Please take a moment to introduce yourself and post a question. Some questions to get you started:
- What do you see as the greatest issues related to sustainability in your community? Your country?
- What are some initiatives related to sustainability that are being introduced in your community? Your country?
- What are questions you have?
- some websites you may want to check out and discuss:
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ralph Beer and I live in Panama City, Panama. I am 21 years and work at my fathers company.
Studying green business in Panama is challenging and i find this to be enjoyable. Many people here do not understand the new definition of sustainability. In fact, many professional here believe sustainability means to sustain profit growth over a period of time.
I would like to know a little but more about the culture where you live in. Is sustainability a widely used and understood concept? Are there are initiatives related to sustainability in your community?
Hi! My name is Carrie Clark. I am a senior at ESC, hoping to graduate soon with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. I currently work as an Employee Relations Consultant in Human Resources for Hewlett Packard. I love my Green Business class because it has opened my eyes to see what's going on in the world and know that I am able to make a positive change that would have an effect on the environment. I have been living in Panama almost four years and I've noticed that there is NO RECYCLING PROGRAM!?!?!? There is a huge issue in Panama with the trash and the fact that Panamanians don’t pay much attention to the environmental impact they’re causing on a daily basis. Could you give me some advice as to how recycling could be implemented in a country where it’s nonexistent and not supported by the government?
ReplyDeleteHi! My name is Kevin, and I am a Mentor at ESC Metro. I have to thank Patrice for inviting me to join the blog, and to have my Ecology & the Environment students interact with all of you. We have an interesting dynamic in New York City, one where the terrestrial, marine, and aquatic habitats have been severely modified to promote urban development. However, and more recently, New Yorkers are becoming more aware of contemporary environmental issues. There are a number of locals projects (e.g., roof top farms, PlaNYC 2030, and community gardens) that aim to promote green initiatives. Although I am grateful for these programs, I am also worried that people lose sight of the fundamental issues that impact the environment. Thus, sustainability, local agroecology, and environmental justice are all important issues here. For example, green markets provide people with local and sustainable produce, but at a price that is only affordable to a select socio-economic class. Many people who should engage in this practice just simply can't afford the produce. So, my question is - what does it really mean to be socially responsible?
ReplyDeleteHello everyone my name is Luis Alfonso Chung, I’m from panama and I work for a small financial advisors company, mostly specialized in real estate administration and mortgage brokering. Our green scenario in panama is changing step by step just like in most Latin American countries, even though we have huge forest areas and vast coast line full of beautiful beaches, the culture of protecting the environment, saving energy, or recycling materials is not strong. For example, as the last assignment for the curse stated I conducted an interview to a top manager in the business, his answers were a clear example of what’s the mentality for them, first they perceived as a luxury and spending money, then they leave the actions to other or bigger companies and don’t see how if everyone do something it will become a big change. What do you see as the greatest issues related to sustainability in your community? Your country?
ReplyDeleteHello my name is Monika De Marchena. I'm from the Dominican Republic. Work for a Telecom company in the DR in the Budget and Planning Department. The Dominican Republic is a beautiful island in the middle of the Caribbean with paradisiacal beaches, but also with many things to learn on how to preserve our biodiversity and be aware and compromised with Sustainable Development. One of the concepts that caught my attention is Natural Capitalism – an ecological revolution – and how far away is DR of that line of thinking. What do you think about Natural Capitalism? Do you thing that there is a tie up between Natural Capitalism and Information Era?
ReplyDeleteHello everyone,
ReplyDeleteI'm Hudson Jacob from Haiti, but moved to Dominican Republic in June 2001.I work as flight supervisor for a great Airline (AIRFRANCE). It's a very hard job, and due to my position I’ve a lot of responsibilities, the security and safety of the airplane, customers and crew depends somehow on my work. I really like my job despite the many responsibilities and stress that brings. Through it, I’ve the privilege to help others in their daily needs.
It's easy to understand that among my native country and my country of residence, there's no great vision of what sustainability really means because no concrete actions have been taken to contribute to reach a positive outcome to that situation.
One of our big problem is that in our country there isn't a culture of protecting the environment, some companies are trying to do what's need to be done, but such initiatives are not really supported by governments, education is not focused in that very important part of life: sustainability.
I just read today that my company has been recognized for third consecutive year as the most socially responsible and sustainable company in its sector which’s very comforting and I’m very proud of it, but these efforts need to be maintained and tracked, we need people with that same vision and understanding of the situation.
