Reference no: EM131185631

Reply the given two student's comments.

Reply should be in 200-400 words.

1. Sara Berhane
RE: WBCSD 2050

According to the WBCSD 2050 plan, businesses are already taking into consideration environmentally friendly strategies in their processes and in the workplace community in general. I believe that while businesses are just now beginning to take an interest in being more sustainable, ten years from now will be drastically different due to the influence of companies growing today. To be more specific, this summer I interned in the supply chain department in a big corporation. I noticed that the campus began programs that encouraged bike riding to work, setting up charging stations for electric or hybrid vehicles, and installation of solar panels. While this subtle approach to being more sustainable seemed to allude to their interest in beginning more sustainable practices in the future, I was also able to speak to leaders in the social responsibility programs. Sustainable programs are relatively new and just developing, but as other companies such as Tesla begin to prove that being sustainable can lead to profitability, others will begin to join the movement. With an increase in electric vehicles, for example, corporations will have no choice but to install more charging stations. While I don't think there will be a drastic change within the next few years, with the younger generation joining the workforce, ten years will mark the beginning of a new era and focus of taking the practices learned in school and pushing to improve corporate sustainability.

2. Matthew Haith
RE: Companies and Product Take-Back

I recently worked for an Organic Candy producer and they had thought of the idea of taking back product following consumptions so bags and pouches of consumed product. A trail of this was conducted and it nearly doubled the cost of an average bag from .09 cents to nearly .20 cents per bag - Ultimately this wasn't going to work for the company so the trail was completed and no further steps for waste collection were pursued. Regardless businesses will ultimately need to produce products that ate biodegradable to ensure that environmental safety is taken into consideration. I can compare this with the companies steps following the trail that they completed was to produce a biodegradable bag, ultimately it cost them about 4 cents for per bags but it also reduced the carbon footprint and made the company even more organic that its peers within the industry. I don't think companies should take their products back but they should try to contribute to a cleaner society. This can be done through waste prevention and pollution through biodegradable bags and other alternatives. Although costs will raise this type of awareness should pay dividends to consumers who appreciate a greener movement and a smaller carbon footprint on the earth.