Mytilineos is the company that I chose to do my sustainability report on. They are an industrial conglomerate that focuses on metallurgy. They had a long sustainability report with sections for the environmental and social CSR efforts. Their social work was mostly with their internal stakeholders, the employees. Their environmental section was more interesting as this company has potential for Industrial Symbiosis. While I didn’t find any mention of it occuring, they were making efforts to repair the environmental damage caused by their mines and plants. I feel that Mytilineos was a good choice.

When doing the readings, I liked the idea of Industrial Symbiosis. It seemed like the most efficent use of the inputs and a firms money as you are getting as much value out of the materials that is possible when you sell the waste. It was also interesting to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of Greece’s sustainability efforts. I did notice the large amount of solar panels placed on top of the roofs of Athens and I noticed wind turbines on our excursions. It seems like Greece is heading in the right direction, but has significant barriers still in their way.

The thing I liked the most about the tour was the beautiful coastline. The clear water and nice weather helped to create a very relaxing vibe. The Temple of Poseidon was ok, though after seeing the majesty of the Parthenon it seemed small and insignificant. The part of Sounios that we passed through on the way their seemed like it could potentially be a good vacation spot.

In class today I researched the Corporate Sustainability Report for a telecommunications company called WIND. They focused strongly on the three pillars of sustainability, Social, Economic, and Environmental. They presented clear goals that illustrate their ethical standards in all three categories. Its mission statement emphasizes excellent customer care, security, and environmental practices. While their mission statement alone focuses on putting the customer’s needs first, after diving deeper into the report I was introduced to their standards for their employees as well. They strongly focus on the safeguarding, well-being, and support of their employees. The CEO touched on the support they offered during the COVID-19 Pandemic and it is clear that they take very good care of their employees. One example of an ethical responsibility that they have instilled to support their employees is the Empowerment of their Women employees to achieve their goals and enhance skills through partnerships. One way they do this is by having 35% of women in roles of responsibility and are working to increase this number in various years. Their report illustrated both high collectivism and femininity in their company

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Today I researched the sustainability initiatives related to the insurance company Interamerican. Before today I would have a hard time telling you how an insurance company could make a positive impact on the sustainability goals of a country. After reading their sustainability report and interviews from executives I have learned many procedures and policies an insurance company can take to address the three pillars of sustainability. The report focused mostly on People and Environment, with profit woven into the two. They put a focus on the wellbeing of all stakeholders whether they be customers, investors, employees, or regulators.

1. One way in which I have been pushed outside of my comfort zone is when we altered travel plans on the fly. I usually have everything planned out days or weeks in advance, but during this trip I have had to change plans on the day of or even in the moment itself.

   In class today, my partner and I looked into the controversy over the Firestone tire recall during the late 1990s and 2000s. I learned a lot about how unethical decisions by a company can lead to more than just PR problems. Firestone destroyed their long-term deal with Ford motors by shifting the blame for accidents caused by tire failures onto the vehicles. Their refusal to respond to complaints from the international community and the state of Arizona lead to a delayed response and multiple government investigations resulting in fines.

Today in class we learned about social responsibility within company culture and the different aspects of Hofstede’s model on cultural dimensions. The company I choose to analyze was OFET and they have many resources on their website expressing their company culture, mission and values. OFET values the individual greatly and places high importance on their customers and employees. They strive to create a welcoming environment in the office that is safe and they also strive to create employees who value ethics.

Today we went to Poseidon Temple. This was my favorite temple we have visited because it was surrounded by water and beautiful islands. We swam and ate lunch down on a beach that looked up to the temple. We got octopus and fish and that was quite the experience. It was a beautiful afternoon on the coast.

In the article eco-innovation in Greece it talks about how Greece is affected by a lot of environmental changes because of their surroundings of the ocean. There are hundreds of islands in Greece and their food comes from the ocean. The climate changes and pollution hurt their environment and they need to be very aware of how they are treating the earth. However, even though they need to be careful many groundwater irrigation systems operate illegally and thus, they are not recorded. They have average air quality and the way they over use their systems is bad for the environment. Something that is interesting Greece is most successful countries worldwide in the use of solar thermal energy.

Something that took me out of my comfort zone since being here was having to go to the doctors because I had bronchitis. It was definitely a very different and overwhelming experience. The way their doctors work here is very different from the way our doctors work in America.

Today my partner and I researched Johnson and Johnson and unethical decisions they have made. They knew about the issues with their baby products and did not disclose issues that they had. This resulted in a ton of lawsuits as the FDA recalled their baby products that caused cancer

The reading, Eco-innovation in Greece talked about climate change and ecosystem pollution. It gave us a broad overview of how Greece is handling it versus other countries. In terms of eco-innovation performance, Greece continued to rank low among the 28 other European Union countries. Greece scored a 75 while the European Union on average scored a 100.

On the tour, we went to go visit the Temple of Poseidon, located at Cape Sounion. It is a 5th century ruin with Doric-Style columns. It was situated on top of a mountain and allowed for an amazing view of the sea. After exploring/learning about the temple a little bit we were able to go and swim and have lunch right on the water.