Grades of Green’s Post

I am pleased to report that the second year of the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact (https://lnkd.in/gkSWnDiF) is well under way at Western Michigan University (WMU). The Challenge is an experience-driven problem-solving and learning competition. Self-selected teams of 4 students each are working on a solution to a problem of their choice embedded in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Next April they will present their work to an external panel that will select the winners of first, second and third prizes. The first prize team will take home $10,000 to be split evenly among team members. Second and third place teams will receive $6,000 and $3,000 respectively. Winnings may be used for any purpose ranging from educational expenses to a vacation. Funding for the prizes comes from $5,000 donations provided by generous sponsors. Seven sponsors are corporations: Green Link, Inc., Greif, Invenergy, Kalsec Inc., Meijer, Owens Corning, and Pfizer; five of the seven sponsors are repeats from the inaugural year of the Challenge in 2022-2023. WMU’s Haworth College of Business and the Office for Sustainability are also two-year sponsors.   Four teams are competing in the Challenge this year. The problems for which they are seeking solutions are human rights abuses in the manufacture of consumer products, growing food in water-starved regions, promoting sustainable and ethical choices by consumers, and responsible management of residential liquid hazardous waste. Earlier in 2023 the Challenge brought recognition to WMU as a leader in sustainability education. Specifically, the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) highlighted the Challenge as an example of academic innovation in its 2023 Sustainable Campus Index Report, ( https://lnkd.in/gbWUnAcQ). High school students utilize AASHE’s Index Report to search for colleges and universities with highly regarded programs.

🌱 Circular Economy in a Nutshell: an educational video series In the past few months, in collaboration with Centoform we have been dedicated to the development of our first round of educational video series for the #TICHE Academy project, a consortium composed of anois, Athens University of Economics and Business, Centoform, IRFEDD, University of Oulu, Università degli Studi di Ferrara and Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. This video series is divided into two videos. Where in the first, we dive deep on how circular models can make supply chains more resilient and less prone to disruptions. In the second video, we look at the implementation of circular economy principles in project management environments. If these topics are interesting to you, do not miss the opportunity and check out the video series at: https://lnkd.in/dFXsBHNw A big thanks to everyone who made this possible! This includes our guests, Jannet Fathallah, Linda Avigni, Ludovica Longo, Roberth Andrés Villazón Montalván and Sara Copelli. In addition, Mateusz Wielopolski (ÆVOLUTION® Regenerative Circular Innovation) for co-creating this video series, Maximus Wielopolski for video and photography and, last but not least, our project coordinator Sofia Hasni. #circulareconomy #tiche #education #supplychain #projectmanagement #sustainability

Never stop learning! I am a firm believer that we need to push ourselves to learn, strive for more and get things done every day of the year. That is why I am a member of Circular Economy Connect, a learning network organized by Agoria and Sirris | Innovation forward. The aim is to exchange knowledge, experiences and good practices regarding the circular economy. During the events, members from a wide array of sectors share and discuss information and knowledge regarding Circular Economy. Earlier this month, we visited Campine , a company that is specialized in sustainable waste treatment to create new raw materials, for instance recycling industrial waste streams to produce new raw materials and recovering metals from lead-based car batteries. Here’s what I learned during this very interesting visit: 💡 Look at your value stream. Not only the current one, but also the future state. How do you create value for the company, customers and your partners? 💡 Companies do not become more sustainable and circular in a vacuum. Collaboration is key. 💡 It is critical to understand the needs of the stakeholders within the ecosystem. A better understanding of challenges of your partners will reveal business opportunities. Thank you all, and a special shout out to Thomas Vandenhaute, Mira Tayah, Els Fonteyne for making this possible, and to my colleague Stijn jaspers for joining me on this learning journey. I'm always eager to learn more and find new sources of inspiration about the circular economy. Where do you get your inspiration? #circulareconomy #sustainability

How did Davines Group significantly improve their positive impact and successfully certify for the third time? The company’s path to B Corp unveils sustainability lessons on stakeholder engagement, innovations, and insights for a sustainable tomorrow. Since 2016, Davines Group | Certified B Corp has undergone transformative shifts, establishing the B Corp Strategic Committee and implementing structured action plans. The holistic sustainability approach goes beyond certification, setting measurable improvement goals annually. 📈 Engaging the entire organization is key, and the Sustainable Development Activators group has been instrumental in inspiring teams towards ambitious environmental goals. Together, they are driving positive change across the environment, community, and governance. 🌿 Learn more 👉 https://bit.ly/3tVrOO2

It's tiiime 🎤 to announce the launch of our Eco-design Bootcamp! 🚀 What is it? 🤔  An eco-design learning facility to assess the impact of your product's life cycle, learn how to reduce it and design products with a low environmental impact. What's in it for you?  🔸 Familiarise yourself with the principles of eco-design and the circular economy. 🔸 Integrate eco-design into your operations and within your teams. 🔸 Learn how to assess the environmental impact of your products and practices. A little bonus?  Not only will you leave with a wealth of knowledge, you'll also leave with Coco. Coco is our eco-design kit, your partner in crime when it comes to eco-design. 😉

The folks at VOIZ Academy interviewed me on where sustainable supply chains are headed. I talked about how companies can pluck low-hanging fruit on the decarbonization tree; what we can learn from game theory about collective actions; and the erroneous conflation of ESG and decarbonization. Thanks, Anita Kelava, Yvonne Espinosa and Chris van Bergen, MBA for the opportunity to contribute to VOIZ’s audience’s understanding of the evolution of sustainable supply chains. https://lnkd.in/ePsuwiyY

Excited to present the culmination of my independent study journey for my sustainable business minor. Below, I share my paper  “Driving towards sustainability: evaluating Formula One's environmental initiatives” where I merge my passion for Formula One with a commitment to sustainability, something I would like to dive into deeper as I move on to completing my master's degree!

In case you missed the Voiz Academy Climate Careers webinar with David Steven Jacoby and are interested in sustainable supply chains, the podcast is available on our Climate Careers Series. Highly recommend listening! Thank you Chris van Bergen, MBA for the introduction. Anita Kelava David Steven Jacoby #sustainability #podcasts #climatecareers #supplychains #decarbonization #gametheory

"In an ideal world we would not even be talking about sustainability, it would be considered as a given. But reality shows people often don't behave in an ideal way. My research focus is on understanding consumer behavior around sustainability. Only when we understand behavior we have the levers to change it." 🎓Prof Dr Sabine Benoit, University of Surrey ♻️ Keynote-Speaker of the Closing Keynote at the EBS Sustainability Summit tommorow, June 25th: Championing Value Chain Sustainability – Unlocking Consumer Views EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht Prof. Dr. Julia Hartmann #EBS #SustainabilitySummit #sustainability #consumerbehavior