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Blog Entry #6

I actually haven't been using AWorld since I first checked it at the start of the trimester, unfortunately. However, I would like to emphasize that this doesn't mean the app didn't have an impact on my awareness and efforts going forward. I was rather aligned in my carbon footprint compared to the global average, which means that as far as my actual reductive efforts are concerned, there's plenty of benefit to be gained for relatively little sacrifice from my end.

This course has reinforced in me that I simply am waiting too long for someone else to offer a solution. We discussed at the start of the trimester that the high-impact efforts have to come from greater bodies such as mega corporations, but I know now this isn't meant to be an excuse for the individual to lose motivation to make an effort. The point of making these individual efforts is the message it sends to such influential agents that environmental concerns are ones that the public will openly be uncompromising over.

Regarding it from the context of a business operation, I lack the necessary knowledge and insight to provide a reasonable perspective on existing enterprises. It's clear they should be making transformative efforts, but the scale and manner of which are so contextual to the nature of the business.

However, for any aspiring entrepreneurs, the challenge they face in implementing sustainability strategies is underlaid by the sheer cost of it: It takes money to be sustainable. And because of this, these entrepreneurs will need to develop more efficient cost-saving strategies and ensure that their unique value proposition for an enterprise is highly scalable if they want better odds of surviving in the long-term.

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Blog Entry #5

Originally, our group had approached Coco Craze as the choice for a sustainable company, during a bazaar at DLSU. Their comprehensive and innovative use of coconut parts and commitment to involving the local community was highly admirable and applicable for Aim2Flourish. Due to complications, we had to switch and found Jaune Pearls, a family company of an old friend of a group member. Once again a respectable company that, by the nature of its industry, champions environmental preservation. Their sustainability initiatives were promising as well, but not yet fully implemented in their current model of operations which caused discouragement among us. Eventually, I realized that we had another option available: my own company, Asmara Inc.

While this may seem biased, I do firmly believe that Asmara Inc. is creating a positive impact, especially in its environment of high-class standards and international luxury. The company provides spa operation and concessionaire services to five-star properties across the Philippines. Our positive impact is we exclusively hire non-college graduates (sometimes not even high school graduates) as our massage therapists. Additionally, all our massage therapists are exclusively female. These are often life-changing opportunities for them, as their job prospects are never to work in an environment with this level of glamour or range of compensation. We do this because we firmly believe that talent and the right attitude are the only key components needed to succeed in high-end performance, as education and skills can always be provided later on.

I've always been proud of my company for how we achieve what we do. It allowed me to mature with a perspective on business operations that was centered around good values and respectable practice. Aside from the fact that I'll be continuing this practice when I eventually take command of the company, it inspired me to commit myself firmly to the same mindset on the political aspect as a civilian. I will always be a strong advocate for providing opportunities to the disenfranchised: there is an endless pool of talent, dedication, and humility amongst people who have unfortunately struggled their whole lives, and the more frequently we try to provide opportunities to these disenfranchised, the more lives we can save while raising the standards of quality across various industries rather than continuing a cycle of privilege begetting privilege.

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Blog Entry #4

I think that the contention over climate change is a silly discussion, since there's no contention to the fact that human beings are accelerating the process at a dangerous pace. The history of Ice Ages and global droughts are proof that climate change is a natural process of the world, but the rate it's progressing at and the rapidity of species' death is also proof that human beings are exacerbating it with global warming. It's not a bias or a conspiracy, it's basic logic and science.

To my mind, this is a natural consequence of our technological development. What's horrifying is how we now have improved and alternative technologies that achieve the same outcomes without the harmful side effects, and we haven't yet come together as a species in order to implement these technologies globally. While I do believe that the true impact on climate change will always come from efforts of mega corporations and governments, on an individual level there is a significant impact that can be achieved through cooperation, to transform our effort into a class action that influences those parties.

Behavioral design is key, potentially through an application of political consumerism. If we use this to influence behavioral change in large corporations for example, since the loss in profits from boycotting would trigger their attention, then we can direct those corporations into directions of sustainability through regaining their users and profits when they do so. Essentially, the use of both positive and negative reinforcement as aspects of behavioral design can be used to shift larger powers into the direction of sustainability.

