By Isaac Rogers and Sharran Srivatsaa
Client's Problem:
Our client is concerned that Owen does not use its resources in an environmentally sustainable way, nor does it look for ways to use the in-house business expertise (among students, staff and faculty) to solve global environmental issues.
Solution 1: Financial Engineering
We are building a financial instrument through a partnership with a bank that will yield high-interest in checking and savings. The interest earned will be used to fund projects that will work towards eliminating the carbon footprint of Owen as a whole.
Solution 2: Sustainable Internal Processes
We are working with the Owen IT department on different ways to reduce printing waste and introduce recycled content
Solution 3: Education to build awareness and skill-set in MBA's
We are working to introduce socially conscious topics into the curriculum. This would include introduction of a social responsibility case into the core curriculum, exploration of new service project opportunities for orientation, and collaboration with a "green initiative" in Nashville for a group of Owen students to partner with.
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ReplyDeleteSolution 1 & 3 are great ideas in the long run but since you have a constraint in time for this project you should focus on implementing solution 2 where you really can make a difference at Owen. Is the IT-department working with reducing printing waste at the moment?
ReplyDeleteI like solution number one because it could be implemented immediately. However, moving forward I like the idea of number three. We could def use a class geared more towards the Net Impact/BOP way of thinking. I think it already exists in the culture of Owen, but isn't necessarily mirrored in the curriculum. Nice job fellas. When you want to join me as I hug a few trees, let me know.
ReplyDeletenumber 2 is easily implemented and would make a huge impact. you could also get them to get rid of those lame cover sheets and require that people print double sided. with the net impact conference coming in november, we should definitely make sure our actions reflect net impact type values.
ReplyDeleteI think number 3 will have a tremendous impact. For implementation, you need to make it clear what learning objectives would be. You also need to closely work with faculty members. For number 2, does IT department have an idea of reducing print waste?
ReplyDeleteCurriculum changes are a nice idea. Would the Nike case that the first years did this year not count as a CSR case?
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting a paper recycling bin located next to the mailboxes on the second floor. I think often time people remove junk mail and drop in the nearest receptacle, which currently is a trash bin and not a recycling bin. I think we could recycle a lot more simply by placing recycling bins nearer to the mailboxes.
ReplyDeleteDid you guys think of engaging the alumni in any of these ideas? If our major donors found out how much money is wasted on energy, water, paper, etc they might be get a little more involved. VEHS runs the numbers on energy and water use for each building and while Owen is an extremely efficient building I am sure there is room for improvement. Gary Scudder worked with a few of us last year on green buildings at Vanderbilt and could be a good contact.
ReplyDeletei read somewhere that the most fuel efficiency-inducing invention is the little gauge that shows how much fuel you are using as you drive your car. Apparently people see that thing swing up to 5 mpg when they are accelerating and then they realize how their driving behavior wastes gas. So they change.
ReplyDeleteWhat about a simple mechanism for showing us how much energy we use (carbon footprint?) on an on-going basis. (Maybe a webcam on the electric meter at Owen). Also how much we recycle as a ratio of total garbage. That gives people the data they can understand at the place and time that they can do something about it.
Curriculum is good for creating the potential for change, but (sadly) there is little legitimacy for it in the MBA curriculum at this point.
financial thingy sounds good but a little indirect given the problem you have laid out.
Solution 2 definitely has the potential to see quick results. We all know how many extra pages are printed due to human error, printer error, and network error. Fortunely, we now recycle most of it. Financial Engineering is a great idea but you would need to get a champion that will really go after it once we are gone.
ReplyDeletethe biggest constraint to 'going green' is usually buy-in. i think without buy-in from the students and a belief that this is more than a fad, you may have difficulty creating a sustainable project. a great example is the 3-section recycle bins in the lobby here. watching how many people use those improperly it's hard to believe that even a single one of those bins has ever come out pure enough to actually be recycled. in fact an interesting project might be to see how many actually are... although I'm not sure I even want to know
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