Solutions for Green Careers

Global Sustainability

As the global conversation on sustainability heats up, this quarter's survey examined what steps companies are taking to become more environmentally responsible, and why they may be taking them.

• The most frequent "green" action among respondents' companies is reducing energy consumption in company facilities (48%).
  
• This was followed by reducing waste in production and packaging (30%) and promoting incentives and initiatives encouraging customers to be "greener" (21%).
  
• Least popular initiatives were reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from factories and plants (6%),
  
• Supporting legislation on environmental issues (7%)

Spur Innovation, Yes.  Regulate Abuses ... no.

While few are actively supporting legislation on environmental issues, sentiment toward governmental regulation of environmental responsibility is split among CFOs. Though nearly half (49%) believe regulation a bad response, more than one-third (37%) support government incentives to spur innovation, 14 percent support limits on emissions, and 9 percent support cap and trade and other financial incentives.

28% of Companies are Doing NOTHING

Perhaps disappointingly, 28 percent of CFOs indicated that their companies are not taking any actions to make their companies more sustainable. With regard to those companies who are taking actions, the survey revealed a number of motivators.

Cost Efficiencies Main Driver

More than one-third cited cost efficiencies as the main driver, 31 percent refer to personal priorities of their leadership as the cause, 29 percent say enhancement of public perception is the reason, and 24 percent point to a desire to emerge as a committed leader in the industry.

Additional Findings:

Other topics examined in this quarter's survey included International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), CFOs' perceptions of Barack Obama's presidency nearly one year after his inauguration, and the impact of the SEC's enhanced disclosures on risk, compensation and corporate governance in annual reports. With regard to IFRS, an overwhelming majority of CFOs (80%) are confident that IFRS will be adopted, but do not know when. CFOs' perceptions of President Obama remain low, with 64 percent reporting their U.S. economic outlook has weakened since he took office.

Full survey results and historical data comparisons are available at www.cfosurveys.com or from Nicole Madison at Nicole.Madison@fd.com. The study is also available online at the Financial Executives Research Foundation bookstore and on the Baruch College home page at www.baruch.cuny.edu.

CFOs looking toward 2010 anticipate positive increases in a number of areas. Key areas of expected increases include:

• Net earnings expected to rise by 22 percent (more than double anticipated Q3 mean increase of 11%)
• Revenue anticipated to grow by 10 percent
• Capital spending expected to grow by 8.9% (compared with an increase of 1.1% in Q3)
• Technology spending anticipated to increase by 6.1 percent
• Inventory anticipated to increase by 2.5 percent (compared with Q3, where CFOs predicted reductions of -1.9%)
• Hiring expected to grow by 2.9 percent (up from 1.7% in Q3)
• Price of products expected to grow by 1.13 percent (up from the Q3 projected increase of 0.7%)

When CFOs were asked this quarter to identify areas for increases in 2010, marketing and advertising and business acquisitions were also top of mind, with 39 percent of CFOs planning to increase marketing and advertising and 33 percent of CFOs planning increases in business acquisitions. In addition, while 37 percent of CFOs reported they will cutback on executive perks, a small number of respondents remain (4%) who plan to increase executive perks in the coming year.

Efficiency is the New Norm

"The return to a place where CFOs are anticipating increased earnings and revenue provides encouragement that those companies that have endured the downturn are ready to come back strong," said Marie Hollein, CEO and President, Financial Executives International. "As far as the new normal is concerned, efficiency is the name of the game."

When asked what their organizations would continue to do as they begin to emerge from the recession, nearly nine out of ten CFOs reported that they would continue process efficiencies put into place during the downturn.

Two-thirds (66%) said they will continue technological efficiencies, and one-third (34%) plan to continue the restructuring of their business.

CFOs Taking Steps to Be "Greener" but Debate Continues Over Regulation

As the global conversation on sustainability heats up, this quarter's survey examined what steps companies are taking to become more environmentally responsible, and why they may be taking them.

The most frequent "green" action among respondents' companies is

• reducing energy consumption in company facilities (48%).
  

This was followed by

• reducing waste in production and packaging (30%)
  

promoting incentives and initiatives encouraging customers to be "greener" (21%).

