THE NATURAL STEP FUNNEL
Observation and Experience
The natural step funnel is a
representation that as population or demand grows, the available resources for
consumption decreases. Resources are on a downward slope while the demand for
these resources is on an upward slope. The funnel narrows with the continuous
use of resources to support daily activities. The goal of the natural step is
to open up the funnel through innovation, creativity, and unlimited potential
for change in order to be sustainable. Sustainability is the study of how
natural system functions, remain diverse, and produce everything it needs for
the ecology to remain in balance. Being sustainable means that we impose
activities to protect the environment while promoting innovation.
Our company’s response to climate
change is the #Green24 campaign. #Green24 is a climate change awareness
campaign that hopes to educate the people regarding the effects of climate
change and how we can make big changes by carrying out small actions in our daily
lives. Aside from educating the community, this initiative also aims to
minimize cost by incorporating new technology. The airline industry contributes
12% of carbon emission to the planet and it is our task to promote awareness on
climate issues and take responsible actions to make a lifestyle change for a
greener future. As part of this campaign, the pilots are doing the following
Green Operating Procedures during the flight to lessen the impact of air travel
to climate change which includes: delayed start procedure, packs off take off,
direct routings, optimum altitudes, Constant Descent Angle Approach, Flaps 3
landing, Idle reverse, one engine taxi on arrival, and one pack only when
parked which aims to lessen the fuel and energy consumption used in every
flight.
Analysis and Reflection
Using the natural step fun
nel, we
must impose strategies in order to have a sustainable business. Our company has
been doing its part to have a sustainable environment in the future through the
#Green24 campaign. I believe it is important that companies engage in this kind
of activity since all of the business activities depends on the available resources.
They should be aware of the effects of their daily business transaction and
must think of ways in order to lessen the waste that they produce. Companies
must invest into new technology in order to have a business strategy that does
not negatively affect the environment but help it recover instead.
According to the natural step
funnel, implementing sustainability is done through the A-B-C-D process. I will
use this process to assess the #Green24 campaign of our company.
A – Awareness building and understanding.
Most employees are aware of the efforts that the company is doing in order to
be sustainable. Our company use our internal resources in order to inform the
people about the #Green24 campaign. However, we must implement additional internal
events to further explain and make all the employees understand the importance
of sustainability and how our company take action in order to achieve it.
B- Baseline mapping. This means
that the organization knows the impact of its operation to the society. Our company
clearly understands the effect of our daily operation to the society and the
#Green24 campaign is our response to somehow lessen the negative effect of our
operation to the environment.
C- Create a vision and strategic
plan. Our strategy to improve the operating procedure in order to minimize the
carbon emission from our daily operation is in line with our vision to promote
sustainable environment.
D- Down to action. The main
action that the company is doing is the Green Operating Procedure which the
pilots follow during their flight. Aside from that, we should have other
activities to support and promote this campaign.
Commitment and Action
We, employees must also take part in the campaign of the
company to promote a sustainable life. We can take part in the #Green24
campaign through small steps like lessening the use of bond papers and
utilizing the purpose of emails. In our department alone, we consume 2 to 3
reams of bond paper every month to print reports, payment requests, and other
documents. We can save a lot of paper if we don’t print unnecessary documents
and just sent this through emails. I think it’s not essential to print reports
since we use projectors to present it and if a person needs a copy, we can a
soft copy of the report through email before the start of the meeting. For
instances where we really need to print documents, we can use the back part of
a used bond paper especially for documents that is for internal use only.
I together with my friends are fond of drinking coffee every
morning. We usually buy 3-in-1 coffee on the store outside our office and aside
from the coffee we also buy plastic stirrer and Styrofoam cups. Starting today,
I will no longer buy plastic stirrer and styrofoam cup, instead I will bring my
own mug which I could use every day to drink my coffee.
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