8-10 yrs old
11-13 yrs old
Business & Entrepreneurship
Climate & Environment
Science
Students can research businesses that are known globally for being sustainable.
October 25, 2016
Biogen, USA, as a top carbon neutral business
Shire, PLC, is committed to reducing fleet emissions and waste management
Mini-Lesson (whole class)
If you travel to Seattle, a tour through Theo Chocolate is both about free tastings and learning about a replicable business model: sustainable farming and free trade. Sustainable practices in business require methodical choices about cost effectiveness and purposeful planning. Theo Chocolate chooses to pay more than the average to cocoa sellers knowing they will get a better harvest. The company has also endeavored to work only with those businesses that practice sustainable farming. Can’t make it there in person? Skype with them, or a local business in your area that uses sustainable resources. Do you know any businesses in your area that pride themselves on their work towards being sustainable?
• How can businesses practice sustainability?
Minecraft allows for users to save items to their chest and even trade in stored content for other resources. People make choices about using resources. Students could practice sustainable living that is unique to Minecraft and then extrapolate that business ethics practice into other examples.
Cooperative group activity choices: o Option One: Have students work in a team to decide how to use resources even before the exercise. Give students a value sheet of resources before building and then give them a 30-minute build time. o Option Two: Have students compete in smaller teams of two to create the most resourceful build maximizing resources and even repurposing materials.
Wrap-up: Sustainability can be many things; locally too it means more to the customers. What is important in your area when people think of sustaining some business or farming practices? Water or energy conservation? Land usage?
Extension: • Find a local business model that is practicing sustainability. What are some of the short term losses they are incurring by adhering to stricter standards? What is the long term pay off for the business as well as the customers as this business practices ongoing sustainability?
Evidence of Learning Teams will present their world with a budget or cost savings spreadsheet in Excel with conditional formatting.
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