foreign governments and multinationals are snapping up wide swathes of land, either by purchase or long term leases--and many of them have displaced locals who have lived on these lands for generations and are often the best stewards.

Africa is already doing its part to feed the world: walk into a supermarket in Europe or the Middle East and you will see produce and meat from Egypt, Kenya and South Africa. The thought of this continent becoming the world’s farm is a chilling one--and for those of us who do not want to see Africa’s animals relegated to claustrophobic zoos, it is not enough to send a check to an NGO. We need to pressure multinational companies plunking money into Africa to ensure there is plenty of land, and protection, for the continent’s animals and people who know them best. A few companies such as Mitsubishi and Deutsch Bank have done some work on this front--but this region needs more support.

(Image credit: Leon Kaye)

Published earlier today on Triple Pundit. At Better4Business in Anaheim on Thursday, May 2, he will join a panel discussing how companies can present their CSR initiatives to the media. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).

Leon Kaye’s expenses in South Africa last week were paid for by SAP.

The post Doomed Wildlife Pushes Companies to Boost CSR Efforts in Africa appeared first on greengopost.com.