I am working in Community Colleges and I am working in so many of those that I decided to keep as an example my previous employer: Mc Donald´s. The Community Colleges they don´t have a specific strategy as far as I know. Mc Donald´s instead they have really specific sustainable program and they involve the workers from the very first working day.
These the main points:
In packing: minimizing weight, maximamizing use of recycles materials, preference for renewable raw materials from third-party certified sources, minimizing the amount of harmful chemicals used in production, reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions,maximizing end-of-life options such as recycling or composting.
Recycled paper: they use it in tray liners, napkins, bags, sandwich containers and other restaurant materials such as shipping containers. All the packing is anyway made approximately 80% of the from renewable (paper or wood-fiber) materials, and nearly 30% of consumer packaging is made from recycled materials.
In food: in Mc Donalds we were using for instance palm oil in some products straight and in some other just small quatity. The oil plan plantation increased a lot especially in some areas that were left without any forests. The use of this oil and the conseguences plantation helped to restablish the eco system in some areas.
They cooperate with WWF(World Wildlife Fund): every year Mc Donalds gets an analysis from WWF in order to know in what area they should improve the sustainable development. In every region/state is different results so they are working according to their areas results. Example: in Europe they might work in sustainable coffee and America on different issue.
Here you are a picture that summerize the main points that I didn´t mention but it´s part of 2012 sustaunability highlights:
http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/mcd/sustainability/sustainability_highlights/_jcr_content/genericpagecontent/everything_0/file.res/2012_Global_Sustainability_Highlights_Infographic.pdf%2c%2c%2c
2. How does it affect employees' day to day life or does it?
Yes it does. Every evening for example workers have to save the oil in a big cointainers. They were using for recycling. Also the fact that every worker is trained to cooperate for recycling as much as possible is also very effective. Of course as a company they are focused in increase effecienty and dicrease the wasting. Achiving those goals it reduces the costs and also make them in the eyes of the workers and custumers a trust brand. In different countries they use different strategies but with the same goal. In my personal experience here in Finland I can say that in matter of saving energy for instance they were regulating the kitchen equipement perfome to improve the use of energy. Also they were adjusting the ventilation system according to the number of the custumers helped to save energy. As a worker there for instance this system make me confortable with the temperature in every situation.
3. What are the challenges in sustainable development in my field of work?
As I language teacher/ history teacher I think it´s to show the students in practical way what means sustainable development. Beside the recycling of paper and turn off all the electronic equipments what else I could show them? Now that I am doing my teaching training I am using more and more the computer and less copies. Yes it helps in one way but what about in the other? I think what I miss also is practical example for instance in issues such as: understading completely the word sustainable development and be able to explain as good as possible, shating the complexity of the actions to make a better world; in more practical ways how to be able to build a human capacity for implementing a new education in sustainable development.
4. How could I teach the principles of sustainable development in my own subject?
As an history teacher I could teach the concept of sustainable development during the past years and help the students to recognize the changing. As a language teacher I could help the students to recongnize what is behind a message and analyze it. I would like them to think about the deep meaning of sustainable develpment, to take part to the local community activities where stakeholders can also partecipate and say their opionion about s.d.
References:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSqIzZpfCqs&list=PL308D62066232AFA0&index=1&
- feature=plpp_video
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQKAXQbcko&feature=BFa&list=PL308D62066232AFA0&lf=plpp_video
- http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/mcd/sustainability/sustainability_highlights/_jcr_content/genericpagecontent/everything_0/file.res/2012_Global_Sustainability_Highlights_Infographic.pdf%2c%2c%2c
- http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/sustainability.html
- http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001524/152453eo.pdf
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