Least popular initiatives were reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from factories and plants (6%), and supporting legislation on environmental issues (7%).

Support of Environmental Legislation is Split

While few are actively supporting legislation on environmental issues, sentiment toward governmental regulation of environmental responsibility is split among CFOs.

49% believe regulation a bad response,

37% support government incentives to spur innovation,

14 percent support limits on emissions,

9 percent support cap and trade and other financial incentives.

Perhaps disappointingly, 28 percent of CFOs indicated that their companies are not taking any actions to make their companies more sustainable. With regard to those companies who are taking actions, the survey revealed a number of motivators. More than one-third cited cost efficiencies as the main driver, 31 percent refer to personal priorities of their leadership as the cause, 29 percent say enhancement of public perception is the reason, and 24 percent point to a desire to emerge as a committed leader in the industry.

More than 1.2 million students and professors nationwide are now using McGraw-Hill Connect - an advanced all-digital teaching and learning exchange for higher education.

Customize Instruction, And Engage Online

Since the online platform was introduced last fall, colleges and universities across the country have embraced this 21st century learning tool, which enables professors to easily customize instruction and allows students to master content and succeed in courses.

With Connect, students are now engaged with course content outside the classroom - from wherever they are and from whichever device they use to access the Internet. In fact, a recent survey of Connect users shows that more than 90 percent of students access Connect frequently at home or in their dorm rooms, helping them remain engaged with class content throughout the day, week and semester.

With this increased access to course content, nearly 3/4ths of the students using Connect feel better prepared for exams and assignments, according to a McGraw-Hill research study.

"Connect is an extremely effective and powerful tool for 21st century teaching and learning," said Ed Stanford, president, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. "We're very pleased that Connect is yielding excellent results in college classrooms across the country, enhancing faculty productivity and driving greater student achievement."

Instructors and students cite key benefits of Connect:

• quality of content,
  
• ease of use,
  
• integration with text,
  
• the ability to reinforce classroom material 24-7
  

Of the professors surveyed by McGraw-Hill, 80 percent stated that they are using Connect to improve student learning and retention.  

Surveyed students said that Connect helps

• reinforce classroom concepts through practice tests and quizzes,
  
• prepare them for success on assignments and exams,
  
• master course content.
  

"Connect is a great product, and now I cannot imagine teaching my class without it. My students like the feedback and the practice they get from doing the homework," said Jerri Buiting, Professor of Marketing at Baker College in Flint, Mich. "Connect really helps keep my students engaged."

26 academic disciplines

Connect currently covers 26 academic disciplines and about 15 more will be added this year. To view more information about Connect, visit www.mcgrawhillconnect.com.

About McGraw-Hill Higher Education:

McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, is a provider of teaching and learning solutions for 21st century post-secondary and higher education markets worldwide. Through a comprehensive range of traditional and digital education content and tools, McGraw-Hill Higher Education empowers educators and prepares professionals and students of all ages to connect, learn and succeed in the global economy. McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP) , has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

Source: McGraw-Hill Higher Education; McGraw-Hill Connect

Violence isn't green, isn't sustainbale... and certainly not part of a sustainable community.  But dealing with the potential for violence is a sustainability issue.

"... an Army psychiatrist apparently went on a shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 27 wounded at the Fort Hood army post where he worked.

" An engineer who was dismissed for poor performance two years ago allegedly returned to his former workplace in  Florida and shot and killed one person while wounding five others."

Policies and procedures that ignore anxiety producing workplace issues aren't "best practices" for an organization.

Take a look at your HR policies and procedures and look for abusive loopholes that allow ineffective or corrupt activities to fester or thrive. 

What's NOT there can be an even greater impact than what's THERE.

• Are there ways to report abusive behaviors?
• Are there methods to negotiate conflicts?
• Is training available for non-violent conflict resolution?
• Is there a way to identify and handle employees or customers with mental health problems?
• How is a healthy, sustainable organization visualized for your organization?  Is that ideal spread through the entire group, and encouraged and rewarded when progress is made?

Policies that prevent violence get down to the basic question, "Do you care about your people and their real world problems and needs?"

