Love to hate Wal-Mart?

Sitting on the fence. Never really a good place to be, but sometimes you just get stuck there…

Here’s one of my ‘on the fence’ issues:

Being a business student that cares about the environment (hence the Corporate Environmental Management masters degree), it’s hard to completely dislike Wal-Mart.

On one side, their “best practices” have been shoved down my throat from every business class that I’ve ever taken; but on the other side, there’s something in me that just doesn’t allow me to walk into that store.

 I get it; Sam Walton built a business model that works. As much as I cringe when I hear someone say they “bought it at Wal-Mart”, I understand the market forces that bring them there. It’s cheap. Their distribution practices are examples of perfection, their power of suppliers is matchless etc. So, although I complain, I’m sure that if I was to work in retail, I’d look to Wal-Mart for some best practices.  But I still hate it.

The strangest thing though, I love the Superstore (Loblaws) (the new Joe line is actually fantastic). Maybe it’s because it’s Canadian, but even though it’s pretty much based on the same model, I have no qualms about walking in there. So what does that mean? If it reached the success level of Wal-Mart, would I hate it too?  Which essentially means that I like Loblaws because it has failed to overtake the leader?  (And it won’t – serious issues there right now…)

So there I am, perched on my fence.

I really had to ponder on this. Why do I hate Wal-Mart so much?  Is it just a favourite past-time?  Do I like being a part of the club that loves to hate Wal-Mart?

I think the biggest reason why I stay away from that store is that I hate what it stands for: mass consumerism mixed with suburbia (at least that’s how I think of it). I absolutely hate big box neighbourhoods and to me, Wal-Mart is the epitome of the big box. I prefer local neighbourhoods and smaller shops (or nice Superstores in small neighbourhoods;). I’ve also had a personal experience with how poorly they treat their staff.  I was about to say that I don’t like the fact that they’ve driven prices down so low that their suppliers can’t do business, and that the prices just make us go ga-ga for more ‘stuff’ – but then again, I’m a bargain shopper everywhere else and I love getting something extremely cheap.

To make things more interesting, I just read an article in Canadian Technology and Business (insert to the Globe and Mail) and there was an article entitled: Wal-Mart Canada: Going Green.

Interesting points:

• Canadian goals: 100% renewable energy, 0% global waste, and be a world leader in providing products that are good for the environment”…. Ummm seems like some pretty steep goals…
• Changed shipping containers from cardboard to plastic containers – last 60+ trips  (hope that they can recycle them after)
• All Canadian stores moving to LED outside and lower wattage bulbs inside
• Moving into green products, forcing suppliers to think about their products’ impact
• One environmental pilot store in US – mixing oil from frying chickens in the stores with used car oil from their auto centres to heat the buildings  

Ok, so as a soon to be Corporate Environmental Management student, why do I hate Wal-Mart again?

The company has an extreme amount of power in the retail industry and when they speak, their retailers listen. So right now, I can’t really complain. They’re pushing forward on green initiatives that really have some weight to make a change,

So will I shop at Wal-Mart? Occasionally perhaps, but essentially no.  There’s an answer straight from the gut from a girl that’s sitting on the fence.

 

Back to school in the land of the lakes

For those that have read my blog from the beginning, my first post was about me harping on the education system. So, funny thing but, I’m hitting the books again come September:)

I’m taking a two year Masters program in Corporate Environmental Management…. in Finland.

So, at the end of August,  I’ll be jet-setting to what looks like my home town (northern Ontario) to settle down in the small city of Jyvaskyla.

As soon as I mention the move, a lot of people are just like “Wow….why Finland?”

I’m sure a lot of you are thinking the same thing right now, so I thought I should share with you some of my reasons:

• I love the program
  • Corporate Environmental Mgmt is what I’m passionate about
  • only 26 students – 14 different countries, spanning every continent
  • i get to learn Finn – smart language to learn considering only 5 million people speak it and all of them are either in Finland or Northern Ontario….
    
