Exercises, chapter 8

Analysis assignments 8.1. Your own climate Write an essay of 500 to 1,000 words in which you explain what climate change means for the country in which you live. You can limit yourself to information found in this chapter or you can seek out other information. Before starting, focus on a specific target group that fits in with your current or future situation as either a professional or an individual. Your target group could, for example, be: municipal officials, corporate managers, politicians, technical designers, artists, or children in a given primary school or senior secondary school grade. You could also use your neighbours, parents or your children as a target group. You can also vary the assignment by selecting a different topic in this chapter. 8.2. Stakeholder analysis One of the companies discussed in one of the cases was Pizza Fusion. A number of their stakeholders can be discovered from the passage – find them. Which other stakeholders could they have? 8.3. Professional competences Case 8.12 deals with an email exchange within the imaginary company, BackelBioChem. In order to respond properly to this email, you will have to have a great many of the competences listed in table 8.4. A few of these are named immediately after the case. Try to come up with as many others as possible, and explain why those competences are required in the given situation.

Numerical assignments 8.4. Weighing up Weighing up those things you cannot weigh up – an important professional skill in the field of sustainable development. In this exercise you can practice this task by designing a simple product, a stretcher. This can be done using the programme called ‘EPU.exe’, which can be downloaded from the website of the book. ‘EPU’ stands for ‘Environmental Pollution Unit’, an imaginary unit that is comparable to eco points. In designing the stretcher, you will have to weigh up the choice of a number of technical and financial requirements, as well as the effect the production and dismantling of the stretcher will have on the horizon. a. Launch the programme and read the

‘Introduction’. b. Study the possible connections listed

under the tab ‘Connections’. c. Design a stretcher that complies with

all the technical and financial requirements, and that causes as little environmental damage as possible.

d. Now read the passage under the ‘Optimisation’ tab. Select a value for the four weighting factors a, b, c and d. Explain in your report why you have selected these values.

e. Now work out what the ‘optimal’ stretcher would be, one that complies with all the requirements and causes the least possible ‘strain’.

8.5. Expanding a factory A factory is located in a rural area, which contains some pretty heavy machinery that can generate a total capacity of 200 kW. Together they make quite some noise, which can be heard in the area surrounding the factory – up to 1,000 meters away, where the closest suburbs of a nearby town are located. When the factory is running at full steam, the volume in the suburb is at 30 dB. This is not yet an issue, given that local environmental laws state that the maximum industrial noise levels in suburbs can reach up to 36 dB.

However, the company is looking to expand its operations, and wants to install new machinery so that it can increase production. This plan will see the total machine capacity reaching 500 kW. But just as the plans were finalised it was announced that the zoning plan for the surrounding area was to be amended and that a new suburb would be built, bringing the closest house up to 600 meters from the factory. Do you think the company will still receive permission for the planned extension, given the environmental laws for noise levels? 8.6. The accidental discharge A PVC factory has a permit to discharge wastewater into a nearby river. Full use is made of this permit, and on a given summer’s day they discharge wastewater at a rate of 4,000 litres a minute.

The wastewaters quality is regularly measured, which is why alarm bells quickly rang out when, at 12:31, it was noticed that a dissolved substance was present in the water, which was highly poisonous and should under no circumstances be released into the surface waters. The substance is called methylmercury – its scientific name is hydroxy(1-methylethyl)mercury(II), for short: C3OHgH8 – and its concentration levels in the discharge pipeline stood at three ppm (parts per million).

The chemical has a notorious recent history and is highly toxic, with an LD50 value of 1 ppm (LD50 stands for ‘Lethal Dose 50%’, the concentration level at which 50 percent of sufferers die). Some decades ago methylmercury was discharged into the surface waters of the town of Minamata in Japan, with the locals consuming the fish caught in these waters. What came to be known as Minamata disease claimed many human lives. (The photo – by STA3816 on Wikimedia Commons – shows a memorial: the ‘Minamata Disease Cenotaph’.)

Immediately after the alarm was sounded, employees attempted to shut the valve. This is not a small and simple tap but rather a large and very heavy gate valve. At 12:38 the closing disc started moving, initially moved slowly as it is so heavy. The large part of the shut-off operation after that went relatively quickly, although towards the end work slowed as the wastepipe could burst open if the disc was forced shut too fast. By 12:43 it was completely sealed.

