“Industrial symbiosis in Greece: A study of spatial allocation patterns,” introduced me to the concept of industrial symbiosis. Initially, the idea of industrial symbiosis seemed a little daunting and quite extensive, but once you realize that it’s just companies exchanging their waste to be used in their production processes, it becomes a lot easier to understand. Essentially, this study analyses the Eco-Industrial Networks in Greece and explores their limitations in a spatial capacity. The article taught me that there are five levels when looking at the spatial scale of waste: Global, National, Regional, Local, and Industrial Park. I also learned that when transporting waste between Greek companies that are participating in industrial symbiosis, trucks are mainly used when moving the waste within the country’s borders and ships are mainly used when moving the waste to another country. I found it amazing that industrial symbiosis can be so far-reaching as to actually include other countries, like Italy, or even countries in other continents, like China. Furthermore, I’d presume that transporting waste via ships would be far too costly and would far outweigh any benefits, but apparently, it is actually profitable because cargo ship containers aren’t too expensive. However, as the study suggests, the environmental implications of transporting waste in this way must be examined. When reading the study, I also thought that another note-worthy fact is that more industrial symbiosis business partnerships “might be possible within Greece’s existing IPs.” In addition, when the article discussed the correlation between the type of waste and the spatial scale, I was pleased to read that most of the results seemed to me to be common sense. I was able to understand why superheated water and yeast residues should be transported on the IP or Local level so as not to lose heat and because of high compatibility, respectively. When discussing the transportation of gases, it is clear to me that this particular type of waste should also be moved on an IP or Local level  because they are considerably high-risk and are usually moved via pipes or trucks. At the end of “Industrial symbiosis in Greece…,” there is a summary of the three primary factors limiting Eco-Industrial Networks in a spatial respect: economic, physical, and social. The economic factors include labor and transportation costs. The physical factors include the physical dimensions of the waste in question. The social factors might be behavioral such as companies’ usual tendencies. The study then concludes that as evidenced by the analysis, the applications of industrial symbiosis are in fact limited on a spatial level. 

The “Eco-innovation in Greece” country profile was created by the Eco-Innovation Observatory to provide an analysis of such things as the eco-innovation trends in Greece. Prior to reading this analysis, I’ll admit I was unfamiliar with the term eco-innovation and didn’t really know what it meant. However, the definition of eco-innovation provided at the very beginning of the analysis really helped me to understand it in a succinct way. “Eco-innovation in Greece” taught me that Greece’s level of technological innovation is quite low as seen by their reduced patent applications. I was also very surprised and impressed by the fact that the bathing waters in Greece are of a very high quality. However, Greece is currently experiencing an overexploitation of their water resources and a lack of biodiversity in both their land and water ecosystems. Whilst reading “Eco-innovation in Greece,” I was also quite perplexed by the mention of illegal landfills and illegal metal foundries because I didn’t really know that these existed and I’m somewhat curious as to how these originated and what can be done to locate and close them down. On the topic of waste, the analysis mentioned that Greece needs to recycle more as well as the fact that they are lacking appropriate hazardous waste disposal facilities. With all of this talk about waste, I can’t help but think how implementing circular processes and evolving into circular economies would serve to help solve, or at least lessen, this problem. Furthermore, relating back to my Lean and Six Sigma class that I took last semester, there are so many good waste reduction and process improvement methods that I learned about that Greek companies should really try to implement to aid in waste management. On another note, I was so pleased to see that Greece has been doing well in utilizing more solar power by increasing photovoltaic installations. In addition, the analysis discussed transparent solar cells for windows, smart meters, and nanotechnology products, which seem to be interesting concepts that I’m curious to learn more about. Personally, perhaps the most amazing part of the entire analysis was when it talked about Kafireas and the environmental implications of the seven wind farms on the island of Evia. Although it seems like it is quite a complicated operation to develop and run this wind farm, the statistics alone show that it is definitely worth the effort and I truly can’t believe that “Kafireas will help the country achieve full decarbonisation
by 2028!”

My main takeaway from reading “Towards Sustainability” is that the beautiful island of Hydra, which I had the great pleasure of visiting just a few weeks ago, has numerous deep-seated problems that need immediate addressing. If all of the information in “Towards Sustainability” still holds true in 2023, I am quite shocked, to say the least. When I was in Hydra, I remember thinking it was such a quaint, cute, and “old-fashioned” island; especially when I saw the mail boat come and deliver the mail and then saw it being wheelbarrowed off to all of the businesses. The carless streets, the suitcases strapped onto donkeys, and the supplies being wheeled by on wagons just seemed to add to the charm of this small Greek island. However, I’ll be the first to admit that I did not realize the socio-economic implications of this way of life. When on Hydra, I was taking everything in through the eyes of a tourist, so I obviously didn’t pause to wonder where all the waste went or where the drinking water and ice came from. After reading this paper, it is now clear to me all of the seemingly hidden problems that I overlooked that wouldn’t be visible to the average absent-minded tourist like how the entire island’s economy strictly relies on tourism, or how there were no solar panels, or how there was no designated place for all of the garbage to go. I find it quite fascinating  that the only source of electricity is from an undersea cable that brings power to the island from a polluting mainland power station. As the paper suggests, surely wind, solar, wave, or even waste management power is a better alternative. Additionally, the waste management practices described in the paper are truly appalling considering they are both further contributing to pollution and wholly unsustainable due to the ever-increasing amount of waste. I also think that “Towards Sustainability” is correct in repeatedly stating that the sustainability problem on Hydra has both global and local aspects to it. I also feel the author’s anguish toward the fact that nothing is being done to rectify any of Hydra’s problems because I’ve seen firsthand how stalemates can happen when no involved party can agree on a solution. On a final and more uplifting note, I think it is so cool that I was actually able to envision all of the scenery described in the paper since I was just recently there. Furthermore, I find it so interesting that every part of Hydra that the author first described back in 2008 still holds true today.

