I bought my first car in May 2015. It was (and is) a sleek, black, Volkswagen Jetta 2008. I come from a family of VW owners and was stoked to be buying a reliable car that many of my friends and family had had a great experience with.
When I heard about the VW emissions scandal this past September, my immediate thoughts were, "I still love my Jetta". I am a bit biased, but maybe these thoughts would be different if my car was a diesel engine, and therefore, I was directly affected by the scandal. Who knows? What I WILL say, is that it is still important to me as a consumer to invest in a company that is an ethical and honest one.
My view of the company as a whole has not changed, but rather, I have developed an understanding of how one person (or several) can misuse their leadership and management role for their own personal (and sometimes greedy) desires.
See this New York Times article for a good read on the route to recovery that VW is making after news of the scandal:
Volkswagen, Hit by Emissions Scandal, Posts its First Loss in Years
Yes, VW just reported its first quarterly loss in YEARS.
Yes, many VW customers are outraged.
Yes, VW is recalling and repairing about 9 million cars in order to repair the illegal software.
Yes, VW still cannot quantify the effects of the fallout due to the scandal awareness happening in the last two weeks of the third quarter.
Yes, there is a possibility of job cuts due to the increased spending that VW will have to make on the scandal and new projects.
But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and VW will have to work for it. New CEO, Matthias Muller, has a new vision in sight for the company: VW will no longer be focused on becoming the world's largest carmaker. He is set on figuring out the details of the scandal and learning from them. The previous CEO, Martin Winterkorn, had a relentless drive for growth, and, perhaps fell into the pattern of cheating to get to the top of the market. Muller's statement marks a clear break from Winterkorn and his management style.
This scandal has hurt VW's reputation and financials, and as time goes on, they will feel the full force of the affects. VW has been a very profitable company in past years, which has helped to mitigate this scandal. As Muller has stated, "The financial burden from the diesel crisis is enormous, but manageable."
As a customer of VW, I am not turned away. BUT, I would like to see them not only fix this current issue with the diesel engines and the mitigation of angry customers, but also to instill a game plan going forward of preventing this issue from happening again and gaining their trust and reputation back.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Update to EF Reduction Plan
I am about 5 weeks in of carrying out my ecological footprint reduction goals. So far, so good.
My initial goal of reducing my beef intake to 2x per month has been achieved and surpassed. Since making this goal, I have not eaten any beef! I plan to continue on with not eating beef for the remainder of this school quarter.
My second goal of unplugging the extension cord that plugs my blow dryer and straightener in has been met about 90% of the time. Though I sometimes have forgotten to unplug the cord (and I get seriously upset with myself when I do), I have managed to turn the power button off on my straightener every time since forming this goal. That is quite the feat for me, coming from the girl who left a burned imprint of a straightener on a nice wooden dresser due to leaving the power on all day...my mom was not happy.
My third goal was to turn the water off while I am brushing my teeth, and similar to the above, I would say this has been achieved about 90% of the time. There have been a few instances of which I find myself brushing my teeth and just chilling with the water running full force, but I plan to get this goal to 100%!
Due to this Marketing and Sustainability class, I have recently been convicted of my elevator usage. I am USUALLY the girl who pokes fun at people who use the elevator, but now, thanks to the massive hill I walk up every day, I am one of those people who uses the elevator (I am not proud of this). I use the elevator in the Viking Union for going up AND for going down. The elevator makes sense in my route to class, it's convenient, it's easy, it prevents me from sweating as much when trekking up the hill...and it's also an unnecessary addition to my ecological footprint. So my new goal that I am adding to my EF reduction plan is that I will not be using the VU elevator anymore.
Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone by reducing my footprint and gaining some minor health benefits from the added hill to my commute : )
My initial goal of reducing my beef intake to 2x per month has been achieved and surpassed. Since making this goal, I have not eaten any beef! I plan to continue on with not eating beef for the remainder of this school quarter.
My second goal of unplugging the extension cord that plugs my blow dryer and straightener in has been met about 90% of the time. Though I sometimes have forgotten to unplug the cord (and I get seriously upset with myself when I do), I have managed to turn the power button off on my straightener every time since forming this goal. That is quite the feat for me, coming from the girl who left a burned imprint of a straightener on a nice wooden dresser due to leaving the power on all day...my mom was not happy.
My third goal was to turn the water off while I am brushing my teeth, and similar to the above, I would say this has been achieved about 90% of the time. There have been a few instances of which I find myself brushing my teeth and just chilling with the water running full force, but I plan to get this goal to 100%!
