The new Central American and Caribbean water resource centre Hidrocec (Centro de Recursos Hídricos para Centroamérica y el Caribe) will open in Costa Rica in March 2010, local paper La Nación reported.

The centre will provide technical assistance to help countries in the region preserve their water resources.

Located in Guanacaste province’s Liberia city, Hidrocec will operate under the state-owned college Universidad Nacional (UNA).

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provided US$500,000 to build the center, the report said.

Hidrocec will oversee the protection and management of surface and underground water; the use and recuperation of basins; the development of technology to treat domestic, industrial and agro-industrial wastewater; and review legislation and the management of water resources.

The centre will also offer undergraduate and master’s programs in water resource management.

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 19 Jan 2010

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released guidelines this week to support publicly traded corporations in disclosing their climate change risks and opportunities to shareholders. ”I do not believe that public companies today are doing the best job they possible can do with respect to their current mandated disclosures,” said SEC Commissioner Eisse Walter. The decision ”is designed to improve the quality of disclosures filed by U.S. public companies for the benefit of investors.”

BrownFlynn is pleased to be uniquely positioned to provide clients with strategic consultation in response to the SEC’s ground-breaking decision. 

Attached are two recent examples of our client work in the areas of:

		Carbon and Climate Change Strategy and Reporting
		Sustainability Rankings Advisory Services via BrownFlynn’s proprietary Framework for Prioritization™

For more information, please email Barb Brown at barbb@brownflynn.com or Margie Flynn at margief@brownflynn.com.

BrownFlynn has recently partnered with the Institute for Sustainable Development in Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina.  The Institute for Sustainable Development offers the Green Plus sustainable business and nonprofit certification and education program that support small organizations in enhancing their social, environmental and economic bottom lines.

Through this partnership, BrownFlynn will be able to provide its expertise in sustainability strategy and impact planning, goal setting, brand enhancement, stakeholder engagement, sustainability reporting and other internal and external communications to the companies and nonprofits that seek the Institute’s Green Plus certification.

“Aligning with Green Plus makes great strategic sense for BrownFlynn,” said Margie Flynn, co-owner of BrownFlynn.  “It enables us to expand our resources for smaller organizations while providing a management certification process that challenges small business owners to adopt sustainability in a meaningful way.”

Chris Carmody, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, stated in accord, “The team at the Institute for Sustainable Development is enthusiastic about partnering with BrownFlynn.  BrownFlynn’s experience working with larger companies will help Green Plus participants become more competitive.”

The Institute for Sustainable Development partners with universities, chambers of commerce, business and philanthropic foundations to offer Green Plus to their constituents.  The goal is to make sustainability knowledge and best practice sharing affordable and accessible to smaller employers. 

The Institute’s partners received the national Business Civic Leadership Center’s Siemens Sustainable Community Award in 2008 for its work in building a public-private coalition to advance sustainability.  Look for upcoming posts about developments in sustainability that emerge from this mutually-valuable partnership.

www.brownflynn.com

www.gogreenplus.org

Welcome to  Lesson 3 of My CCNA Jumpstart Course.

I hope you have learned a lot from previous Lessons we had so far. Our remaining Lessons are covered in much more depth.

My aim for today’s lesson is to introduce you to one of the fundamental theories behind the networking protocols that exist today – the OSI Reference Model. This is fundamental knowledge from the beginning of computer creation. You will learn the 7 layers that when combined leads to a beautifully run Cisco Network.

You will be introduced to the seven layers of a network. We will also tackle the first two layers in detail. The Physical layer and the Data Link layer.

By the end of this lesson, you will gain the underpinning knowledge for the CCNA exam topic “Describe How a Network Works.” You will learn the network concepts at layers 1, 2, 3 and 7 using the layered model approach in a Cisco environment.

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model in a nutshell
About 30% of the CCNA exam questions is related to the OSI Reference Model. This means you need to devote extra time to understand this topic and secure your success towards CCNA certification.

The OSI Reference Model is a standard developed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) in 1984.

This model aims to define how data is transferred from one computer to another by using logical stages known as layers. These layers are stacked together, each have its own set of functions and protocols.

There are seven layers of the OSI Stack as shown in the following table:

Figure 3.0 – The Transport Layer segmentation process

In the CCNA exam, you may be asked to identify all seven layers. In the table above you will use the MNEMONIC columns as a guide to remember the seven OSI layers.

For example, the first letter of each word of the phrase “All People Seem To Need Data Processing“ correspond to the 7 layers – from upper layers downwards. Please familiarise yourself with the table.