If you do, you will take the time to find preventive solutions that foster good workplace relationships.  If you don't ... well, you don't belong in a free enterprise environment.  Good citizenship starts with caring about your fellowman...and your community.  Business is about more than money ... it's about being a valued member of productivity that fosters LIFE.

Commenting on the Yale University case, Richard Denenberg, author of the book The Violence-Prone Workplace, said in an interview with Workforce Management that "each workplace should have an intervention system and a system to report untoward incidence or chronic conflict so a conflict can be interdicted."

The USA needs more local job training shops stocked with machine tools.

Some high schools and community colleges currently have woodworking and auto mechanic shops that are open for continuing adult education, as well as student vocational education.

But product fabrication facilities is a new idea that is making progress.  High tech approaches to sensors, controllers, photovoltaics, LED lighting, etc. could spur advancement of innovation, as well as prepare the workforce for these cutting edge jobs.

CNC equipment like mills and lathes and a variety of other advanced tools and processes including biotech systems are needed to prepare people for the current revolution in manufacturing.

These shops might be seen as public extensions of local schools, essentially turning the shops of public schools into a public library of tools.

A few variations on this concept have been developed
Men's Shed,  http://www.mensshed.org/
FabLab,   http://fab.cba.mit.edu/
TechShop,  http://techshop.ws/
100KGarages,  http://100kgarages.com/

And books like David Morris' "Neighborhood Power: The New Localism" propose similar approached to distributed technical education.

A related article is "The Case for Working With Your Hands":
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html

Note from the Australian Men's Shed Association:  "Communities are keen to provide activities, identity and meaning for vast numbers of older, unemployed, job-redundant, 'downsized', isolated, depressed and happily retired, active, creative, enthusiastic men. Men's Sheds are fast being recognized as vital, viable places to fulfill these needs and provide relaxed, happy creative spaces for men to enjoy."

How can we strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness by making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative?

Participate!

Open Government Dialogue is a website by the National Academy of Public Administration that opens idea contribution to the public.  Read...and share your ideas at: http://opengov.ideascale.com/

Categories include Transparency, Participation, Collaboration, Capacity Building, and Legal & Policy Challenges.

On January 21st, the President issued the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, calling for an unprecedented level of openness in government. In the memorandum, the President outlined three principles for promoting a transparent and open government: transparency, participation, and collaboration. Now, the President is calling on you to help shape how that commitment is fulfilled. This online brainstorming session, open from May 21st to 28th, 2009, will enable the White House to hear your most important ideas relating to open government.

This platform allows you to submit ideas, discuss and refine others' ideas, and vote the best ones to the top. We are seeking innovative approaches to policy, specific project suggestions, government-wide or agency-specific instructions, and any relevant examples and stories relating to law, policy, technology, culture, or practice. The National Academy of Public Administration, a Congressionally chartered, non-profit, non-partisan institution, is hosting this brainstorming session on behalf of the White House.

 

Change is just opportunity... vanguard companies change with the times and those times are changing the way business is being done. New strategies market to different markets. People are working differently.

People have two business missions: do your job well and save the world at the same time.

30% of IBM employees don't work in their offices anymore. What happens to your work community in this workforce?

Every change we make requires a lot of other adjustments. Collaboration. Networks. Become connected. Get to know what people know, what they care about, what their skills are.

This new report by the National Academies is broad, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary to see how the rapidly developing tehcnologies and masses of data can be merged to address the four key challenges ahead of us:

• Climate
• Food
• Energy
• Health

  What's different is the scale of the challenges and problems facing us, as well as the collaboration in a multi-faceted world. The report is also downloadable for free.

  PDF Summary
  Download executive summary in PDF.
  
  Report In Brief
  Download report in brief in PDF.
  
  Full Text
  Jump to this book's table of contents to begin reading online for free.
  
  

Sustainable homes are about making a living with your work...at home.  I grew up on a similar kind of home.  We farmed 20 acres and supported an extended family of grandparent(s), parents and six children. 

This story touches me deeply because it is about a treasure so fleeting and so powerful... and it is coming back into style after a very long hiatus.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell congratulated three California public schools selected by a joint project of the California Consortium for Independent Study and the California Department of Education to receive the Exemplary Independent Study Recognition Award (EISRA).