In the complete guide to “What is Circular Economy and How Does it Work?,” I learned about such things as the benefits and barriers to a circular economy as well as some examples of said economy and how it can be successfully implemented. I particularly liked the World Economic Forum definition of a circular economy because I think that it explains the concept well. Furthermore, according to the article, evolving from linear to circular economic models is now widely acknowledged as the “solution,” for lack of a better word, to the sustainability concerns that we are currently facing. By reading this article, I was also able to understand the deep relationship between a circular economy and the concepts, practices, and ideologies that I learned about in my Lean and Six Sigma class at College of Charleston last semester. The guide also did a good job of reinforcing the message that a circular economy is not strictly about recycling, or even reducing or reusing, but that it actually encompasses a lot more than those redundant “fixes.” A circular economy involves building sustainability into products in a proactive capacity, rather than reactive, during their design phases. In this way, products are better able to be reused, recycled, and/or transformed through the processes involved in a circular economy. This article also called my attention to the fact that the idea of a circular economy also involves limiting or eliminating the utilization of non-renewable energy sources and fossil fuels. By instead focusing on renewable resources and their careful preservation, the article says that doing so will “support regeneration and actively improve the environment.” Thus, I found this concept of the regeneration of living systems to be quite interesting and something I may want to explore further. Just like in real life where we should maximize our potentials and get the maximum out of every situation, the circular systems and processes in a circular economy also seek to maximize the value of every product and resource that enters it. After reading this guide, it is clear to me that a circular economy, and all of the ideas behind it, far outweighs the concept of a linear economy with its archaic and wasteful approaches and views of a product’s life cycle. Businesses should be working tirelessly to evolve their linear systems and processes into circular ones that support regeneration, transformation, waste reduction, and the overall betterment of our planet.

The ACG Office of Sustainability presentation that we had in class was very enlightening and informative. The guest speaker had a lot to say about the sustainability practices at ACG and even gifted us reusable wooden cutlery sets! She also mentioned what her job entails as an employee in the Office of Sustainability and the sustainability “trends” she has observed and witnessed on campus. As a school with many international students, like ourselves, it was interesting to hear her perspective on how the congregation of students from all over the world at ACG impacts the levels and types of sustainability practices that she regularly encounters.

The guest speakers that we had from the US Embassy were such a pleasure to hear from. I absolutely loved learning about their unique jobs and the plethora of differing tasks that they may have to accomplish on a daily basis. I’ll admit that I knew next to nothing about working as a diplomat or in the US Embassy previous to their coming in to talk with us. However, I can now confidently say that they peaked my interest and made me realize that there are more “nontraditional” ways to utilize my future business degrees. I also thought it was interesting that a diplomat’s job can range from ordering bullet-proof glass to posing as a stand-in for the President of the United States to naming the best cow in Greece (or something along those lines, I can’t quite remember her exact story). It was really helpful to hear about the diplomat’s varied past and how she came to be in her current position. Additionally, hearing her tips about applying for jobs and using keywords when submitting online applications so that you do not get immediately filtered out was incredibly beneficial. It was also impressive to hear her stories about her previous living experiences and conditions in the other countries that she had been posted and to have her compare and contrast them with her current situation in Greece. She really gave an in-depth description of every aspect of life as a US diplomat. Furthermore, I also enjoyed hearing from the other two ladies about their business backgrounds and previous jobs and how their roles have both changed and stayed the same now that they work in the US Embassy. All in all, I had never considered working in the US Embassy as a possible career path, but now I do.

Over the past three days of classes, I have been immersed into the world of Green Supply Chain Management. I have learned about the concept of “greening” and the ways in which organizations can make their supply chains more environmentally friendly and sustainable. I was also introduced to the Cradle-to-Grave and Cradle-to-Cradle approaches and learned how they differ on the topic of waste. I found the idea of industrial symbiosis to be both an interesting and effective way of managing and repurposing waste. I also like the connection between eco-design/design for the environment and design-for-manufacturability because the design phase gives the most opportunity to act in a proactive, rather than reactive, capacity in regards to creating sustainable and environmentally sound products. Additionally, I feel that I now have a better understanding of reverse logistics, the vital component of a sustainable supply chain, and the differences between a linear and circular supply chain. It is now apparent to me that any organization looking to embrace Green Supply Chain Management must modify its existing traditional supply chain networks to reflect a closed-loop supply chain that allows for the introduction of reverse flows. On the topic of reverse logistics, it was interesting to hear about the new 3 Rs and how they expand upon the traditional 3 Rs. I was also curious about the fact that the textbook mentioned “every reverse logistics system should include gatekeeping, collection, and sortation” because I had never read this before so I’m interested to explore more about these apparently imperative concepts. Furthermore, when I read about the main problems with reverse logistics, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were all easy to comprehend and they prompted me to deeply think about the ways in which they could be addressed and managed. I had also never before considered the different types of reverse logistics networks that retailers might employ. However, upon learning about the aforementioned, I thought that the third-party returns management RL network and return to suppliers RL network were interesting RL retailer networks because they limit the reverse logistics responsibilities of the organization in question and instead redirect it to other parties. I think this is a really good idea because in doing so, it seems that the reverse flows will be better handled and more effectively managed compared to a situation in which the organization producing the goods has to manage both the forward and reverse flows.