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provisional Exam questions and answers building sustainable business
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Exam questions Building Sustainable Business & Global Regenerative Business January 20231. Draw the 4 pillars from Sustainable Development and explain what may happen with a
negative setback.
2.
Explain LCA and apply this concept on the product of your business plan (if you did not
make a business plan, but the good/bad case, take as product a coffee machine).
A technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from-
cradle-to-grave: from raw materials until disposal or recycle. A negative setback in any of the pillars of
sustainable development could have detrimental impacts on the economy, society, and environment,
and could undermine efforts to achieve sustainable development. Increase of inequality.
Water privatized (Nestle case)
Exclusion—exclude people
And we overuse natural resources.
We have repression and function loss of the ecosystem that gives water and air.
3. In the speech of Ray Anderson about Sustainability he mentions “externalities”. What
is this and what is the link with sustainability?
An externality is a cost or benefit caused by a producer that is not financially incurred or
received by that producer.In other words, let someone else pay for it. For example, the
, Exam questions Building Sustainable Business & Global Regenerative Business January 2023
production of goods and services may generate externalities such as pollution and waste,
which can have negative impacts on human health and the natural environment.
His message: Only take from the earth what can be renewed by the earth. He mentioned: I
went from a plunderer to a recovery plunderer. An externality is a cost or benefit caused by a
producer that is not financially incurred or received by that producer. Let somebody deal with
that, let somebody else deal with that, I got all I can handle myself.
4. Explain this graph. What is the meaning of the black square?
Human Development Index is a UN comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and
standards of living for countries worldwide
Within the blue square are these countries which comply to the UN living standards and who reach
these standards within an acceptable ecological footprint.
, Exam questions Building Sustainable Business & Global Regenerative Business January 2023
5. In the speech of Ray Anderson about Sustainability he calls CEO’s “plunderers”. What
are CEO’s and why does he call them like that? What is he proposing as a solution?
CEO’s are chief executive officers. He calls them ‘plunderers’ because they steal resources,
land etc. away from the planet and most importantly, ecosystems.
Ray Anderson was the founder of Interface Inc. : a carpet manufacturing company. He was called a
‘plunderer of the earth’ by Paul Hawkin, which means he takes raw materials from the earth that cannot
be renewed. After this, he started motivating everyone to be more sustainable. His message: Only take
from the earth what can be renewed by the earth. He mentioned: I went from a plunderer to a recovery
plunderer. People will end up in jail it has to be illegal. Organization of people with a purpose: doing no
harm as the company, taking raw materials… driving that process with renewable energy. Without an
additional cost to earth.
6. What is meant with the concept “overshoot day”? What factors cause overshoot?
What can you do to solve it? What day was the overshoot day in 2018 for our planet?
And what was the impact of Corona on the overshoot day?
Earth overshoot day is the calendar date in which the total resources consumed
by humanity will exceed the capacity for the Earth to generate those resources
that year.
➢ Each year earlier (august right now)
➢ 1,4 planets earth needed to cover our needs
➢ [worldbiocapacity / worldEcologicalFootprint] x 365
*European overshoot day would this year be on the 10th of may already.
We use too many ecological resources
-Our ecological footprint is too big
a. What can you do about it?
➢ Don’t eat too much meat
➢ Use less water
➢ Buy sustainable products
➢ Choose for green energy
➢ My footprint: 4.1 hectare → would need 2.3 earths if everyone lives like
Me
2018: 1 august
7. In the speech of Ray Anderson about Sustainability he mentions ZERO ecological
footprint. What is this? How to achieve this? Even higher than the point of the top of
mount Everest symbolizing to climb mount sustainability point at top symbolizing zero
footprint, before he dies want to see the top. Zero ecological footprint is the top of
mountain sustainability which we need to climb. Its a state where there is no ecological
footprint. How we achieve it is by being sustainable and developing our industries
towards a future.
8. What does Ray Anderson mean when he talks about intergenerational tyranny and
how can you link it with the definition of Sustainable Development?
A form of taxation without generation, our generation won’t experience the negatives of our
grandchildren’s grandchildren. The link with the definition of sustainable development (‘ensure the
, Exam questions Building Sustainable Business & Global Regenerative Business January 2023
development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs’) is that we need to make sure we don't compromise for the needs of future
generations and with intergenerational tyranny we are taxing future generations.
9. What book helped Ray to get inspired to define an environmental mission for his company?
What was it about?
The ecology of Commerce by Payl Hawkens, total change of mindset and paradigm, Can you make every
product sustainable?
10. What is the definition of Sustainable Development, in which report was it first
published and when?
“Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable - to ensure that it meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Our
Common Future, 1987, p.8, 46)
11. What is eco-efficiency? Give three methods to increase it. What is the difference
between eco-efficiency and eco-effective?
Eco-efficiency is concerned with bringing customers excellent quality of products and services with as
less as possible impact on the earth.
How to reach it: → More recyclable materials → Longer live-cycle of products → Lower spread of toxic
materials → Lower material intensity
Give me examples of how to increase eco efficiency of a product (at least 3) • You can put less material
in it (material intensity) • Reduce the energy intensity • Use less water • Less toxic material • Make your
product recyclable instead of using new material, • Increase life cycle o products • Increase intensity of
products and services e.g. instead of light bubbles, sell lights so the life span of light bulbs will be longer
c. Explain what is eco effectiveness Is really looking at it from zero impact. The goal is not to minimize
the cradle-tograve flow of materials, but to generate cyclical, cradle-to-cradle ‘metabolisms’.
12. What does “Biocapacity” mean and how is it linked with Ecological Footprint?
a. Biocapacity refers to the capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an
on-going supply of renewable resources and to absorb its spillover wastes.
b. Unsustainability occurs if the area’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity.
13. According to Annie Leonard our production and consumption system is “a system in
crisis”.
Explain this using the below scheme.
The major stages in a material’s lifecycle are raw material acquisition, materials manufacture,
production, use/reuse/maintenance, and waste management. The system runs through five
phases: Extraction – Production – Distribution – Consumption – Disposal . It is a system which is
in some serious trouble because it relies on resources which are not renewable and which will
eventually run out. The environment is damaged by the Materials Economy. The extraction of
raw materials from the ground, damages the environment and causes pollution and physical
scars on our planted. The manufacturing processes create further environmental damage, in
the form of atmospheric pollution. The dumping of waste materials and the use of energy
produced by fossil fuels, also contribute to environmental damage. The distribution of
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