  • good education system
  • good city -small with an urban feel (home of the famous architect Alvar Aalto) and about a quarter of the population are students.
• I love the country
  • Finland is surrounded by lakes and forests – I’m a country kid and although I love the city, I’m excited for the fresh air and clean water
  • I’m a quarter Finn – my grandma would be proud:)
  • I love saunas (pronounced “s ‘ow’ na”) and I miss having them (another Northern Ontario thing)
  • Finland is #1 in sustainable development ( just take a look at all of their first place rankings…quite impressive really
  • the food is great – rye breads, lots of fish, fresh veggies
  • one of my best friends lives in Helsinki
  • I’m close to a Ryanair airport which means I can travel anywhere for pretty cheap
• AND….
  • IT’S CHEAP (pretty much free)
    • no tuition fees (no kidding)
    • no books to pay for
    • 80 euros for my student union fee
    • a bachelor apartment (22.5 m)  costs about 250 euros all inclusive (with internet, cable, sauna etc.
    • a lunch at the university costs about 2.5 euros and that’s for hearty meal of rye bread, veggies and fish etc.

So, there you have it, my reasons for going back to school.  It’s a beautiful country (definitely one of my favourites in Europe),  and an amazing deal. There are no tricks:  it’s not because I’m Finn, not because of any scholarships etc.  that I get a free masters education. Finland is just a welfare state that  even looks after its foreigners’ education. Almost incomprehensible eh?  If you’re sitting there right now going… “oh my god, I want to do that.” Do it now  because I think they’re closing the door next year.

There are plenty of other reasons for moving to Finland, but I’m sure they’ll come out in future posts.

Of course I’m going to miss Ottawa, especially on days like this. I’m sitting outside,  on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in July (not too many of them so you’ve got to cherish them!) I’ll miss the people, the neighbourhoods, the market etc. But, I’ll be back. It’s only a two year program and I’ll be back in the summers. (Kind of funny, I’m moving to Finland to live in the darkness (so close to arctic circle that I won’t be seeing the sun all winter) but when I can finally soak up the vitamin D in the summer, I’ll be back in Ottawa).

Anyways, thought I should let my readers know my whereabouts so that when I start blogging about saunas and the total darkness, people won’t be completely shocked.  I’ll most likely be blogging on environmental/social issues while there and I’ll make sure to write about my travels around Europe as well. (Last year was western Europe so this time I’ve got to do the East).

If you have any questions about the program, Finland,  feel free to ask.

Cheers and enjoy the beautiful Sunday afternoon.

The perfect wedding present- MONEY! (and no, not the tasteless kind)

Well, it’s wedding season. I’m sure for many of you that’s not necessarily exciting (although I’m still in that phase) it’s probably just expensive.

My friend Matt blogged about a brilliant idea a few months ago and I think that it should be promoted.

Problem:

• Couples usually want money for their wedding instead of toasters and wine glasses that they don’t need, yet they can’t ask for it (although some still do…)
• Giving money is unoriginal and boring

Solution:

Ask for/give money through microfinancing and get it back!

Why?

• The money goes to a good cause – incites entrepreneurship in developing countries
• The couple still gets money back – losing out on the time value of money (6-12 months with a pretty low default rate)
• The giver feels good – doing a good deed and giving something valuable- to all parties
• The couple feels good – receives money while still giving something valuable to people in need

Kiva.org is a great organization for this.

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

Just one of those thoughts that I think should be passed around. Honestly, I’d love to see this make it big (weddings, birthdays, Christmas etc.) Sometimes we can do without “stuff” and I don’t need your money as much as these people do…But giving to Kiva gives them the opportunity and I get double rewarded with the actual money and more importantly, the feeling that I’m actually doing something good in this world.

So think about this for the next wedding you go to and please pay it forward and spread the idea:)

 

Tips from Rwanda : let’s clean up

My best friend is currently in Uganda with GIVE International. I’m so very proud of her because she’s doing something that she’s incredibly passionate about. And, following your passion is what I’m passionate about:)

The piece below is of her trip to Rwanda. I wanted to share this one because I too was shocked.