What sustainability really means for developing countries? Is it possible to achieve that goal entirely? Is sustainability available for third world countries?
I promised to plant trees and use less water, what will you do to contribute?
Hello everyone my name is Fernando Yemail and im a senior at SUNI. I currently live in Panama city Panama and work at Privatelayer a internet hosting company.
ReplyDeleteIn panama there really isnt a strong culture to be green. The capital of Panama is where there are the most problems the beaches need to be cleaned. Although they are working to fix this its moving at a very slow rate. Culturally there arent any recyling practices and many people throw there garbage anywhere they want. They have recently introduced high tickets for people getting throwing away garbage. Panama is i believe is starting to take its first step into protecting its enviroment.
Id also like to ask everyone if they do anything to protect the country they live in?
ReplyDeleteExp. recycling
Hello everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Carlos Navarro and I'm 21 yrs old. I'm currently cursing the SUNY Marketing program in Panama city, Panama. I work as a freelance photographer and music producer. I'm a professional musician as well and I have a band called Sinestesia 507.
Sustainability isn't that much advanced in Panama. People might talk about it and support the idea, but they don't implement it or take the words into action. I've seen a small advance in the topic though. At least in my community, some establishments, such as different supermarkets and stores, are starting to facilitate people with recycling bins for different materials. They are been located in noticeable spots and they are well presented, making it more motivating to recycle your trash.
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ReplyDeleteHelloo guys,
ReplyDeleteI am Jesus Barroso and I am 23 years old. I have recently registered with ESC to finish my degree. I started at Chipola Junior College (Marianna, FL), then The University of Tampa (Tampa, FL) and now ESC.
I do like baseball. I have played it since I was 3 years old and still playing it till my body cans.
With green business I will learn a lot about the environment and how to live in armony with it without harming it.
I hope you guys enjoy the class as a I am right now.
How would you integrate in Panama the Green Business culture? How hard do you think is going to be?
Greetings
Hi my name is Carlos Levy and I am currently finishing my studies in the Empire State College and I also work in a logistics company called Connexion Zona Libre. Currently I have been able to see that in other more developed countries there is a lot of initiative about caring for the environment and sustainability. I hope that this becomes the case for Panama in the future. Here the private companies are not as engaged into sustainability practices. In the future I hope for our country to become more supportive to this costumes in the society. This will bring progress to all of us.
ReplyDeleteMy question would be how do you see Panama becoming more supportive to green culture in the future?
Kevin, what types environmental sustainability do you practice?
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, my name is Jacobo Garrido. I'm 22 years old and I'm a senior at SUNY.
ReplyDeletePeople in Panama I believe are starting to get awareness on how important the environment and sustainability are. Though, as Luis and Fernando said, the culture to be green, and take care of the environment is not strong. People here need to be taught the consequences of not employing sustainability practices, and the culture itself needs to change (on that matter); it could be as simple as recycling at home/schools. This is a little step to becoming more environmentally friendly which in the future could help a lot.
In response to Carrie's question, I don't really practice any type of environmental sustainability, but I do try not to throw any garbage out on the street as everybody else in Panama does.
I remember when I was in high-school, we had an environmental club and they had recycling boxed in every grade, and we all tried to collaborate and recycle along with them.
My name is Georges Azar and I am from Lebanon. I live in North Lebanon Koura district. I am 21.5 years of age. I have almost completed my degree in Management Information System in AUT where I completed 92 credits in Business Computing. At the moment I am doing the Suny program.
ReplyDeleteSustainability is not really looked at in my country by the government nor the people.
We have alot of green areas in this country but the government is corrupt and does not look after it. What ways are there to make our country greener?
Sustainability is only produced by a change in peoples mindset dont you think?
If we want sustainability shouldn't the government try to change its way and try to change peoples mindset?
Georges, Thanks for contributing to our Blog! Do you think government should create laws that force sustainable practice or focus on education?