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Blog Entry #3

When I was young boy, maybe 11 or 12 years old, I would often go out for a late afternoon walk in my near-empty subdivision. I live somewhat high up in elevation so from October to February, the amihan winds were quite cold. I remember lying down on the road in the dead-end of our home during one of these days and staring at the clouds shifting and drifting for about an hour. It was one of the most tranquil, wonderful afternoons I'd ever spent.

When I drove home last weekend from Taft, I had left at around 7 AM. I dropped my girlfriend off at her house and then continued on. I got home at 10 AM and this was the first thing I saw when I parked and stepped out of my car. The picture doesn't capture it, but the wind was blowing nicely. In that moment, I remembered the experience I wrote above and felt wonderful. It was especially nice after a full week in the city.

I think that, aside from my positive memories in youth, I've always appreciated how wonderful the natural world is. Sure, I enjoy plenty of the technologies we've created up to this point. But there's something enchanting every time I see how bright of a green trees and grass can be, and how piercingly bright a blue sky is. And every time I'm away from it, even just thinking about it can put a smile on my face.

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Blog Entry #2

It's always hard to open yourself up to people, no matter who they are to you. Acquaintances, colleagues, friends, even family can be a challenge to share your dreams and passions with. Talking about my short and long term goals with my father's spa company was a vulnerable experience because my long term goal is rather lofty. However, I told myself that at least it would be shared with people taking the same degree program as me so they probably know what it's like to have a similar level of goals. I felt very privileged to be able to ask questions and get honest answers about such an important and private set of topics from people who I'm not overly close with.

Appreciative Inquiry does a great job of making you feel like your answers matter. It creates a sense of importance placed upon you, the one being questioned, and the value that people put on your thoughts. It's definitely uncomfortable to some extent because most people don't get approached on their aspirations with the kind of passion or interest that AI-type questions exude, but it's not a negative feeling at all.

The effect that Appreciative Inquiry has on the one being asked is notable enough that I feel it could serve as a powerful motivator agent in encouraging and bringing attention to sustainability-centered trendsetters. It also faces a strong future in sustainable HR management as a means of improving management-employee relations, and opening up channels of trust and honesty between the two parties for more holistic resolutions to conflicts. Overall, Appreciative Inquiry is the necessary tone for the mindset we should be viewing sustainability management in.

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Blog Entry #1

Sustainability to my mind is the feasible continuation of something in the long-term. This applies to multiple aspects of living, and is applicable in both personal and professional perspectives. Even in my own field of expertise, as a licensed health and fitness personal trainer, sustainable living has been defined as a non-violent change in lifestyle for the better. Therefore, when discussing sustainable living in the context of environmental impact, the way I understand it is the substitution of unsustainable factors of life with sustainable alternatives and not simply the removal of the former.

My annual carbon footprint is 4.75 tons of CO2 emissions. This is still notably below the global average (6.3 tons per person, according to the UN's latest available data on individual emissions) however I do believe that despite the relative lowness, I am not optimizing my ability to live a sustainable lifestyle. Part of the reason it's as high as it is has been compounded by external obstacles: my subdivision disallowed the installation of solar panels when we constructed our home in 2009, as an example. That's years of potential energy savings we were barred from achieving. However, I am actively watching for other facets of change. Impossible Meats for my eating habits, developments in our public transport system to minimize my need for our diesel-powered car, and so on.

I'm eagerly awaiting these in order to further immerse myself in a more sustainable way of living. I already have small daily life habits that contribute to it (stairs instead of elevator up to 8 floor differences, lights always off when unneeded, minimize A/C usage, never leave loose water dripping, zero food waste through fridge management, etc.) and I'm definitely agreeable to more impactful changes as the alternatives become readily available. I don't believe in making the changes without the alternatives, as that living experience does grate on a person's state of mind and could potentially negatively affect your ability to maintain a mindset of continually lessening your carbon footprint and improving your sustainability. If individuals collectively have a notable impact, then our small actions collectively have a notable weight.