This reading made me think of  Industrial Symbiosis as a relationship between two or more firms that exchange their waste, as feedstock for the production process. The definition of Industrial Symbiosis is that his process “resues, recycles, and reprocesses by products and intermediates within the system of organizations whereas conventional supply chains reduce waste within manufacturing processes and reuse end of life products.” Industrial symbiosis could be considered cradle to cradle. Cradle to cradle is almost a reference to “one man’s waste is another man’s treasure,” there is always a way to give a material a new life. Waste including materials, energy and water. Elements of industrial waste typically practice recycling and reuse and “end of life cycle” products. Companies play a big role in the industrial ecosystem. The industrial ecosystem is broken down into two categories, those include Eco-Industrial Parks and Eco-Industrial Networks. 

Firms have power over how much waste is produced throughout the supply chain, waste is constantly produced. Firms can control their pollution through end of pipe remediation and environmental management systems. Systems like IOS 14001 – I remember learning about these systems or codes in Dr. Mueller’s lectures. Industrial Symbiosis is these firms and supply chains working together to communicate ways to produce less waste.

Thinking about these concepts in terms of Greece, I think that Greece does little things to contribute to a greener future but not nearly enough. The few efforts you will see is solar panels on houses, and businesses using paper straws. However, due to the quality of water in the cities almost every establishment as well as resident is drinking bottled water. As a manufacturer or distributers of these water companies they should be looking at what they can do to make their packaging more eco-friendly. If such large quantities of water bottles are being thrown out each day, manufacturers should be making more of an effort to use biodegradable or sustainable materials. The same could be said about water companies in the United States. This is just one of the many examples of how supply chains could alter just one step to make a big dent on pollution created. Another idea that crosses my mind when it comes to Industrial Symbiosis and the relationship between supply chains is that in Greece most cars are outdated. Older cars tend to produce more emissions. When manufacturers, wholesalers, etc. look to send out their products if they used eco-efficient vehicles it would cut down on pollution caused by transport. It is hard to say if these are the true changes needed to be made in Greece reflecting Industrial Symbiosis, however that is what I noticed when visiting.

The eco-innovation observatory is a platform for the collection and analysis of a huge amount of eco-innovation and circular economy information, gathered by the European Union and other important economic regions. This platform allows for companies and innovative service providers to make climate based decisions for policy development. The environmental policy in Greece focuses on promoting renewable energies and energy efficiency. Greece’s best resources include solar, wind and tidal power. We are working to protect the islands. I think the biggest challenge would be finding ways to be more sustainable while still promoting agriculture and tourism, those two stimulate the economy. As of 2018 Greece ranked on the lower end of eco-innovation performance amongst the other EU countries. Greece ranked 75 out of 100. When looking at the Eco-Innovation Index 2019 illustration you can see that Greece is working its way to the EU average or EU standards. Greece is only seven positions behind. 

This is expected to improve due to the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy for Research, Technological Development and Innovation for eco-innovation from 2015-2021. This plan sets the stage for the integration into a circular economy. The Action Plan is directed towards industrial waste management, anti-pollution technologies and industrial symbiosis, climate change mitigation, and access to environmental information and mitigation of natural disasters. At the end of the day every country needs to work towards altering their current practices into a circular economy. Cradle to cradle is the best method for reducing waste and making good use of all available resources. Since tourism is such a crucial part of Greece’s economy, it would be best for businesses and residents to find more eco-friendly practices to combat the waste produced by crowds each tourist season. Various islands use wind energy to practice using renewable resources. There should be more of an effort made across all areas to do the same. It would take small changes like this to make a big difference. As you travel around Athens as well as the islands it can be noted that most houses use solar panels. Solar panels and nanotechnology in windows is being used in homes to increase indoor air quality and smart meters for energy efficiency. There are EU funded projects taking place in regards to all aspects of energy. A few of those include energy production, landing planning and public health, and environmental management. So even though the country isn’t ranked highly on the scale, they are working to improve their position. 

Hydra was my favorite island when we visited this trip. I thought it was quiet, clean, and so beautiful, some of that had to be due to the island’s sustainability practices. The first things you notice about the island are the lack of crowds, and abundance of boats and donkeys. 