ReplyDelete@ Carrie - Thanks for your question, and it's a great one. I try (and stress the word 'try') to practice sustainable activities on a very local level. We never use electricity at night, make our own sneakers, and churn our own butter. But, seriously, there is certainly a trade-off between convenience and pragmatic actions. In addition, we can factor in affordability. For my wife and I, we try to ride our bikes to go shopping for groceries or to work (when we can), buy local and organic produce (also when we can), use environmentally friendly soaps, detergents, and other biodegradable products, use public transport, grow some of our own veggies and herbs (though very difficult to do with no land), grow hydroponically (but draws on energy), started to engage in composting and vermiculture, and want to start beekeeping next spring. But, we're also very, very lucky. Both of us are gainfully employed, and we can afford to buy bikes, buy expensive local and organic produce, pay for hydroponic and beekeeping setups, and ultimately pay more for environmentally friendly products. I would certainly like to incorporate more sustainable activities into our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Anne, and I live in western New York State. I actually live in the country (New York is actually more farmland and wilderness than city…), but we are close enough to a city that we have services such as garbage collection and recycle centers. The garbage collectors in our area offer recycling service, so most people put their recyclables out by the side of the road to be picked up when the garbage collectors come by. Recently, our recycle center started accepting more grades of plastic, which was so exciting to me. Now I can recycle just about anything that is plastic, instead of sending so many plastic items to a landfill. It’s great!
There are definitely people in my area who are moving for sustainability. This has recently shown itself in a movement for the town to set aside large areas of land to be “forever wild”. They are not developed in any way, and no one can build a factory or other business on that land. This saves us from having all of our land taken up by housing developments and industries that put carbon and other pollutants into the air.
The companies in our area are required by law to minimize their carbon footprint and regulate the disposal of pollutants. However, companies don’t always abide by these laws, and then they create unsustainable futures for themselves and the people who live in this area. For example, several years ago a company near where I live was caught dumping pollutants into a nearby river. Not only was this harming the environment, but these pollutants were being carried downstream to the Great Lakes and harming those as well. If companies understood the importance of a sustainable future, they wouldn’t do things like that (we hope…sometimes companies simply don’t care and just want profits).
The state has also stipulated that we pay an extra 5 cents for every bottle of water or soda that we buy. When we return those bottles to the store, we get our 5 cents back for each bottle. This has considerably lessened the amount of littering in our area. Many people return their bottles instead of littering, wanting their 5 cents back. However, if someone does litter, someone else will pick up the bottle and return it to the store so that they can get the 5 cents. It really works pretty well.
What do I do? Well, I recycle everything I can, and make visits to the recycle center every couple weeks. I also try to conserve gas and leave a lesser carbon footprint by combining trips and driving as little as possible. I also try to dispose of wastes in a way that does not harm the environment, and to not litter whenever possible.
I look forward to meeting you all on other parts of this site. I am very happy to see that people in other countries care about sustainability, even if their governments haven’t yet passed laws toward that end.
@ Kevin-Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteFor anyone interested in the Moving Planet event happening on Saturday, September 24, 2011 please visit this website for detailed information... http://www.moving-planet.org/
What are the implications of HR and sustainability?
ReplyDeleteSustainability that’s called today the new trend is becoming every day more important and every individual or corporate has the opportunity to incorporate it into their environment as a lifestyle, a way to understand the environment in which they live or work.
It’s clear that year ago, that trend didn’t mean anything to anybody, but due to today’s events related to the climate, the global warming, the poverty, etc… everyone’s changing the way to see, think and act. Some organizations like DuPont, the United Nations, and the International Labor Organization just to mention those, have already embraced sustainability, but some others don’t even have a program and plan to work together in that urgent need. Previously, the main task of HRD was to introduce into a company the more competent human capital capable of providing greater benefits for the good of the company. But, this way of working has changed due to the new way of conceiving things. The HR department has to combine both: Talent and sustainability. It has the important task of providing information and educational resources to develop awareness among the workforce of the importance of sustainability and what it means for each functional area of the corporation.
At UC Davis, everyone accepts the responsibility and they’re committed in order to reach that common goal. The essential part in that situation is education, if every corporation starts educating its employees and makes them see sustainability as part of the company code or program, it will be possible to achieve. One of the best ways to start could be, by applying the HC Bridge framework: Efficiency, effectiveness and impact. Achieve sustainability goes beyond the environmental impact that an organization can cause, it’s about its social responsibility, commitment to communities, its ethics, its practices of production, service delivered, equality between employees, sustainability is a set of elements that every organization through its HRD has to perform .
It’s without any doubt that sustainability is great challenge for organizations, but it’s not impossible if they start changing the way they conduct businesses. HR has the opportunity to redefine its character and to lead the way on a journey where there are few maps and few experts.
