USF Professional Development Day

So on Friday, USF MBA students had a great day of presentations, panels, and discussions at the downtown Westin.  I arrived too late to hear the first presenter, but heard it was a great presentation.  I mostly heard that during our second presentation, because she was having a bit of difficulty grabbing our attention.  To be fair, we were all on twitter - #usfprofdev if you want to read more.  But, as I heard before, these days you have to assume your audience is otherwise engaged.  If they aren't, then they hide it well.  

Anyway - returning to the day - the 3rd and 4th speaker were fantastic.  

Mitch, formerly of VMWare, talked about the importance of start ups and working with them.  Working at one as an un-paid intern - I definitely understand the risk.  In fact, I think most interns understand this.  We love the company, the energy and the fact that we can take on so much responsibility in such a little time - but we also understand that this usually leads to little return.  Oh well, thus the life of a student.  I notice the same with non-profits.  And also, I can imagine some greener business models are met with either resistance (therefore not much revenue and a lot of risk) or are met with open arms at first until they need money.  Green is usually more expensive up front - but saves over time, people don't seem to like that.    

Moving on to our next speaker - economist, Jim Shaw.  He too has a hash tag #jimshaw.  One of our favorite professors.  He mentioned that a recession is like a cleanse.  I interpret this as the fact that possibly bailing some of the companies are not helping the cleanse, that the reason some industries drop is because they aren't needed anymore - so why are we holding on to the old way of life.  This reminded me of natural resources - we are so dependent on these resources, so we cling to them as they are being rapidly depleted.  So we need alternatives.  Of course, as my professor says, "If you get the business card of somebody when you need them, it's already too late"  So now that we are thinking about alternatives - it's too late.  (Of course, they were talking about this back in the 70s, but now it's much worse of course)  We need to make sure to integrate alternatives now - so that when the big cleanse comes, society as a whole and the economy doesn't get hit as hard is could.   Jim Shaw believes that the time is coming for that.  And it's already too late.  I agree we are in a crisis and it will only get worse -   the economy will collapse but so will society as we know it.  These alternatives to our current way of life better be ready - or  ready to grow and fill in the gaping hole the depletion of resources will leave.    

Talking Trash!

I am so proud of my Net Impact chapter!  Our team is fantastic!  Our Director of Campus Greening has really stepped up to the plate and created a bunch of fantastic events for this upcoming semester.
Coming up we have "trash talking with Anthony."  We need this at USF.  Even I need this - so many times I wonder - did I just throw away something that could have been recycled?  or, did I just recycle something that wasn't supposed to go in there?  Then I feel guilty for the rest of the day!!

The city of Santa Monica offers free classes teaching its residents about reusing, reducing, and recycling.  My friend decided to take this 6-week course last summer.  I remember the day he went to the city recycling center to pick up his worm-composting bin.  Or the day he put a bucket in his shower in order to catch excess water which he then used to water his plants.   The coolest thing though, was the week he weighed his trash.  Yes, sounds as weird as the others – but every morning he weighed his trash against his recycling.  Since most of Santa Monica’s retailers and restaurants use recyclable or compostable materials, it was cool to realize that most of what we thought was trash – really wasn’t.  It’s just like dieting – you know that you can eat less, or in this case: waste less, but until you make a conscious effort – it is easy to get off track. 

I used to work for a non-profit that supported an aquarium.  Marine education and conservation was part of our every day life.  We were aware of the garbage patch in the Pacific long before Captain Charles Moore went on the Colbert Report.  There is a serious problem out there- and I am excited that we are shining light on the problem

Gap's CSR Dilemma

There are many internships out there.  Which will you choose?  Whichever you can get?  Or one with a company that you truly admire? I myself would love to work for a socially responsible company, but I also just want a summer job.  One with pay.  I looked at Gap – but here’s my issue. 

I really like Gap.  My closet is full of Banana Republic clothes, a few things from Old Navy and Gap.  Gap, Inc. is a smart company.  They have a brand and product for everybody – from their Athleta line to their Piperlime shoes.  Not to mention Gap Body, Baby, men’s, women’s, etc. 

I liked Gap even more when I learned about their CSR efforts.  I was researching them for a summer internship and found their CSR page.  According to http://www2.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/EmbracingOurResponsibility/ER_Our_Focus.shtml  Gap focuses on 4 areas: Supply Chain (from factories to farms to the stores, Gap treats their people with respect and dignity), Environment (reducing waste, saving energy), Employees (supporting their goals and passion), Community investment (support volunteering)

So this is all fantastic, of course I would have never known that Gap had these efforts unless I had already been researching the company.  Why don’t companies spend time and money to market these points?  In fact, some of Gap’s marketing would suggest the opposite.  Now the following example is not that big of a deal, but it was a big deal to me.  Last semester I walked past the Gap in union square often. There’s the Gap regular and then the Gap Body, which was promoting its athletic wear.  All three large windows had empty plastic 1-liter bottles lining the bottom.  It bothered me that their attempt to cut down waste did not include their window dressing.  The images and photos of beautiful girls working out behind these water bottles also included girls with plastic water bottles.  A simple solution to cutting down waste, staying true to their CSR efforts, and a way to make money would be to start selling reusable water bottles.  Gap Body could then line its windows with said bottles and use them in their ads (the additional revenue wouldn’t hurt).  Unless they really don’t care, but Gap will soon be accused of green washing.   I believe the company does good things: project red and reforming its factories - but isn’t it easier to start small?  Hopefully some day the CSR effort will reach the window dressers, marketing team, and buyers.  Maybe, I can help them get there?