Apple Says Data Centers Now Use 100% Renewable Energy Apple Inc. (AAPL) now uses only renewable energy sources to power its data centers, the iPhone maker said in an updated report on its environmental policies. The company’s data centers now run on energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal, instead of coal or other fossil fuels, Apple said on its website. The centers house server computers that store and distribute songs, applications and other content from services such as iTunes, iMessage and iCloud. A year ago, Apple was targeted by Greenpeace International, which ranked Apple 12th out of 14 large technology companies in a report called “How Clean Is Your Cloud?” The environmental group, which held protests at Apple’s offices in Cupertino, California, charged Apple with relying on electricity from coal plants and gave Apple a grade of no better than D in the four categories it tracked. “Increasing our use of renewable energy is our primary objective,” Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer, said in an interview.
The Changing Face of Corporate Sustainability This post was originally featured on the Zayed Future Energy Prize blog. It’s reprinted here with permission . By Roberta B. Bowman, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Duke Energy In 1999, fewer than 500 companies issued sustainability reports. Today, there is a growing demand for companies to demonstrate a responsible, sustainable, long-term approach to business, to produce a statement of their sustainability activities, and to clearly show how this relates to their core business strategy. Several factors have driven the current momentum for sustainable corporate performance: Stakeholder expectations: Companies understand the many benefits of sustainable operations, especially now that they engage with a wider range of stakeholders – shareholders, employees, business partners, investors, consumers, NGOs, the media – who demand accountability and transparency. Roberta B. image: Jenny Mackness via Flickr cc (some rights reserved) Scroll down to see comments.
La Tragédie des Communaux, par Garrett Hardin traduit à partir de version du 13 mars 2005, par Michel Roudot Publié dans Science, le 13 décembre 1968 L'auteur est professeur de biologie, à l'Université de Californie, Santa Barbara. Cet article est basé sur une intervention présentée avant la réunion de la Division Pacifique de l'Association Américaine pour l'Avancement de la Science à l'Université d'État d'Utah, Logan, le 25 juin 1968. À la fin d'un article profond sur l'avenir de la guerre nucléaire, Wiesner et York (1) concluaient que : "les deux côtés dans la course aux armements sont ... confrontés au dilemme d'augmenter régulièrement la puissance militaire et de diminuer régulièrement la sécurité nationale. Je voudrais attirer votre attention non sur le sujet de l'article (la sécurité nationale dans un monde nucléaire) mais sur le type de conclusion qu'ils ont tiré, à savoir qu'il n'y a aucune solution technique au problème. Que Devons Nous Maximiser ?
Culture Eats Strategy For Lunch Get on a Southwest flight to anywhere, buy shoes from Zappos.com, pants from Nordstrom, groceries from Whole Foods, anything from Costco, a Starbucks espresso, or a Double-Double from In N' Out, and you'll get a taste of these brands’ vibrant cultures. Culture is a balanced blend of human psychology, attitudes, actions, and beliefs that combined create either pleasure or pain, serious momentum or miserable stagnation. A strong culture flourishes with a clear set of values and norms that actively guide the way a company operates. Misunderstood and mismanaged Culture, like brand, is misunderstood and often discounted as a touchy-feely component of business that belongs to HR. Think about it like a nurturing habitat for success. If there's any doubt about the value of investing time in culture, there are significant benefits that come from a vibrant and alive culture: Focus: Aligns the entire company towards achieving its vision, mission, and goals. Mission accomplished Vibrant and healthy
Green Collar Blog: Green Recruiters Green Collar Blog News and resources on green collar jobs Home | Green Job Boards | Green Job Fairs & Events | Green Job Training & Education | Green Recruiters | Solar Jobs | Reports | Associations | Books New! Green Jobs and Careers Group is now available on LinkedIn. Join today! Updates now on Twitter@greeneconomyAbout | Archives Job Board & Services:Green Jobs NetworkGreen Job EngineGreen Job BoardGreen InternshipsSolar JobsWind JobsCSR JobsSocial Good Jobs Featured Jobs Communications and Development Director, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (Pittsboro, NC) Post a green job today! Green Recruiters This is a listing of recruiters that focus on social or environmental responsibility. EMPLOYERS: Click here to post your green job today! Recent Posts <a href=" by Indeed Categories Archives
MAZI Articles - What Complexity Science Teaches Us About Social Change by Virginia Lacayo - Communication for Social Change Consortium (CFSC Consortium) MAZI Articles What Complexity Science Teaches Us About Social Changeby Virginia Lacayo From 1992 to 2004, I worked at a Nicaraguan nongovernmental organization called Puntos de Encuentro, which means "meeting points" or "common grounds," a feminist nonprofit organization that believes in the role of communication, research, and education in fostering social change. To this end, Puntos uses its weekly television social soap series Sexto Sentido (Sixth Sense) as a launching pad for a multimedia, multilevel communication for social change strategy called Somos Diferentes, Somos Iguales"”We're Different. In spite of its wide recognition as an innovative, risk-taking NGO, Puntos has been struggling to frame theoretically and justify its outreach strategy. Contradictions arise when organizations such as Puntos approach social change as a nonlinear, "messy," complex problem, while most donors, social scientists, and practitioners approach it as a predictable, linear process. In Closing