H C C O Hg C

H H H

H H H

H

The molecular structure of methylmercury

The form of the outflow that occurred while staff was busy closing the valve resembles a section of a sine graph; see the figure to the right. a. What is the minimum amount, in grams, of the

poisonous chemical that was discharged into the environment?

b. And what about the maximum amount? c. What actions might have been undertaken

between 12:31 and 13:38? d. If you were the company manager, what would you

have instructed the company’s press secretary to say?

Research assignments 8.7. The ecological rucksack of a can of cola Figure 8.5 in the book shows the ‘rucksack’ of a can of cola. However, the diagram is a highly simplified one, given that it does not include many of its branches. For example, it does not show where the ink comes from that is used to print the label. a. Provide an overview of the branches that are absent. Use a diagram to show them. b. Roughly estimate the extent to which the diagram’s complexity would increase if all the missing branches

were included in full. c. Research a few of these missing branches, thus adding to the diagram. 8.8. Reason to exist a. Call on a company (either physically or by phone or email) and ask to speak to one of the managers. Try to

uncover during your interview why the company exists. b. Find out whether that person, or another person, can tell you what society may still gain from the

company in 25 years time. 8.9. Personal competences For this exercise use the spreadsheet ‘Personal competence score.xls’, which can be downloaded from the website of the book. a. Score your own personal competence at that time for each of the items in the spreadsheet. b. Determine your priorities, which entails identifying which of your competences you believe will require the

most work in the near future. c. Present your scores and your priorities to another person, and ask them to give you a substantiated

response. You could select a person who knows you well – a fellow student, a lecturer, friend or family member. You can also discuss your scores and priorities, as well as those of others, in a group.

8.10. The Disha project Watch the video ‘Disha’, which you can find on the website of the book. a. Find out which persons, organisations, companies and NGOs are

involved in the Disha project. b. Conduct a stakeholder analysis of the Disha project (the

stakeholders you analyse do not necessarily have to be identical to the persons, organisations, companies and NGOs in question a). Detail what the stakeholder value of the project is for each of the stakeholders.

c. Study the video, keeping in mind the fact that it is not solely meant for the purpose of providing objective information but is also a PR project. Amongst other things, take note of the following aspects: 1) What sustainability issues is the Disha project endeavouring to tackle? 2) To what extent has the project also been launched for commercial motives? 3) Could the Disha project be considered as an example of a public-private partnership, comparable to

the Allanblackia initiative? From the point of view of this type of partnership, outline what you believe to be the strong and weak points of the project.

4) How innovative is the Disha project?

The outflow of wastewater as a function of time

5) How future-oriented is the project? d. What are your conclusions – does the Disha project contribute to sustainable development?

Debating assignments 8.11. Professions and sectors under threat Add at least three professions and sectors to each of the categories in table 8.3. Discuss whether these do indeed belong in the table, and also discuss the question of whether you consider each of the listings in table 8.3 to be true. 8.12. Oath a. Compose a text, either on your own or in a group, for an oath that you might take once you graduate to

act sustainably as a professional throughout your career. By way of preparation, study the oath in section 8.5.

b. Decide whether you will actually take this oath in real life. 8.13. Legacy In an exciting novel by Andreas Eschbach, ‘One Trillion Dollars’ (‘Eine Billion Dollar', 2003), a young man unexpectedly inherits a trillion US dollars ($1,000,000,000,000). Over the course of the novel the man tries, through a process of trial and error, to work out how he can use the money to support sustainable development. What would you do with a trillion dollars? 8.14. Innovations First read the ‘Additional material’ that is part of chapter 6 (!): ‘Innovations, transitions and backcasting’, which can be found on the website of the book. Table 1 in this ‘Additional material’ of chapter 6 contains examples of innovations at three different levels. The table below provides a few additional examples, but it is still incomplete. Complete the table, allowing your imagination to roam free.

Examples of innovations at three levels

Subject Product improvement Product innovation System innovation

Nutrition Cookies containing 30% less calories

Relaxation Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games

Waste processing Separating domestic waste into glass, biodegradable waste, etc.

…

…

Problem-based learning assignments 8.15. Green bacilli Imagine that you were Ralph, working for BackelBioChem (see case 8.12). 8.16. Providing for old age The company Coppernole Ltd has a staff of 20, four of which are university graduates. The company is highly specialised, and only manufactures fuel-injection systems for petrol engines. Its customers include a handful of automobile factories such as Mercedes and Ford. Coppernole is struggling to make a profit, with the car-parts industry being highly competitive and the profit per product sold being just enough for it to survive.