Due to this Marketing and Sustainability class, I have recently been convicted of my elevator usage. I am USUALLY the girl who pokes fun at people who use the elevator, but now, thanks to the massive hill I walk up every day, I am one of those people who uses the elevator (I am not proud of this). I use the elevator in the Viking Union for going up AND for going down. The elevator makes sense in my route to class, it's convenient, it's easy, it prevents me from sweating as much when trekking up the hill...and it's also an unnecessary addition to my ecological footprint. So my new goal that I am adding to my EF reduction plan is that I will not be using the VU elevator anymore.
Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone by reducing my footprint and gaining some minor health benefits from the added hill to my commute : )
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Current Event: A Meat Alternative
One of my goals for this quarter in order to reduce my carbon footprint was to reduce my consumption of beef to only 2x per month. Since making the goal, I have decided to completely take beef out of my diet the reasons being (1) I don't eat beef that often anyways, so why not just kick it out of my diet? and (2) Livestock farming is one of the biggest contributors to a person's carbon footprint.
Impossible Foods, a sustainable food company in California, recently raised their funding by $108 million, and they are continuing to rise. They are focused on producing meat and dairy that are strictly made from plant ingredients. The greenhouse gas emissions that come from livestock farming are greater than cars, trains and airplanes combined, which is a huge reason why the shift to plant-based diets is important. Impossible Foods uses heme in their meat, a molecule found in hemoglobin and other proteins that gives blood its red pigment. Heme is considered the "secret" to meat flavor. Impossible Foods has raised enough money to bring their new product to market, and in the process, they are influencing other food companies to try producing alternatives to meat as well. These alternatives are both tasty and sustainable, giving an incentive to take the plunge and make the change.
Meat production will eventually have to change, and with that, so will meat consumption. Our meat consumption cannot be sustained forever. Impossible Foods is forward thinking and sustainably geared towards the future. It will take investing in more companies like Impossible Foods in order for the world of meat and dairy consumption to truly take a turn. We will be seeing burgers from Impossible Foods coming in 2016 across the U.S. I look forward to giving one a try : )
Source: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/startups/hannah_furlong/investors_gave_sustainable_food_startup_108m_do_impossible
Impossible Foods, a sustainable food company in California, recently raised their funding by $108 million, and they are continuing to rise. They are focused on producing meat and dairy that are strictly made from plant ingredients. The greenhouse gas emissions that come from livestock farming are greater than cars, trains and airplanes combined, which is a huge reason why the shift to plant-based diets is important. Impossible Foods uses heme in their meat, a molecule found in hemoglobin and other proteins that gives blood its red pigment. Heme is considered the "secret" to meat flavor. Impossible Foods has raised enough money to bring their new product to market, and in the process, they are influencing other food companies to try producing alternatives to meat as well. These alternatives are both tasty and sustainable, giving an incentive to take the plunge and make the change.
Meat production will eventually have to change, and with that, so will meat consumption. Our meat consumption cannot be sustained forever. Impossible Foods is forward thinking and sustainably geared towards the future. It will take investing in more companies like Impossible Foods in order for the world of meat and dairy consumption to truly take a turn. We will be seeing burgers from Impossible Foods coming in 2016 across the U.S. I look forward to giving one a try : )
Source: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/startups/hannah_furlong/investors_gave_sustainable_food_startup_108m_do_impossible
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Current Event: Education & Empowerment Will Lead to Sustainment
Moving towards a sustainable world starts with education, investment, and empowerment. It is crucial that businesses and individuals are not only moving towards sustainability, but that that they are pairing with others to create a network and movement towards it as well.
The Business Call to Action (BCtA) is a multilateral alliance that challenges companies to develop innovative business models that achieve commercial success and development outcomes. It is a UN-supported anti-poverty program that has a commitment to provide income-earning opportunities and expand access to services to disadvantaged populations in Africa and Asia.
A food-processing company called Equator Kenya recently joined the Business Call to Action in goal of improving their production process of the African Bird's Eyes Chilies, Equators primary crop. The Business Call to Action promises to provide climate-smart technologies, training and market linkages to 8,000 smallholder farms along the Kenyan coast.
The stimulator behind this partnership is the objective to reduce crop risks due to climate change. Reducing crop risks will in turn increase farmer incomes as well as their farm yields and quality. Currently there are about 7,000 smallholder farmers and in some areas nearly 80% of the farmers are women. Most have a low seasonal income and are illiterate.
