We are excited to share the latest edition of ICYMI! A Magazine for Business Sustainability Professionals. In each edition of ICYMI!, we share the latest research, teaching and engagement from the Erb Institute. Our cover story for this edition is by Erb faculty member, Sara Soderstrom. She shares how she’s working to bring awareness to gender issues in academia.
Annie’s started looking at the market for recycled materials, and learned a major source of recycled HDPE plastic came from old milk jugs. Then the idea almost formed itself: Annie’s saw an opportunity to close a loop in consumers’ minds, and turn milk jugs into the packaging for cereal that people pour milk over in the morning.
Today, Harris operates his farm as an ecosystem, grazing cattle, sheep and poultry in rotations, using the Savory Institute’s holistic planned grazing model. Through holistic planned grazing, animals are frequently moved between paddocks with time between grazings built in for plant recovery. This process aims to mimic the way that wild herds of ruminants move across grasslands. As herds graze, dung, urine and old plant matter are trampled into the ground where they can decompose and enrich the soil’s network of microbial life. Dung beetles and other beneficial insects aerate the soil and move resources into the soil.
Every day, the healthcare industry processes massive amounts of data. To assess patients and provide treatments, doctors and physicians have to sift through it all, from patient history to genetic and environmental factors. But big data and technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are changing how information is stored – the volume of it – and how it is shared and analyzed.
Health inequality is a growing concern in Canada and the United States.1 Where you live can play a big part, especially for those living in remote communities, but so can employment status, income level, gender and ethnicity. And in turn, there is a link between the state of your health and your finances. The cost of care, the ability to carry a job or to participate in society can have health impacts.
Over time, a region of lush grasslands in northern China suffered from overpopulation, overgrazing and the impacts of climate change to become the Horqin Desert which is now the size of Switzerland. Located in Inner Mongolia, the Horqin Desert began to have far-reaching impact, as agriculture suffered and sandstorms affected not only northern China but also Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
More people today are living as refugees or displaced persons than at any time since the end of World War II1 and many of those seeking asylum are from the LGBTQ2+ community. In more than 70 countries around the world LGBTQ2+ people are facing extreme violence and persecution.2 They are looking for hope and a safe place to call home.