The company is fully owned by Mr C.J. Coppernole, who is 49 years old, having launched the company himself 27 years ago. Mr Coppernole has resolved to retire at the age of 62 and, in order to provide well for his old age, he is planning to sell the company when he retires, allowing him to live off the proceeds in some degree of luxury in the south of California. 8.17. Gagnon Foods

8.18. New staff “In just four months Ambers and Brymmon will both be retiring, and that has created quite some problems! I could employ four young graduates for the same money I pay both of them. What should I do? Wait a second; I’ve got a better idea! Instead of employing four people full-time, it’s much better to get some part-time workers, which means I can bring even more than four people onboard without spending more on salaries. And if I ensure that at least a few of them also work for other companies, I can make some great contacts! If I do that, I can finally really come to grips with the task we have been set in our research division. And about time too! Our newly-merged company, Philecea, has already been around for two years. I still remember the merger well, back in 2023. It was a nice task too, the one we were given. ‘Design a commercially usable package of services for all the furnishings of a house, which fits in with the ZERH programme. Our clients are the elderly people themselves, the housing associations and similar bodies’. Yeah, it’s a great job, but I simply don’t have the proper staff to complete it. ZERH, you don’t know it? It stands for ‘Zero-Energy Retirement Homes’, a government programme that is intended to eliminate the need for the large-scale retirement complexes in the UK within five years. Of course, the authorities had no choice in the matter, thanks to the European legislation for the rights of elderly people. And don’t forget how big our aging population is! It’s not going to be cheap – thanks to us, if you know what I mean! And then of course there is the 2019 European directive that all houses must be net zero-energy. And once Ambers and Brymmon are gone, aside from myself there will only be two other employees in the division: Peters and Ahimuro. They’re both interior decorators, while I’m a manager, an MBA graduate. So, I ask you once again, what should I do? I think I’ll compose a few job advertisements, or maybe I should consider my options carefully before starting on that.”

To Mr Anderson,

Manager of Gagnon Foods

Dear Mr Anderson,

I am employed in your Packaging Department, but maybe not for much longer, as I fear you will soon fire me. This is because I

believe your plans will never work for this company.

I’m well aware, Mr Anderson, that five years ago you promised that within five years (i.e. now) you would have gotten rid of child

labour in our factory in Rajasthan (India). Those children who have to work so hard for you are facing a terrible fate. Five years

ago the company was doing a roaring trade, and so it was easy to promise something like this.

But last year things started to go belly-up, and you had to dismiss 20 of my fellow workers. I’m pretty sure we were already on the

brink of bankruptcy then. Five years ago you also promised that we would stop buying rice in Rajasthan within five years time,

given they were using poisons to get rid of the insects, which is bad for the environment. Just last month you explained in the

Gagnon newsletter ‘Rice and Goulash’ that it might cost the company money, but we had to do it, because it was a socially

responsible business practice, and we had to focus on corporate social responsibility. But now I want to ask you: how

responsible was this move, when you now have to fire so many people – people like me? Surely you cannot do that?

I naturally understand that the children in Rajasthan are very young to be working for Gagnon, especially if – as you say – they

are only eight years old. But if you fire them and instead employ a group of adults, the latter lot will certainly be more expensive!

Can you cover those additional costs? I don’t think so!!!

Mr Anderson, I am now 50 years old and I have worked for your company for 32 years, worked hard, I must add. If I am fired now

I’ll never find another job – I could hit rock-bottom and may even start drinking. My wife spends the whole day crying, because

she is so afraid... she says we should phone somebody at the newspaper or television news. I think that may be a good idea.

Please, Mr Anderson, don’t fire those kids in India. And the rice with the stuff to kill bugs, we’ve been selling it for at least 50 years,

so why would our customers want to change? There’s no reason to suddenly stop selling it! Please save me, because I’ll be out

of options if I were to lose my job.

Your faithful employee, John Howard

Project assignments 8.19. Sustainable production Watch the video ‘The ecology of wine’, which can be found on the website of the book.