Through the joining of BCtA, Equator Kenya has introduced a low-cost water-effiicient drip-irrigation kit to it's farmers. The results of the kit are huge:
Furthermore, Equator will distribute 8000 more kits that incorporate environmentally sustainable blended fertilizers and bio-pesticides. This movement will progress as Equator educates and trains their farmers on pest management, soil fertility management and erosion control to protect against the threats of climate control.
The results that come from this partnership benefit all parties involved: the business (Equator Kenya), BCtA, the farmers, and the greater scope of people and land surrounding them. The focus on education and empowerment is key to developing and progressing towards a sustainable world and BCtA is just the start.
Source:
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/ict_big_data/mike_hower/climate_smart-tech_improving_livelihoods_kenyan_women_farmers
The Business Call to Action (BCtA) is a multilateral alliance that challenges companies to develop innovative business models that achieve commercial success and development outcomes. It is a UN-supported anti-poverty program that has a commitment to provide income-earning opportunities and expand access to services to disadvantaged populations in Africa and Asia.
The stimulator behind this partnership is the objective to reduce crop risks due to climate change. Reducing crop risks will in turn increase farmer incomes as well as their farm yields and quality. Currently there are about 7,000 smallholder farmers and in some areas nearly 80% of the farmers are women. Most have a low seasonal income and are illiterate.
Through the joining of BCtA, Equator Kenya has introduced a low-cost water-effiicient drip-irrigation kit to it's farmers. The results of the kit are huge:
- Production up 54% since the introduction of the kits in 2014
- Kits have created year-round income for farmers, allowing them to produce 10 months of the year (as opposed to 4-5 months)
Furthermore, Equator will distribute 8000 more kits that incorporate environmentally sustainable blended fertilizers and bio-pesticides. This movement will progress as Equator educates and trains their farmers on pest management, soil fertility management and erosion control to protect against the threats of climate control.
The results that come from this partnership benefit all parties involved: the business (Equator Kenya), BCtA, the farmers, and the greater scope of people and land surrounding them. The focus on education and empowerment is key to developing and progressing towards a sustainable world and BCtA is just the start.
Source:
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/ict_big_data/mike_hower/climate_smart-tech_improving_livelihoods_kenyan_women_farmers
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Current Event: Will Awareness Produce Results?
This picture symbolizes the 10 global food companies that recently pledged to accelerate business action on climate change. Amongst some of these companies are Mars, Ben & Jerry's, Kellogg and General Mills, Inc. Through this movement, they have written a letter and urged leaders of the U.S to take action on this movement of preventing global warming, as it greatly affects the food industry. Global warming has affected and will continue to affect crop yields, water availability and infrastructure integrity.
This letter goes further to spell out the efforts that these companies are making towards fighting global warming as well as exposing their best practices for the benefits of other companies. The letter finishes with:
"We are ready to meet the climate challenges that face our businesses. Please join us in meeting the climate challenges that face the world."
This movement and marketing of the awareness of climate change is just the place to start in moving towards a sustainable world, but I will be interested to see how much a simple pledge will actually do.
Source: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/collaboration/hannah_furlong/food_companies_congress_step_bold_enforceable_climate_ag
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
My Ecological Footprint
When I think of environmentalism, I usually tend to think about it in terms of electricity usage, water usage, and transportation usage. It is not often that I think of it in terms of eating habits. In researching websites focused on at-home environmentalism, I am learning how I can reduce my carbon footprint by eating meals that are plant-based. I can reduce my footprint by the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over an average animal-based lunch. These 2.5 pounds are about 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions I would save by driving around for a day in a hybrid. Turning towards a plant-based diet also will result in conserving water.
These facts about plant-based eating are not ENTIRELY new to me, but they certainly are putting some things into perspective for me.
I would like to make three intentional actions towards reducing my ecological footprint:
(1) I will reduce my consumption of beef to 2 meals a month
(2) I will unplug the extension cord that connects to my hair blow dryer and hair straightener when I am not using them-- this will hopefully help in my issue of leaving my straightener on (sometimes I accidentally leave it on all day....)
(3) I will turn off the faucet when I am brushing my teeth
Surprisingly, I am struggling just limiting myself to 3 actions items towards becoming more environmental. There are so many things that I could do differently! I am excited to see how my awareness of my ecological footprint increases and the challenges that come along with it.
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