TEDTalks Sustainability: To Solve Old Problems, Study New Species

Everyone loves a good TED Talk, and here is one of our favorites. Enjoy!

Developmental and regeneration biologist Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado delivers a talk about how the limited number of species involved in today's medical and scientific research studies are harming innovation. Advocating for the use of nature's wonderfully abundant, diverse and mysterious features to explore new solutions to old problems, Alvarado hopes to see biological breakthroughs.

Because research focuses generally on just seven species, including rats, chickens, fruit flies and humans, scientists end up studying an astonishingly narrow sliver of life. By expanding our view, Alvarado hopes  it'll be enough to solve the oldest, most challenging problems in science, like cancer. In this visually captivating talk, Alvarado calls on us to interrogate the unknown and shows us the remarkable discoveries that surface when we do.

What are you watching? Share with us in the comments. 

Developmental and regeneration biologist

Will the UK Modern Slavery Act do any good?

Late last week, the UK Parliament passed the Modern Slavery Act, a bill designed to require UK companies to report any steps they are taking to address and prevent human trafficking and modern slavery in their supply chains.

According to the Global Slavery Index, modern slavery is estimated to include more than 36 million people who work in conditions completely controlled by others. Most of these people are found deep in the supply chains of global corporations.

To comply with the Modern Slavery Act, it doesn’t mean a company will have to actually address human trafficking and modern slavery. A company simply has to report whether it has taken any steps to do so.

Therefore, if a corporation files a report indicating that it has taken no steps, it will still be in compliance with the law.

So, does this do us any good?

Overall, yes.

This act pushes corporations one step closer to connecting the process of reporting to the concrete steps of taking action.

We've seen this cause/effect hundreds of times as external pressure – supplier scorecards, stakeholder pressure, or legislation – pushes companies to report. The first report can be humbling, but the process of reporting opens up action steps, focus areas, and progress.

As companies file their first reports, some saying “no action taken.” We believe that their stakeholders will ask “why?” It is then that they will realize it is time to do an initial Social Audit, Supply Chain Analysis and/or Life Cycle Analysis.

A recent article in Huffington Post written by two CEOs speak to the effect of data:

"The vulnerability in our supply chains was in labour hire, specifically the recruitment of migrant workers from disadvantaged backgrounds. Social audits revealed that recruiters were stealing wages from workers through excessive recruitment fees and high interest loans, creating a situation of debt bondage. Upon learning of these terrible conditions, we took immediate action so that workers were paid back the fees they were owed, allowing them to earn a proper wage.”

The companies and the CEOs in question were performing social audits prior to the UK Modern Slavery Act, and were able to take action.

We believe that more companies will engage with auditors, and decisive action will be taken because of this new law.

So, yes, the Modern Slavery Act is going to do some good.  

Would stronger legislation and adoption in other countries, like the U.S., do even more good? Likely.

However, corporations can and should begin on this important work now. There is no need to wait for legislation to become a more socially and environmentally responsible organization.

Learn more about supply chain assessments and audits and how they can help your company create a system to uncover risks lurking in the supply chain. How have supply chain audits helped your organization uncover risk? Let us know in the comments!

Best Resources for K-12 Sustainability Information

The in-house team at SSC is working from home today because our local schools are closed. If you're a parent, you are probably familiar with the dreaded "teacher in-service days" when the kids are home and very little gets done!

While we're off making snacks and enriching the lives of the next generation of sustainability superheros, we thought we'd share some of our favorite resources for you to utilize during the downtime- organizations and initiatives that will help you locate the intersection of school and sustainability:

Green Schools Initiative - The Green Schools Initiative was founded in 2004 by parent-environmentalists who were shocked by how un-environmental their kids' schools were, and they mobilized to improve the environmental health and ecological sustainability of schools in the U.S. They believe it is essential to protect children's health - at school and in the world beyond school - and they work to catalyze and support "green" actions by kids, teachers, parents, and policymakers to reduce the environmental footprint of schools by: eliminating toxins, using resources sustainably, creating green schoolyards and buildings, serving healthy food and teaching environmental literacy and stewardship. 

Green Schools - Green Schools is a leading 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization organized for Environmental Education [EE] & Environmental Literacy purposes. Green Schools’ mission is to create Greener & healthier learning environments through Environmental Education, Awareness, and Action! Green Schools provide a number of Hands-on, Environmental Education/STEM-based programs and resources to help students, schools [K-16], and communities make The Green Difference!

The Center for Green Schools - An outgrowth of the USGBC, The Center for Green Schools was established to drive the transformation of all schools into sustainable and healthy places to live, learn, work and play. We believe that everyone, from the kindergartner entering the classroom to the Ph.D. student performing research in a lab, should have the ability to learn in green buildings. The Center works directly with teachers, students, administrators, elected officials and communities to create programs, resources and partnerships that transform all schools into healthy learning environments.

Project Learning Tree - Project Learning Tree is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. PLT's GreenSchools! program provides a set of tools for students to analyze data and design a student-driven project to cut your school's costs, improve student health and nutrition, teach STEM subjects, civic engagement, and skills for the careers of the future. 

 The Green Schools Alliance - Uniquely created by schools for schools, the GSA is a global network of schools represented by Sustainability Coordinators -- faculty, staff. students, administrators and others -- working together to solve climate and conservation challenges. GSA Member Schools share and implement sustainable best practices, and promote connections between schools, communities, and the environments that sustain them. They do this by: creating Peer-to-Peer forums; exchanging resources; offering original programs and curriculum developed  by Member Schools' goals, vision and experience; and connecting youth to nature. GSA schools set and meet goals, and quantify progress. They coordinate governance, operations and curriculum to advance sustainability.

What are your favorite resources for sustainability in K-12 schools? Leave a comment below, or join the conversation on Twitter!