California's Solar Energy

On Wednesday, September 27, 2010, the California Energy Commission approved “nearly 1,000 megawatts of solar installation for the desert.” By the end of 2010, California wants to extract 20% of their power from renewable sources. California is taking big steps toward using natural resources, utilizing, directly, the one thing where all of the Earth’s energy comes from; the sun. Two projects make up the 1,000 megawatts. They are called the Genesis Solar Energy Project (250 megawatts) and Imperial Valley Solar Project (709 megawatts).

These projects combined call for 2,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs. In this economy, these job opportunities are a blessing for some. Which companies get this publicity? The first one is NextEra Energy Resources. Their technique consists of curved mirrors that collect the sun’s rays. The heat from this will then heat up fluid, producing steam. This steam will run the generators. The second company is Tessera. They are going to use solar dishes, which also collect the sun’s rays. Tessera has run into environmentalist problems because the construction site is home to the flat-tailed horned lizard and the endangered tortoise. However, they have agreed to not build on dry creek beds because of flood control.

This article was of interest to me because the sun emits so much energy, that it is amazing that we cannot catch it to use every single watt of it. All energy on Earth comes from the sun. The plants we eat use photosynthesis to grow and evaporation causes rain, which gives us fresh water. Although inventing something that uses the sun’s powerful energy is a great way to save the planet from harmful gasses and waste, it is important that we do not affect nature’s delicate balance, like harming any animals in the food chain, for example. We have a responsibility to our plant to keep it healthy because it is our home.

Hsu, Tiffany. "1000 Megawatts of Solar Power Approved for California Desert." LA Times. 29, Sept. 2010. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/09/1000-megawatts-of-solar-power-approved-for-california-desert.html

Nike's influence on the Pitch and Landfills

In this post, Nike changes the way kits (jerseys) are made and work.

I am a huge soccer fan and being an Exercise Sports major, anything involving sports is an interest to me.

In this article, Nike reuses discarded plastic bottles from Japan and Taiwan landfills to create an eco-friendly kit for the national teams playing in South Africa for the World Cup this summer. 13 million plastic bottles were used to create the kits for the nine national teams.

This was something that interested me because the technology that was used in melting the plastic into fabric that was usable for high performance sportswear was something that couldn’t have been done in the last World Cup. Nike’s dedication to helping reduce the amount of trash in the landfill by reusing recyclable items to create kits for players at the highest level is amazing.

The direction that Nike is lean towards, producing high quality sportswear for the biggest stage soccer can be played on and still helping the Earth reduce its carbon footprint is something I have could not have even imagined. With global warming and toxic waste on the rise, I applaud Nike for making a statement that there is no need for us to create more fabric from wool and cotton when there are plastic bottles lying around in a land fill. I am extremely proud that a company right here in our backyard is making a difference in other countries.

My only concern when reading that Nike had done was how much toxic material did Nike actually produce when melting the plastic bottles. It has been proven that recycling does more harm than good, so did Nike take the correct steps when melting the bottles to prevent any harmful chemicals to leak back into the Earth? Nonetheless, the action Nike took is something no other giant sportswear company can claim they have done.

Levi Strauss & Co. Creates a $100,000 Denim Insulation Fund to Help Community Organizations "Green" their Buildings

On October 4th, Levi Strauss & Company announced their fund of $100,000 for denim insulation. Instead of unwanted denim going into landfills, the denim is being used as building insulation. Levi Strauss & Company's goal is to make communities become greener, and to promote work places as a safer, non-toxic environment. Many companies have already been renovating and have been provided with money from this fund.

In 2008, California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco had 200,000 pairs of recycled denim insulated in their newly built building, making the company have the highest LEED environmental ratings. This company has also newly renovated other buildings as well.

Levi Strauss & Company has been around for a long time making it one of the largest apparel companies in the world. Levi Strauss has many locations in 110 countries. So they are not just thinking locally on their fund, but globally. Another way they have promoted going green has been by changing their tags on the clothes stating ways to reuse their products. By promoting this fund, this company plans to change the world by reusing an everyday necessity.

I was drawn to this article because I am a merchandising manager major. I never really thought of ways to give back besides making garments out of recycled materials, but what a great way for companies to go green and to help the environment. I think this is a great idea because it promotes not only a healthy community, but also a healthy work place.

Air Hogs, Sing-a-ma-jigs May Bring Holiday Joy for Toymakers

The toymaker industry is expected to rebound from last years "fluke" due to the economic down turn. So far, this year the small-cap Russell 2000 Toys index is up 43% which is raising moral for the investors. Mattel, even with its setback when numerous lines of Fisher-Price subsidiary were recalled due to safety hazards, had an increase in its stocks. Mattel and Jakks Pacific were both down more than eight percent in sales last year, but are looking strong this season, especially for the Christmas season. Mattel is estimated to increase another other 8.2% while Jakks is estimated to flat out. Which, by no means is unfortunate. Jakks is already up 48% this year in sales leading the market by almost ten percent.
Toys "R" Us, the largest toy retailer, is also benefiting hugely from this as well. And this holiday season, they are planing to open 600 temporary sales locations all around the country. That is a 71% increase in retailer outlets, which is an incredible amount of retail sales potential.
One reason for the major jump in sales for this year is that, last years down-turn caused a "leaner inventory". In other words, there is less back up of older "out-dated" toys and more space for new inventory. It also creates more competition because all the different toy companies are introducing the so called Big Guns to the market within the next couple of months.
As of right now, most companies are testing out the waters to see which toys/toy genres are a hit. This way, when late October rolls by they have a decent idea as to which toys to release for the holiday season.

