Sustainitiatives: The Beer Store Corporate Environmental Responsibility

Since I've been on the topic of environmental responsibility lately, I might as well share with you a great example of how Corporations can be great stewards in helping the environment.

In Ontario, we have to purchase our beer in special "Beer Stores". These stores only sell beer and accessories related to beer. The Beer Store is the perfect example of how a company can do its part in acting responsibly towards the environment. Ever since I was a kid in the 1980's, it was always a tradition to go to the beer store with my Dad and bring back the empty beer bottles.

The Beer Store recovers over 98% of everything it sells; including bottle caps, bags, cardboard, cans and bottles. Environmental Leadership is a core value of The Beer Store, and they have offered the bottle return service since 1927. That is 80 years of recycling! It amazes me and makes me feel proud that there are responsible corporations out there.

Here are some neat facts about The Beer Store's environmental record:

• In 80 years, they have diverted approximately 70 billion beer bottles from Ontario landfill sites – enough to stretch to the moon and back approximately 25 times
• Pioneered the first returnable bottle system in 1927 – a user-pay system paid for by beer customers for beer consumers
• System-wide recovery and re-use rate of 99 per cent for the industry standard bottle, which are reused 12 to 15 times
• Picks up over 100,000 tonnes of beer packaging each year from over 17,500 licensed establishments

So there is still hope out there that we can change our ways, and The Beer Store case study highlights the impact that a responsible corporation can have on the environment.

The Geoff Star

On Thursday night I had the rare opportunity to watch my cousin Geoff Star perform a duet in a small watering hole bar in North Toronto. While I was watching him play, I took some notes on my phone so I’ll share my raw notes without further editing:

"Tonight I witnessed a musical genius that captivated and mesmerized a completely sceptical and oblivious audience. The man who did it is my famous Cousin Geoff Star. His talent is envious to even the most humble of folk. In the audience was a completely disinterested group of University students who didn't even acknowledge that a live band was playing. When Geoff unleashed his improvised and creative guitar solos along with his beautiful voice, one could no longer ignore the fact that one of the most talented musicians in Toronto is playing right before your eyes. When he becomes famous people will talk about the night they saw him playing in the local pub.

David Suzuki @ UofT

On Friday night I had the rare opportunity to see Dr. David Suzuki speak at the University of Toronto. Since it was my first-time watching Suzuki speak live, I figured I'd share my perspective on this wise and inspirational man. In the speech, entitled "Biosphere Crisis: How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going?", Suzuki pointed out how the population in the world has gone from around 1.6 billion in 1900 to about 6 billion in just 100 years, and that our lifestyles as we know it are psychotic and utterly unsustainable (He even calls it suicidal).

His view on the environment is that we are the environment. We live and breathe the environment; everything we do affects the earth, and the path we're taking is in no uncertain terms ruining the earth as we know it.

Suzuki made a lot of good points that really stuck in my mind. The first of which was his view on critics. The first thing he does when he encounters a critic is he checks who's paying the critic's pay cheque. Like Al Gore, Suzuki found that many of the Global Warming naysayers and critics are the same people who were lobbying for the Tobacco companies during their battle against government regulation. Suzuki feels that kids are the most effective lobbyists for the environment because they don't have an ulterior motive; they don't have a big oil company paying them to say what the oil company wants them to say. This is the reason Suzuki has spent much of his life teaching kids about the "Nature of Things". If you get a chance, watch Suzuki's daugher Severn Suzuki speak at the UN Earth Summit in 1992 when she was only 12 years old.

Another good point that Suzuki pointed out is how hypocritical it is for Canadians and Americans to justify their pollution by complaining that China is the world's largest polluter and Canada or the U.S. shouldn't have to reduce emissions until China is ready to join and reduce their emissions as well. Suzuki points out that Canada is a rich nation, and if we can't get it right with all our wealth, then how do we expect China to get it right even while it's developing? The major point about China is that on a per-capita basis, they are far below Canada and the U.S. So for us to excuse ourselves from reducing our emissions simply because China has surpassed the U.S. for the largest polluter is ludicrous.

I can say from my experience in China, the average person in China is doing a lot more to reduce their carbon footprint than most people I've seen in Canada. They walk, they bike, they motorcycle, they hang up their clothes; they take buses. I'm not trying to say that everyone in China is a bunch of environmentalists; many of them do these things because of financial constraints, but they are in the habit of doing these things so it will be easier for them to continue doing it. They also have no choice because there isn't enough room on the road for everyone to own a car, so they will continue to bike, walk, and take public transit even as it becomes a developed and rich nation. A big problem is that we Canadians and Americans are so used to what I will call "freedom and laziness", that it is very difficult for people to change their routines.