Sources:
Sustainability and the Talentship Paradigm: Strategic Human Resource Management Beyond
Rimanoczy, I., & Pearson, T. (2010). Role of HR in the new world of sustainability. Industrial & Commercial Training, 42(1), 11-17. doi:10.1108/00197851011013661
www.youtube.com/watch
Ann Campa said....
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Ann Campa. I am a student at ESC living in Western New York. Many sustainability initiatives are being introduced by local colleges in the area. Examples of these initiatives include on-campus availability and use of hybrid and fuel efficient “Zip Cars” for student car pooling to off-campus locations, an inter-campus student bus using recycled dining hall cooking oil as a fuel source, use of solar panels, high efficiency steam and electrical power generating facilities for energy distribution and recapture within campus buildings, and conversion of residence and dining halls to “green” areas. The university segment of our community has taken the lead in addressing sustainability.
While some light industries are thinking “green” and moving operations to energy efficient “green buildings”, local heavy manufacturing is still more focused on maintaining bottom-line profitability than reducing carbon footprint. Corporations in our area can pay a NYS fee to continue discharges of pollutants into our air and waterways so, there is really no political incentive for them to change their environmental ways.
On an individual basis, options for involvement in sustainability are somewhat limited. Opportunities exist to participate in sustainability efforts on a small scale, such as household item recycling pickup coincident with refuse collection, and plastic container recycling for a nickel is available at local grocery stores. Unfortunately, transportation to the store costs far more than container deposit refunds.
Public transportation to a limited number of work locations is also available but, no mass transit infrastructure exists in our area. Many drivers are the only person in the car on commutes to and from work. This issue has been addressed for many years on a less than serious basis. Politically, transportation grant monies are used for other purposes.
Hello everyone. My name is Morrad Irsane. I currently live in Saudi Arabia. I earned an associate degree in Business administration in 1997 at Mesa College in San Diego. In 2003 I moved to Dubai. I started an import/export company managing all aspect of the business ( title: Managing Director). I closed the company in 2010 since the economy was bad. I am currently a full time student working on my BA majoring in Marketing. That is the reason for taking this class. So far, I really like taking online classes, especially when I am overseas. I like to shop online and my favorite sites are Amazon and eBay. I am not a big user of the “social media” network but I have a Facebook account to keep up with my distant friends overseas. I am sure I will enjoy the class and learn from all you guys. See you all.
ReplyDeleteI believe that building a sustainable organization is a must in today’s society. Unfortunately, the action of one of us affects all of us; at an individual as well as societal level. No wonder world nations came together to try to reduce the greenhouse effect and uplift human labor rights and conditions around the world. According to the Brundtland Report: “sustainability is a three-legged stool of people, planet, and profit. Sustainable businesses… try to balance all three through the triple-bottom-line concept—using sustainable development and sustainable distribution to impact the environment, business growth, and the society.” There are several reasons why we should go this way. First, to address a Human need and marketing trend, second to please consumers and shareholders and last to make a profit out of it. Businesses can no longer abuse the resources and pollute the world like they used to. Consumers and investors are for sustainability. Sustainable businesses create value for all and respect the environment. What more can you ask for…here are some of the organizations that started integrating sustainable business practices: Bank of America, GE,Ceres, Dupont, Innovest, Mc Donald, Home depot , Starbucks to name few.
http://www.businesspundit.com/25-big-companies-that-are-going-green/
A Greener Way to Get Fit and Stay Fit!!!
ReplyDeleteTired of spending hours trying to fight traffic just to go to the gym? Instead of emitting toxic fumes on your way to workout why not just work out from home? It's environmentally safer, it's fun, and it's FREE!!! Checkout this awesome website I found with really cool workout videos!!!
http://www.bodyrock.tv/
On behalf of Sue Fenner...
ReplyDeleteHello my name is Sue Fenner. I am currently a student at Empire State College, Harry Van Arsdale divison in New York City. I am a native New Yorker, who works for The New York City Board of Education. As an Assistant teacher, I have implemented a recycling program with my seventh graders within our classroom. Breakfast is served in our homeroom class. I bring reusable plastic bags from home to separate the recyclable garbage. At first the students were complaining about the extra steps to discard the trash but, now they make sure everyone complies. It gives them a good feeling to know that they are taking a part "Going Green".
I saw this video and thought you all might enjoy it the same way I did. It was very informative and interesting. It's food for thought! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixyrCNVVGA
ReplyDelete