Also – I was shocked at how clean everything is here. It’s been such a shock compared to Uganda – where garbage is thrown everywhere, animals and their feces little the streets – grown used to it, and I think it adds to Uganda’s charm in a way – but entirely different from Rwanda. At the border crossing we had to remove all of our plastic bags as they aren’t allowed in the country (you could buy paper bags for 100 fr – about 20 cents American each). Also on Saturday – we were here for this monthly event (I think the first Saturday of every month) where the whole country stops until mid-day to clean. It was so bizarre – no one can drive and virtually everything is shut down as everyone is supposed to go out and clean the streets. Even this morning I woke up at 6 and was reading on the balcony and there were people cleaning the streets. Even the poorest of the poor seem to ensure that their yards are well kept and tidy. It’s beautiful – and really makes a difference. Phenomenal country to visit – more expensive than Uganda though.

Makes you think eh? A place that has had so much pain, destruction and despair can have so much care for their land that they all work together to make a change.

Problems for my bike idea… solutions anyone?

Jay has now provided a great answer to his first question “what to do with the bikes in the winter”. (first article here) Interesting….. he pretty much proves (mathematically;) how this idea won’t work because of our Canadian winters. I’m not quite ready to give up the idea yet because I think there’s still merit in having 24/7 rent-a-bikes in the nation’s capital. Maybe one solution is to use the Germany system “call-a-bike” that Simon commented on. It wouldn’t require the same infrastructure needs as the Velo’v. If any of you have some ideas on how to make it work, please share.

Jay’s comment:

So suppose you rent bicycle storage to store bikes from October through March. Let’s suppose that you get a nice storage space with, say, a PODS 16 foot container (16′x8′x8′). It will cost you about $400 for moving the container back & forth plus $240 per month for a total of about $1900 for 6 months. I’m going to guess that each bike occupies about 4′x2′x4′ (assuming that quick release front wheels can be removed and attached to the frame), which means that you can store about 2 bicycles per foot of container length, on average, for a total of 32 bicycles. Let’s also suppose that you have a good looking female math geek negotiate with those hairy PODS guys for a 30% volume discount. So…($1900/32 bikes)*(100%cost – 30%discount)/100) gives you about $42/year/bicycle per bicycle just for storage during the off months.

I’m going to assume that the bicycles can be bought for about $120 per bike in volume, and including management, can be operated for about $40 per year and last for 10 years. Even without using present-value funky math, that comes to about $52/year/bicycle for ownership.

Next, you have to rent out some prime real estate to store your bicycles, and pay an attendant. Attendant costs $15/hour (load labour rate) for 14 hours per day, for a total of $210/day. Let’s assume that the city gives you some prime real-estate at a sweetheart deal of $1/square foot per month. For 64 bicycles per location, and 6 square feet per bicycle (assuming storage in a double-ended queue), and 33% extra for bicycles that come from other locations, management, access, security, and wasted space), that comes to (64*6*1.33)=512 square feet, or $512 per month for 6 months, for a total fo $3072 per year for 64 bicycles, or $48 per bicycle per year.

So far, we have an ownership cost of about $142/year/bike to buy them, store them, park them, maintain them, and collect money. If we add on a very modest management, insurance, and marketing costs, it is about $150/year/bicycle.

You are going to collect this money from the users of the service. The problem is that most avid cyclists will find it more convenient to buy a $120 bike and store it at home, and to take to it to a service shop for $40 per year, because using the same math, the bike costs $52 per year. Even if the bike is stolen every 3 years, they still come out ahead.

The cost model works better in cities with 12-month bicycling because you have more months to rent, (12 versus 5), you don’t have to store them in the off season, and 12 month cycling means that you don’t have to incur the direct or transitive fixed costs of alternate private (buy a car, license, insurance) or public transportation (purchase, license, insurance passed on through cost of bus passes).

Do you have a revenue model that can turn a profit with this cost model? Or, am I out to lunch, and you have a more realistic cost model and a profitable revenue model?

Feist’s little back up dancer

For anyone that really knows me, you know that I like to dance/move/etc. I was a ballet/jazz dancer for 15 years and so I have it in my blood.