There are only three forms of transportation on the island. Those include garbage trucks, donkeys and water taxis. There are no airports and no large hotel chains, creating a destination that doesn’t attract masses of tourists. For those that do know about the island and make the trip by ferry, such as myself, you’re so lucky to experience the change of pace. The island is divided into two sides, one is the business community. The business community consists of visitors and residents. The other side is those that make up the environmentalists. Those that fear that visitors and holiday houses will affect their minimalist lifestyle. I can understand both sides. There needs to be some form of economic activity but if that increases too much it takes away from the charm of the island. I do not think the island needs to build an airport, the tourist activity can come from those that choose to seek it out. Hydra is a hidden gem and those that find it will find the trip worth it. That handful of people will bring in revenue to keep the business afloat. Although I was unaware that there is still a risk the visit can be dangerous, even though the island feels safer then more popular ones – such as Mykonos or Santorini. I felt very safe during my afternoon in Hydra, however we can not turn a blind eye to the incidents that do take place. The article mentioned that there has been sexual assaults involving female tourists, and even gang activity. I’m not surprised because these events are so common these days, but I felt safe there as I do on Nantucket so that made it a little shocking. The security and police presence in Greece seems to be lacking. Not only on Hydra but also in Athens you never saw any police in public. It was a little scary to know that if you called for help it’s likely there would be no immediate response. 

Overall although Hydra is lacking infrastructure, they live a simpler lifestyle. There are future plans to raise awareness to locals of all the possibilities to the island. The plan would focus on water supply and energy, as well as basic education and waste management. Hydra is just looking to update with the rest of society.

A circular economy was defined by the World Economic Forum as an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design. Often the term circular economy is associated with “reduce, reuse, recycle,” however a circular economy looks at the big picture. The three key parts of CE is that it designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates living systems. The circular economy was created to mimic the Earth’s natural processes, therefore creating the term cradle to cradle. 

A circular economy is important because its main goal is to throw away nothing, allowing for us to produce less. Less thrown away means that there is less waste. It was shocking to find out that 90 percent of raw materials aren’t being used, if we could get that percentage down by 40 percent at least we would be producing half as much waste. Another fact that I thought was interesting but also didn’t surprise me was that in the last 15 years clothing production has doubled but the clothing lasts half as long. We live in a materialistic society and the idea of living with less is a scary idea to most. We can’t picture our lives with half the things we have today, yet we probably couldn’t tell you the last time we used these things. Manufacturers are finding ways to mass produce clothing at low costs, therefore the consumer may be buying more to compensate for the poor quality. I think this study abroad trip was a good testament to the fact that we can live with less. I brought what I thought was enough clothing for three weeks but only wore half of it. As a community, we need to learn to consume less or at least follow a cradle to cradle pattern giving these goods a new life. The reading shared that the economy must make the shift from linear to circular in order to produce less waste and become more resourceful. Out of 300 million metric tons of plastic produced annually, only 12 percent is reused or recycled. That is a small fraction of the plastic being regenerated while we have all the resources to do so. I thought all the charts throughout the article were very helpful in understanding these numbers. 

Some of the benefits of a circular economy are improved health, reduced cost of materials, creates new jobs, and reduces primary material consumption by 32 percent. Those are just a handful of positive reasons to switch to a circular economy and it’s safe to say they outweigh the negative.

This past week we had four guest speakers, one from the ACG office of Sustainability and three from the US Embassy. Guest speakers are such a great way to relate our class topics to the real world. Both events were very informative, however dramatically different topics of conversation. I think we can all agree that there were so many take-aways. 

ACG Office of Sustainability: Rania Assariotaki came in to speak with us from the ACG office of sustainability. Rania Assariotaki is the Senior Manager of Sustainability, and she shared with us how the ACG does their part to support a greener future. She shared all of the activities the students take part in to contribute to a greener campus, future and community. The ACG campus recently won an award for being one of the greenest campuses, which is tough to achieve. I do not think universities in the United States are making as much of an effort. The more we discuss green supply chain management and hear about the changes other countries make, only makes me want to do more to live a less wasteful lifestyle back home. It was also engaging and exciting that Rania handed out bamboo cutlery from her program. 

US Embassy: The speakers that came from the US Embassy were my favorite out of all of the tour guides and speakers of this trip. I just found it so interesting that as a diplomat representing the United States in Greece they take care of everything from important negotiations to what chicken KFC sells. Yuri Arthur was the woman that led the conversation, she is originally from the United States and has worked through various positions in the government. Although I am a marketing major she did convince me the government could be an interesting place to work with lots to expand my knowledge on. I didn’t realize diplomats were considered so important, Yuri explained that everything is very planned and they travel in motorcades, etc. In response to a classmate’s question, her biggest advice was to make connections and go for it. She explained that your connections or ability to make connections is much greater while you’re still in college. People are more willing to give advice or become a mentor while you’re still a student, which I kind of knew of but it was important to hear. The most important resource at this point in time is our relationships.