Shouldn’t you be thinking green by default already?
Posted by JLow on Aug 18, 2010
At the end of this article on green prison (yes even prisons are going green), there is a comment by a reader suggesting that “Environmental consideration should be given to every new structure so that awards for ecological excellence should no longer be necessary. Improvement of existing built stock should be more of an issue.”
And rightly so.
Thinking and going green should already be inculcated into our mindset and lifestyle. It should not be something that is deemed “extra effort”, that then warrants some form of recognition or award. This is of course textbook HR/people management. But isn’t climate change life-related? That the result of our (in)action will be enjoyed/suffered/to be inherited by our kids?
How would you encourage your workforce to adopt green office practises? Should internal procedures and policies start to reflect this corporate direction? Should HR start playing a role in bringing about “forced” behavioural change, by way of adherence to policies (or not), KPI’s of activities?
We could go the Chinese government way and cut power to those who are not abiding! (“China province cuts power to 500 factories“) But that would make us very unpopular!
~~~ Update ~~~
But then again, there are still efforts that really do require recognition and award: “Achievement: Leading government and industry to deliver a quieter, cleaner and more energy-efficient aviation system.“- found here: 2010 Finalist—Science and Environment Medal
Bins are operational!
Posted by JLow on Jul 26, 2010
Just a quick update of the setting up of bins.
Here are Corporate Safety, Security, Health and Environment division, our recycling bins are “operational”. Just added the final touches of labelling the bins, and we are already using and practising recycling.
Walking the talk
Posted by JLow on Jul 13, 2010
Now that the workshop is out of the way, everyone should be underway with their plans on setting up their own teams, looking into greening their own offices.
We too have started our own efforts at CSSHE department.
Lights out during lunch..
No more individual bins
All they need now are logos..
As you can see, we have started collecting the individual bins from the staff, and have also “volunteered” some help to put together these 3 bins, ready for waste (paper) collection. All they need now are proper labeling or stenciling.
How are your activities and efforts going?
Clever use of plastic bottle
Posted by JLow on Jul 2, 2010
I was circulated this chain-mail.
As such, I cannot properly credit the originator, or genius, who thought to cleverly “re-use” plastic bottles.
This chain-mail was written in Chinese. But I think you can figure this out by the photos.
First, snip at the neck of the bottle
Seal your unfinished foods, etc, with the cap
You can use the “body” of the bottle as a cheap pot for small plants or flowers, or your kids’ water container when they are painting 
MH Green Office
Posted by JLow on Jun 25, 2010
Did you know that for 1 tonne of computer waste (for eg, obsolete hardware that is thrown out), it took 20 tonnes of raw resources to manufacture them?
That was one of the facts that was shared by our partner Wild Asia.
Yesterday they assisted in conducting a workshop for staff from various Malaysia Airlines departments. The turnout was rather good- there was a good spread of participation from cargo, commercial, IT, the training academy staff; just to name a few. We covered the effects of not being green or practising conservation or looking at the 3R’s.
Participants in a game of self-introduction
We also looked at the simple ways that individuals can contribute, even in small ways. One such example was the Head of Group IT’s Business Solutions Group.
She had indeed made a pledge at the Townhall session, where she would stop using styrofoam products (I still have that pledge in the office!) True to her word, at her office she has since “mandated” that there would be no styrofoam cups for use in the pantry; where instead, she had replaced them with porcelain cups. If disposal cups are needed, it would have to be paper cups.
Good on you Suhana!
We also talked about how to get the rest of the department and company in on the conservation action. Ideas included staff incentives, competition, having conveniently located recycling bins, etc.
Sharing conservation tips
Not surprisingly though, the paramount concern shared by the participants is that there may not be (enough) support from management, particularly from HR and Property departments. I shared that, rightly so, management at the moment is more concerned with the EU ETS and the whole carbon (hedging) market. Such initiatives are on management’s radar, but just maybe not top priority.
Not saying that they would not participate, rather it is more of an issue of instilling and installing the proper policies and processes to support such activities. It has to come from the top.
It is therefore our task to bring this up to management’s attention. If we are serious in our journey towards sustainability, then this is the first of many steps.
At the end of the workshop, everyone was given a 3-month long “assignment”: To measure and monitor our water and electricity use, as well as the amount of garbage that is disposed.
It will be interesting to see what the figures are like, and also, how many will still be as keen on this journey as they were yesterday.
Reminders!
The sum of all parts
Posted by JLow on Jun 23, 2010
One of the visits on our recent IVLP trips was to find out and learn about what the top brains are researching into, with regards to aviation and the impact on the climate- MIT.
One of the presenters was Dr. Philippe Bonnefoy, who gave us both the scientific research findings as well as the business implications, or justifications of why the aviation industry has been doing all these decades.
I just wanted to show you some of the grabbing facts and figures that are quite daunting.
Historical and future trends
The sum of all aviation parts
I would like to draw your attention to the second slide above.
After being blown away at first glance of that formula, but taking the time to examine each part of the formula it started to make sense to us- it was a summation of all parts of the aviation industry.
If you cannot see it properly, what is written in blue, from left to right, are:
“Demand (passenger traffic)”;
“1/average load factor”;
“1/aircraft size (fleet mix)”;
“Empty mass”;
“Payload mass”;
“Flight range and speed”;
“Propulsion (spec. fuel consumption)”;
“Aerodynamics (drag/lift)”;
“Fuel properties (alternative fuels)”.
We were amazed and glad that such research measures and efforts are being undertaken by this most-developed country; in looking for ways of mitigating the impact of all of aviation’s activities.
* Note the reference to ICAT; which are MIT International Center for Air Transportation:
Logan Airport- wind and solar
Posted by JLow on Jun 13, 2010
Continuing the IVLP series, another highlight for me was the visit to Boston’s Logan Airport- particularly, their experiments with wind and solar energy for the airport’s use.
Massachusetts Port Authority- that manages sea- and air-ports
On the way there in the bus I did note these fans…
Fans on top of the building?
After the introductory presentations and meetings with the Massport officials on airport management, we were treated to a guided tour of their airport and the new terminal and facilities.
One of the highlights of the tour was their eagerness to experiment with alternative sources of electricity.
It was noted that they had also tried to harness wind energy for electricity, but somehow had stalled it whilst concentrating on harnessing that of solar. The joke was that those 6 fans from the above photo, had (only) managed to power a few PC’s!
And so with their focus on solar, this was what they had done, and done successfully insofar as achieving the power levels desired.
They call these the “solar trees”, and rightly so.
Solar trees on the carpark rooftop
A closer look at a solar tree
On the top deck of their multi-storey carpark, were these solar trees, all 3 rows of them, spanning the whole length of the building.
In our tropical Malaysia with year-round sunny days, with the right investments and attitudes towards conservation and alternative energy I believe this is an example that we ought to follow, for all types of buildings and administration. And I don’t mean small panels for token’s sake. To really harness solar energy for real use in buildings, dedicated budgets and physical space must be allocated for real returns- not just enough for powering a few PC’s!
If serious considerations are given, I believe we too can emulate such an initiative and set examples for other locals to follow.