But…I used to be good. I was a trained dancer with the right techniques and I could turn, jump and be graceful. Now? I prefer to just ‘rock out’ as I say. Especially in the car, just bounce around moving my hands like I’m drumming in the air, shaking my head from side to side and mouthing the lyrics, (which I never remember anyways). I especially love it when we stop at a stop sign and I just happen to be rocking out to something like Alanis…

I haven’t completely lost the real dancing but I no longer practice it. So, when I used to dream of being a Janet Jackson back up dancer, I now dream of being a Feist back up dancer.

I’ve been a huge Feist fan since last year and my love for her music has just grown now that I’ve seen her videos. They make fun of the expensive/’over the top’ music videos and just bring back the plain old fun. Her videos are inexpensive and the dancing is amazing…amazingly hilarious that is. When I think back to the music videos that I liked best (or at least made sure to stop and watch) it was usually the ones that were made on the cheap. Think of Praise You by Fat Boy Slim or Alanis’ Morisette’s Ironic. Both were extremely cheap but great creative marketing. When artists can grab your attention without paying the big bucks to do so, that’s entertainment.

Take a look at Feist’s videos, I’m sure you’ll all rock out too. And if any of you have the ins with Feist, if she’s ever looking for a dancer, please drop my name;)

Girls Go Tech

I’ll admit it. I’m a wannabe geek. 

Yes, I’ve started a blog but I’m still one of those people that just doesn’t get it when it comes to tech. I know where the application comes in, but in terms of actually creating the technology, I’d be lost.  Point being, I’ve never been one of those people that just naturally clicks with technology.

But I’m most definitely not the only one. Most of my girlfriends would have no idea how to actually fix their computer but nor do they have any interest in doing so. (Note: Great for those IT guys out there;)

As I had mentioned in another previous post, I’m not into math either.  I always excelled in it (which brings me back to the damn education system) but it doesn’t click naturally. I don’t need to go into detail on it because there’s enough literature out there on gender differences when it comes to natural abilities and interests.

This needs to change though.  We need more women geeks. I’m not saying hey everyone, let’s have equal job opportunities, because I get it: the pool for women engineers etc. is not as big.  

But what can we do now? For all you moms and dads out there with daughters, start thinking about engaging them at a young age. What inspired me to write this post was an ad I saw for girlsgotech.org.  Let’s get girls interested in math, science and tech. We need it. 

Follow ups: Winter biking? and some more examples of rent-a-bikes

Got some great comments so far. Jay’s been particularly active in the comments and he offers some great advice/opinions etc.

So, his latest question was,  “what do you do with the rent-a-bikes in the winter?”

Hmmm… good question. France was pretty mild (my year there was actually the worst they had ever had- usually don’t get snow). Not exactly here.

I know that Toronto was thinking about the project (trying to find the Star article now but can’t…this ran last summer when I just got back).  So, if they were thinking about it, Ottawa could at least give it a thought.

My solution? Hard to say, but probably would take them away for the winters. Winter biking can be pretty dangerous although just by quickly googling “Ottawa winter biking”, I got some interesting finds.  One says that Ottawa roads are great 88% of the time, another one showed pictures of his frozen beard and ruined bike. So… yeah, I’d probably take them away during the winter.  I have this feeling that some crazy New Year’s Eve partiers would somehow think that taking them out for a ride in the snow while intoxicated would be a good idea.

Again, perhaps I’m just an optimist, but I still think that this could work. The system could shut down for a few months in the winter but be back up for spring, summer, fall. Even then, think about this past December…. it felt like March!

Who knows, maybe with global warming, we could have this all year round:)

Good friend just passed me this too:

Two years ago we reported on Lyon’s city bike hire program. A user pays version of the garishly coloured schemes of similar ilk that have been available in Northern Europe for years. Then we observed London, Paris and Barcelona had rolled out similar programs. (Petz did a recap here). Toronto didn’t want to be outdone, so had the Community Bicycle Network, which ran it’s Yellow Bikes, until operations were suspended this year, though we think the University of Calgary might still have their U-bike program to help Canada save face.