Find an existing nearby production company – it could be an agricultural one or an industrial one, a factory, or a construction company. Whatever it is, it must be a company that produces a tangible product. Ask if the company will help you with the project, and reach clear written agreements in respect of the degree of confidentiality you will maintain when it comes to the results and outcomes of the project. Chart all the sustainability aspects of the company, using the three P’s for your methodology. Amongst other things, examine the degree to which the company complies with environmental legislation and other laws, or whether it even exceeds them; the energy consumption levels; the present stakeholder value and the stakeholder value that can be expected in a decade or two; the HR policy; the degree to which the products are innovative and sustainable; the company’s investment policy; the company’s social activities. 8.20. The DSR standard Select a number of real companies and download their most recent annual reports. If they are separately available, also download their annual social, environmental or sustainability reports as well as others that might contain current information on the operations, investments and results of the companies. Use table 8.1 in the book in determining how sustainable these companies are, on the basis of the documentation you have found. If you have insufficient information for certain aspects, try to find other ways of completing the table. You could phone the relevant departments or request information from the Chamber of Commerce, the stock exchange or other bodies. For those areas where you are still unable to obtain information, insert a question mark. Use a clearly formulated and unambiguous methodology to create a ranking (‘benchmark’) for the companies you investigated and the degree to which they are sustainable.

8.21. The rucksack of a health sandwich Try and determine what the rucksack of a healthy sandwich might contain, including the transparent wrapper and the paper serviettes. Use a diagram, like the one in figure 8.5 in the book, to illustrate your results.

8.22. RESFIA+D, professional competences for sustainable development First read the additional material ‘RESFIA+D, competences for sustainable development’, which can be found on the website of the book. It is recommended that you only do this assignment once you are reasonably familiar with the book ‘Fundamentals of Sustainable Development’, as the assignment is part of an organic and powerful conclusion to the book. Moreover, it is also recommended that you do not do the assignment alone, but together in a group of fellow students, each completing it with a lecturer or course leader supervising. This will give you the opportunity to compare any ideas, plans and conclusions you come up with. For students: From the same website, download the spreadsheet titled ‘RESFIA+D for students’. There are a number of fields shaded white in the spreadsheet, which are the only editable fields. Once you have filled in enough fields, the results will automatically appear in other (non-white) fields. Go through the 3x6 competences, dealing with each in turn. You will find them on six consecutive worksheets, each with its own tab called ‘R’ till ‘A’. Then do the following for each competence: a. Determine your ambition, the competence level in respect of sustainability you wish to achieve once the

course is completed – once you have graduated. State your selection as a figure between 1 and 4. b. Determine your present situation, your present competence level in respect of sustainability. c. Estimate what you expect your situation upon graduating to be, your presumable level of competence in

respect of sustainability if you simply follow the curriculum and do not do anything extra. You might need your lecturer or course leader to help you with this.

d. Compare your responses and check if you are satisfied with them. If not, then see whether a possible additional action should, in your opinion, have a high priority. If this is indeed the case, place a ‘1’ in the ‘priority’ field.

e. If you feel the need to, provide explanations in the ‘Remarks’ fields. f. Next, go to the worksheet called ‘+D’. Define a number of competences that are appropriate for your own

discipline. Next, treat this table just as you did the other ones. g. Once you have dealt with all the competences, count how many priorities you selected. If you selected

more than four or five, it could be that you are being slightly too ambitious in your endeavours, making them difficult or unfeasible to achieve. Consider reducing the number of priorities, and discuss your results with fellow students or with your lecturer or course leader.

For professionals: From the same website, download the spreadsheet titled ‘RESFIA+D for professionals’. Use this to do the tasks a till g that are described above.

Film assignments 8.23. Feature films and documentaries Watch one of the following, preferably with others in your class:

Thank You for Smoking (2005), a satirical feature film directed by Jason Reitman in which the lead character struggles with ethical dilemmas because he doesn’t want his son to know he works for the tobacco industry

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), documentary by Alex Gibney on the collapse of one of the biggest companies in the United States due to corruption and mismanagement

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009), documentary in which the filmmaker Michael Moore portrays, in the provocative style he is known for, the impact that major companies have on the lives of individuals

Read the reviews and other comments. Discuss the film. 8.24. Make your own video Watch the video ‘Turning waste into resources’, which you can find on the website of the book.

Make your own short film in which you show how waste generated by your own educational institute is processed. Show how the waste is produced, collected, separated and removed, amongst other things. Also show how it is processed offsite – whether that is in a recycling company, incinerator or on a landfill site. To what extent are the cycles closed? Has work been done to curtail the quantity of waste produced, and are opportunities being missed out on? Use the film as a starting point for a discussion with your institution’s administration or the waste department’s management. Should you be very happy with your video, then submit it to the above website. Who knows, maybe your film, along with your name, will be placed on the website so that all users can view it. If you decide to do this, do make sure that you hold full copyright, including for any music, photos or anything else used.