I envision a future, where businesses don’t provide any single-use product anymore, no matter whether it’s plastic or paper. The restaurants would have the option to provide us with three options: You either dine in (where you eat from ceramic/porcelain plates that get cleaned and theoretically used indefinitely) You bring your own food storage container which could be made from glass, stainless steel, or plastic. Let’s compare LCA’s to find out which one is best! The restaurant provides a container that is based on a deposit system. A great initiative that is being applied in the majority of restaurants in my home city is Vytal. The service is free if you return the container within 14 days back to any restaurant that uses this service. The incentive for restaurants to use these containers over single-use materials is the money saved for purchasing bags, plates, cutlery, etc. A big part of waste also comes from food deliveries, where the same system could be applied. I would love to see a law being passed, which would force us all to be better organized and always carry food containers with us or make returnable free containers the norm in restaurants. #UnleashValues If you want to know more about the deposit containers, that's their link.

We talked about the retail brand Patagonia a few times already. While it is far from perfect, here is one particular thing I like about them. Aside from offering to repair worn clothes and donating money to environmental projects, Patagonia regularly gives activists a stage to tell their stories, educate people and raise awareness for environmental problems. I attended the film screening last Thursday where they showed „The soul of the Fraser“ in the Patagonia store in Kitsilano. It tells the story of the diversity of species living in the Fraser river area and how they are impacted by climate change and the expansion plans for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2. Over 100 people attended the screening and the following discussion with the filmmaker and one of the professors who provided his expertise in the field. The film evening provided important information and animated lots of people to become active and protest against these changes. Another film project presented (paid/initiated/researched?) by Patagonia is the „Blue Heart“ about the protest against a Hydro Dam in one of the last wild flowing rivers in Europe, the Vjosa in Albania (Hydro is technically a renewable energy source, but comes with a lot of ecological sacrifices). This campaign played a large role in raising awareness about the project and the river and ultimately led to legal success in the battle between NGOs and communities against the project leaders. Patagonia is now working together with the Albanian government to create the Vjosa National Park. I envision a business world, where every company provides a stage for information, education and activism surrounding environmental challenges in their specific business field. Whether it’s Patagonia trying to protect rivers and oceans so that their customers can continue kayaking or surfing there or whether it’s Audi or BMW fighting mountain erosion levels in the Alps to protect streets from being damaged so that their customers can continue to drive there. Companies have a valuable and influential position in the lives of many. Why not use that stage for promoting something good? The movie will also be shown in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum on the 17th of November at 5 pm by the way. #UnleashValues

I don't think anyone needs to be pressured or lectured into becoming vegan or vegetarian. Most people will actively resist when that happens. However, we can't deny the fact, that a reduction of meat and dairy products needs to happen. How can we achieve that? I emphasize the word reduction, because it implies, that we can still consume a little amount of animal products while still being environmentally mindful. A study from the research centre where I work as a student assistant calculates, that we should reduce our meat intake by about 75% (Parlasca & Qaim, Meat consumption and sustainability, 2022). In grassland areas there is no possibility to harvest any other crop, therefore the researchers propose that it makes perfect sense to keep livestock in those areas. For the remaining 25%, maybe we can make this consumption more sustainable as well. As an economist, I believe to a certain extent that the majority of people only react to price changes. We know that the consumption of some goods is debatable in the context of ethics or planetary health, yet we still are on a path that leads to an ever-increasing demand for animal products. Obviously, this change needs a lot of education and policy changes to be sustainable. One of the projects that could be helpful, is displaying the hidden costs of meat as one supermarket chain in Germany did last year in collaboration with the University of Augsburg (https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/meat-should-cost-3-times-more-german-grocer-shows-consumers-hidden-environmental-price-of-food/) Let's display the hidden costs of food and let the people decide if they want to pay the real price. #UnleashValues