Suzuki points out that people often put the economy before the environment, that it's somehow more important for a big oil company to maintain its profits than it is to sustain our earth. This actually sounds like an article I wrote in 2005 entitled "Economy over environment". Suzuki's solution is to include the "environmental cost" when calculating any sort of economic decision. He points out that the GDP doesn't allow any subtraction, so governments and corporations being motivated by profit and GDP is depleting the very resources that helped these corporations make money in the first place.

When I took MacroEconomics 101 last year, I felt exactly how Suzuki felt. The professor explained that Economics is "a study of the efficient use of scarce resources to produce goods and services with maximum satisfaction and how the society distributes these goods and services among its members". The definition itself, as Suzuki points out has a fundamental flaw. It doesn't account for the longer-term effects that our actions have on the earth. To simplify the definition, it talks only about "making a profit by utilizing scarce resources in the most efficient way". In all measures of one's economy, there is no indication as to the effect that a country's actions have had on the earth itself, it only measures how much it has produced.

Last but not least, Suzuki had stated that we are at a very exciting time right now. He feels that people are really starting to take the issues seriously, and he feels that now is the time for us to make drastic changes to our lifestyle in order to avoid the inevitable. I urge you to join the David Suzuki nature challenge, where you will find a list of priority actions for Canadian Households that will help reduce the environmental impact of the average Canadian household:

• Find ways to reduce your home heating & electricity use by 10% this year.
• Replace chemical pesticides on your lawn, garden, & houseplants with non-toxic alternatives
• Choose an energy-efficient home and appliances. Check to see if homes meet R-2000 standards and appliances are Energy Star approved.
• Choose at least one day a week to eat meat-free meals in your household
• Prepare your meals with food from local farmers and producers for one month this year
• Check the Canadian Government's Auto Smart ratings for the next car you intend to buy to make sure it's fuel-efficient and low polluting
• Walk, bike, carpool, or use transit to get to one of your regular destinations each week.
• If you are moving, choose a home within a 30-minute bike, walk, or transit ride from your daily destinations
• Support alternatives to the car. Contact your local media or government, urging improved public transit and bike paths.
• Learn more about conserving nature and share what you've learned with family & friends

Also, Suzuki points out that the airline industry contributes significantly to the problem, so if you have to fly, here are some tips:

• Try to minimize the number of flights you take by combining trips. For example, book more than one meeting in your destination city, so you don't need to fly there several times.
• Fly during the daytime, because studies have shown that flights taken at night have a greater impact on the climate.
• Fly economy, because more people per plane means fewer emissions per person.
• Pack light, because lighter planes mean less fuel is burned.
• Purchase carbon offsets to account for the emissions from your flight. See our carbon neutral webpage for more information. If the airline or travel agent you are using doesn't currently offer its customers the option of offsetting their flights, ask them to consider it.

I’ve been on board the environmental boat for several years now, so I’m already doing many of the items in the above lists. So I figure the best thing I can do to help is to help educate and make people aware that each one of us has a direct impact on the earth, and then to encourage everyone to do their part in reducing that impact (Hence this long-winded article). Happy conservation and moderation!

Greetings from Redmond!

If you didn't already know, I've been in Redmond, Washington all week doing some top secret training at the Microsoft Headquarters, or the "Mothership" as my Microsoft buddy likes to call it.

So far everyone has been very warm and friendly and helpful around here. Microsoft does an amazing job at keeping their employees happy. I was amazed by the number of shuttle cars and vans that are operating at the Microsoft campus and the cool system that efficiently runs the shuttle operation. All of the Microsoft shuttle cars are hybrid Toyota Prius'; very cool that Mr. Gates is doing his part to help the environment.

Apparently it only snows in the Seattle area once a year, and it just happened to snow while we were here. My buddy Tim in Vancouver told me about how everybody freaks out when it snows in Vancouver, and we saw a similar reaction to the snow here in Seattle. There was less than an inch of snow, but it took 1.5 hours for a taxi to arrive because they had all gone home. We even saw a lady who couldn't move forward on a flat surface in a little pickup truck. It looked like she had racing slicks on the truck.

When I heard people referring to this snowfall as an "emergency", I could only think about my recent post entitled "Winter Storm 'Disaster'" where I talked about how people in North America overreact to such trivial events.

Customer Experience

A large focus of my company lately has been "Customer Experience". It's amazing when you actually think about it how important the customer experience is in any client-facing industry. The example that always comes up at work is the story about the guy who gets a haircut and says it's the best haircut he's ever experienced, and all it took was the hairdresser to spend a mere 2 minutes to give him just a little more.

I think you can apply the theory of customer experience to almost any industry. Even someone who runs a manufacturing factory in South Dakota can apply this theory. It's about giving your employees or customers a little bit of extra attention or appreciation. It's the little things that mean something, not just giving someone a card at Christmas with money in it. It’s the snacks and pop that is always in the kitchen at the office, or the thank you card that someone sends you unexpectedly. It’s something that makes someone feel good about what they are doing, otherwise known as “customer experience”.