It's interesting to look at economic down-turn in hindsight because was it not for the unfortunate event, these companies would not be making attempts to improve efficiency and new strategies for marketing and sales. Things like, Toys "R" Us using empty vendors in malls and other places to open temporary stores. For companies to test out the waters on what is successful and what is not; rather than make products left and right, and losing money on most of them because of lack luster sales. Not only is it bad for the company, but it is also a waste of employee time, resources and space - which all ties back into efficiency. Now, they are having to take a much more careful approach to introducing new items which in turn saves resources and space (space meaning junk in land fills, junk on store shelves etc). Hopefully, with all these new efficiency plans, companies can concentrate on things such as preventing led paint from "accidentally" being applied to toys. Unnecessary safety hazards with toys due to poor design (Fisher-Price just experienced this within the past couple of weeks), which are both unacceptable when dealing with small children. It is a responsibility they all hold in being world wide dealer toy dealers and makers.

http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/sep2010/pi20100929_357980.htm

Pepsi Innovations Refresh the Community

From what I found PepsiCo is one of the leading forces in Corporate Social Responsibility in the world. In the past several years, social responsibility has become one of the most important issues facing our world. In politics, business, and even the private sector, the call for social awareness has grown to a thunder throughout the globe, and Pepsi leads the charge.

Last year PepsiCo, one of the largest snack and beverage companies in the world, stepped forward to create one of the most unique and, in my opinion, risky programs in social awareness; to sponsor individualized projects, within local communities. The Pepsi Refresh Project has been a major success and will be continued on into the new year. According to the article I found, it seems as if even PepsiCo was unsure if the program would work. The project launched exclusively in North America during its premier year.

The ground breaking project, allows Pepsi consumers to submit their own ideas or vote for existing ones to improve their own communities. On ideas ranging from education to sports to media the program allows for innovations tailored to a community's specific needs. I found the idea brilliant that Pepsi would be able to send the money to communities where change is most needed. By Sep 1, 2010, PepsiCo has reported to have received 7,500 votes for 256 ideas, reaching over 200,00 people through the project. For its limit time the extent is remarkable. And PepsiCo is dedicated to the project; scheduled to fund around $20 million by the end of 2010.

And there lies my biggest concern. For the distribution of that much money there needs to be a strong accountability. While the idea is great on paper it makes for a very dangerous execution. For the oversight to watch for embellishment or theft would take a very dedicated committee.

Still, launched at the beginning of 2010, it met with enormous success during its initial introduction, proving the power of local change within local communities. The project is scheduled to expand to Europe, Asia, and Central America in 2011. I do have doubts though to the responsibility of the focus groups but its development seems to be going smoothly enough.

While this might be a problem later, it seems to be working for now, I found the article and Pepsi's progress encouraging.

http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/30466-Pepsi-to-Continue-Refreshing-Communities-in-2011-with-Pepsi-Refresh-Project

Box Tops for Education

In article published in the Kansas City Examiner, Marissa Carter discusses the partnership between Wal-Mart and General Mills and their efforts to raise money for schools through the Box Tops for Education program. As families worry about the budget cuts, they also think about the effects this will have on schools. Thanks to General Mills partnership with grocery stores like Wal-Mart, parents can buy food for their children's lunches while also benefiting the budget of their local school.

Throughout August 2010, Wal-Mart offered four times as many products featuring Box Tops for Education. This is an example of how General Mills is practicing corporate social responsibility. They are a large corporation that is giving back to their community by raising money for the one thing in the US right now that really needs the most attention: schools. The box tops are removed by the customer and given to their school of choice, which then cashes in the box tops for money to support school programs. The Box Tops program not only benefits the school, but also General Mills because parents are more inclined to buy their product knowing that some of the money will be going towards their child's education.

I chose to read this article because it is one of the first things that I think of when I hear the words corporate social responsibility and also because I love to cook. I thought that it would be fun to find something that is food related, but also relates to something that I care a lot about, which is education. Education seems to be in the news a lot lately and with the upcoming documentary coming out called "Superman," I felt that this article was appropriate and relevant to current events.

http://www.examiner.com/gluten-free-food-in-kansas-city/wal-mart-has-four-times-as-many-box-tops-for-education-through-august

Buy a Pair, Give a Pair

1 Million Pairs of Shoes Bought, 1 Million Pairs of Shoes Given Away. this is the title of Huffington Posts new report about the company TOMS shoes. TOMS shoes is a company founded by CEO Blake Mycoskie after he visited a village in Argentina in 2006. During his visit Blake was amazed to see so many chinldren with out shoes. After his trip Blake returned home to the US with an idea that would change his life forever.

The name TOMS was derived from the word "tomorrow," which evolved from the original concept, "shoes for tomorrow." The sole purpose of the company is there "One For One Movement," which means for every pair of TOMS shoes they sell, they give a pair to a child in need. As of September 2010 TOMS shoes has given over one million pairs of shoes away to children in need. Other companies have partnered with TOMS shoes. Ralph Lauren sold co-branded Polo Rugby TOMS, and then donated a pair for every pair sold. Elements, a sports skating brand designed a special edition TOMS inspired shoe as well as a skateboard, which they donated as well.

With TOMS Blake wanted to build a sustainable company that could be a force for good in the world. The company is a for-profit company, but they have tried in the past to be a non-profit company with little luck. Although they do not share their profits with the general public it is estimated that after the charitable donations, the company generates around $33 million yearly.

After reading this article and little more about the company it was easy for me to choose them for my blog on social responsibility. It also made me want to buy a pair of TOMS. Besides the fact that they are a cute, unique, and comfortable looking shoe, they are also for a good cause and they represent a company for a good cause.

- Sarah M.