Why We Formed | The Sustainability Consortium Increasingly pressure is being felt by multiple stakeholders to reduce the environmental and social impacts associated with global consumption. Retailers, manufacturers, suppliers, governments, NGOs, researchers and consumers all hold a stake in the sustainability of global product production and use. As global citizens, we face extraordinary challenges: complexity of global trade and supply networks, world population growth expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, diminishing resources, worker safety and fair treatment, human health and safety. At the core of multiple stakeholders’ interests and at the center of such challenges we find the need to more accurately quantify and communicate the sustainability of products. Drivers and Needs for More Sustainable Products and Standardization Consumers Supply Chains Global Regulations Science
The confessions of an accidental committee man | Guardian Sustainable Business I was born nosey, so if someone interesting invites me to peer into the guts of their organisation, I'm inclined to give it a go. As a result, I have been drawn into a mind-numbingly broad range of committees, advisory boards and boards over the decades. As I try to critically evaluate my 25 years of sustainability-focused work, I am drawing early conclusions from my experiences as a somewhat accidental committee man. Here's a starter list of 10: 1. One of the most intriguing articles I have read in the Harvard Business Review appears in the latest edition. Similarly, capitalism's single-minded pursuit of return on equity and competition for competition's sake are compromising its longer-term interests. 2. Several committees I joined in the decade from 1974 were linked with NGOs, like a small and quixotic "Planners Against Growth" group hosted by Friends of the Earth, and The Other Economic Summit. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. There are at least two main routes to enter this game.
Economics Basics: Introduction Economics may appear to be the study of complicated tables and charts, statistics and numbers, but, more specifically, it is the study of what constitutes rational human behavior in the endeavor to fulfill needs and wants. As an individual, for example, you face the problem of having only limited resources with which to fulfill your wants and needs, as a result, you must make certain choices with your money. You'll probably spend part of your money on rent, electricity and food. We can say, therefore, that economics, often referred to as the "dismal science", is a study of certain aspects of society. To study these things, economics makes the assumption that human beings will aim to fulfill their self-interests.
Invisible Hand Definition What does 'Invisible Hand' mean The term “invisible hand” is a metaphor for how, in a free market economy, self-interested individuals operate through a system of mutual interdependence to promote the general benefit of society at large. It was introduced by Scottish enlightenment thinker Adam Smith in his book “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” (1776). BREAKING DOWN 'Invisible Hand' There are two critical ideas behind the invisible hand. Each free exchange creates signals about which goods and services are valuable and how difficult they are to bring to market. In “The Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith wrote: "Every individual necessarily labors to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can ... Smith only mentioned the invisible hand three times and just once in “The Wealth of Nations,” leaving a rather nebulous concept. Invisible Hands Guide Business Productivity Cantillon described an isolated estate that divided into competing leased farms.
Adam Smith: The Father Of Economics Adam Smith is often touted as the world's first free-market capitalist. While that designation is probably a bit overstated, Smith's place in history as the father of modern economics and a major proponent of laissez-faire economic policies is quite secure. Read on to learn about how this Scottish philosopher argued against mercantilism to become the father of modern free trade. Early Life The recorded history of Smith's life begins on June 16, 1723, at his baptism in Scotland. His birthday is undocumented. Smith attended the University of Glasgow at age 14, later transferring to Balliol College in Oxford, England. Invisible Hand Theory"An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," also shortened as "The Wealth of Nations," documented industrial development in Europe. Other economists built on Smith's work to solidify classical economic theory, which would become the dominant school of economic thought through the Great Depression.
What Is An Emerging Market Economy? An emerging market economy (EME) is defined as an economy with low to middle per capita income. Such countries constitute approximately 80% of the global population, and represent about 20% of the world's economies. The term was coined in 1981 by Antoine W. Although the term "emerging market" is loosely defined, countries that fall into this category, varying from very big to very small, are usually considered emerging because of their developments and reforms. What an EME Looks LikeEMEs are characterized as transitional, meaning they are in the process of moving from a closed economy to an open market economy while building accountability within the system. One key characteristic of the EME is an increase in both local and foreign investment (portfolio and direct). For foreign investors or developed-economy businesses, an EME provides an outlet for expansion by serving, for example, as a new place for a new factory or for new sources of revenue. Local Politics vs.