There are a couple scenarios that came up recently that made me think about Customer Experience and how it applies to my everyday life:

• The first was when I purchased some furniture at The Brick (On Dufferin Street). They had great service on the sales floor (surprise surprise), but when I went to pick up my furniture it was the worst service I've ever experienced. The computer that the clerk used to lookup my order is 50 feet away from the counter and behind a half-wall, so the kid is yelling to ask me for my phone number while I have to yell it back. Not to mention they only have 1 person working at a time so it's not uncommon to wait 20 minutes before they even look your order up. To me, picking up your furniture is as important a part of the overall customer experience as the original sale, and I think they are making a serious mistake by making the pickup process so difficult and inhospitable.



• The other example is when I hear a song on the radio. I noticed the other week that I will hear a song on one radio station, and that exact same song will sound so much better on another radio station that I have more respect for. I thought about this a lot and I think it all comes down to the customer experience. I have a better perception of the one radio station over the other, and that in itself makes me less sceptical about a song when it comes on, even though the radio station I like more doesn't necessarily always play better music.

I challenge you to put some thought into how you could give someone else a better Customer Experience, whether it be your spouse, your employee, your client, your family, etc. It's amazing how a small effort can be so appreciated by someone else.

Blake and Ziering, Long Lost Brothers?

Since Jason Blake started playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs this year, I've always thought to myself that he looks like Ian Ziering (Of Beverly Hills 90210 fame where he played "Steve Sanders"). I can't find any evidence of anybody else on the Internet who has made this statement (Probably because nobody really cares). That's what makes me unique in this world; I'm intrigued by the strangest of things.

It's interesting to me because I see them like they are twin brothers who grew up in different surroundings and took different career paths. Sure, you might argue that Ziering is better looking, but Ziering is also a Hollywood star and his appearance is carefully maintained. There are also thousands of images out there of Ian Ziering while it was actually somewhat difficult to find many images of Jason Blake because he's not in the spotlight like Ziering.

Here are a couple images I threw together so you can judge for yourself whether you agree or not.

2008: The Year of the Rat

Welcome 2008! This is my third year of making predictions and resolutions in the New Year (See 2007, 2006). This year is the Chinese Year of the Rat.

"Rat has strong associations with material success such as wealth and other luxuries of life. It is their aggression, charm, hard work, discipline and passionate nature that gives an edge to their persona in comparison to others. There are good chances of Rats being wealthy and professionally successful in their lives. They are quick, energetic and mold themselves easily according to the situation, which makes them excellent problem solvers too. Unlike most of other zodiac signs, Rats believe in having a handful of friends, but they share a special bonding with all of them. (See the full description)."

First I'll address last year's resolutions and predictions. I met most of my resolutions in 2007, although I still need to devise a better plan to set aside money every pay cheque for needy people. Regarding my predictions, some came true while others did not. The US did in fact send more troops to Iraq and the violence did peak in the summer and then began to reduce, but I don't believe they have begun to withdrawal troops as I had predicted would happen by November 2007. An election didn't happen in Canada this year (contrary to my prediction), Iran did in fact continue to taunt the US, North Korea decided to disband its nuclear weapons (although the 6-nation talks weren't required), bin Laden wasn't caught, and there was no terrorist attack on Toronto, although the Toronto Police did seize 3 bombs this fall where they performed a controlled detonation near Lake Ontario.

2008 Resolutions:

• Spend lots of time at home and have friends over often
• Continue practising and learning more Chinese
• Eliminate my growing beer belly
• Become more involved in my company's operational processes
• Take Han to visit my father in the spring

2008 Predictions:

• Iraq: Violence will be steady, a small troop reduction will occur but a major troop reduction won't happen until after 2008
• Afghanistan: A major assassination will occur with an ally and the U.S. and allies will increase the number of troops in Afghanistan
• Canada: Stephen Harper will retain his position in office this year and his approval rating will rise this year
• Iran: A small battle will occur against Iran by either a small group of US forces, or Iraqi forces but a major war won't be waged against Iran in 2008
• Bin Laden: Bin Laden will continue to release videos but his health with degrade in 2009. But he won't be caught
• United States: Hillary Clinton will very very narrowly beat Barak Obama in the Democratic nomination Primaries and will beat a republican nominee in the 2008 election by approximately 5% to become the 44th President of the United States of America.
• Wayne Gretzky: Wayne Gretzky will make a major announcement that will rock the hockey world
• Pakistan: Musharraf will retain a small portion of power after the February elections, but a new leader will emerge who isn't a US-ally, prompting the US to consider secret intervention. Violence will continue but a civil war won't break out.
• Mick Jagger: Something bad will happen to Mick Jagger this year