The upper layers of the stack mainly deal about how the data will be formatted and encrypted. While the lower layers focus on preparing how to package and deliver the data while in transit.

A CCNA professional focuses mainly on layers 1, 2, 3 and 7 although all layers are relevant. Remember that the OSI Reference Model is only as a theoretical guideline.

It is a standard to ensure that all types of network devices made by different vendors will be compatible with each other. It is not applied in a very strict fashion.

The Seven Layers Up Close

1.      Physical Layer
It is the lowest layer in the OSI stack. The Physical Layer mainly deals with the electrical and physical specifications of the network hardware.

It defines physical parameters such as voltages, type of cable interface, etc. As a CCNA expert, you will need to have a good knowledge of the Physical layer because it is a fundamental requirement of any network.

2.      Data Link Layer
You will definitely need to know about Data Link Layer. This is integral to the CCNA exam and your role as a CCNA Network Administrator.

The Data Link Layer is concerned with the methods on how to move the data across the Cisco network. This includes the network topologies we have discussed previously.

It is also in this layer where data packets are packaged into frames. We will discuss both the Data Link and Physical Layer in more detail later in the lesson.

3.      Network Layer
The Network Layer is another CCNA focal point, and likely to be tested when you take the actual CCNA Training course or exam.

The Network layer decides the best path to route the data fragments called packets from the sender to receiver.

This layer is also capable of handling error correction with the use of headers. Internet Protocol (IP) operates on this layer of the OSI stack. Routers and router-switches work as a Layer 3 equipment.

Because this is where all the routing action takes place, the CCNA exam covers a great deal about the Network Layer and the associated routing processes.

It will be wise if you spend extra time studying this layer.

4.      Transport Layer
The Transport Layer ensures an accurate delivery of the data. It slices the data from the upper layers into segments.

On the receiver’s end, these segments are reassembled back to its original form. Then it is passed on to the upper layers of the OSI stack.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) runs in the Transport Layer of the OSI stack.

5.      Session Layer
This layer is in charge of managing user connections known as session. It tells the system when to start and end the session. Lastly, it ensures only authorised users have access to data.

6.      Presentation Layer
This layer is responsible for data formatting. It also decides the encryption method in order to process the data. An example would be ASCII and EBCDIC text formats.

This layer is rarely tested in the CCNA Syllabus but you must know about it.

7.      Application Layer
It is the topmost layer in the OSI stack. This layer is responsible for providing the services to the software applications used. For example, MS Outlook is supported by Layer 7 services such as SMTP and POP.

Other Layer 7 services are FTP, SNMP and HTTP. The Application Layer is integral to the CCNA exam. You must devote time to study its role and significance in a Cisco network.

Data Encapsulation Process
The diagram below shows the process flow based on the OSI Reference Model. Note that the source computer interacts with the same layer of the other computer.

Figure 3.2 – The OSI Reference Model process flow

So how does it work? We will use a common task to simplify the OSI Reference Model process. Let’s suppose you are surfing the internet. You decide to open a link on one of the websites.

1.   The mouse click triggers the data request. (Layer 7)

2.   The data format is set and encrypted (Layer 6). A secure session is also being initiated (Layer 5).

3.   The raw data enters the lower layers of the OSI stack. It undergoes the encapsulation process in preparation for its delivery across the network.

The Transport, Network and Data Link Layer will each introduce a header. This will be helpful in bringing the data back in its original form once it reaches its destination.

a.    The raw data is broken down into segments (Layer 4 – TCP) and labeled with headers according to the order they were received.

b.    The segments are further packaged into packets (Layer 3 – IP) and tagged with IP Headers for faster delivery

c.    The packets are converted into frames (Layer2 – Ethernet, Token Ring) and further checked for errors

d.   The frames are broken down into bits and are electrically transmitted over the network medium (Layer 1 – DSL, wireless, fiber optic)

4.   As the bits reach the destination (web server), it moves up the OSI layer and strips off the frame, packet and segment headers.

5.   Segments are reassembled back to its proper order similar to the original raw data.

6.    The web server finally processes the request you initiated on your browser. The data response will undergo the same process as it travels back to your computer.

Figure 3.3 – The data encapsulation process on the OSI Reference Model

Imagine how data has been changed, sliced and brought back into its original form just like the woman sawn by a magician in a circus act!

In the following sections, we will focus on the two lowest layers of the OSI stack.

Not only are Layer 1 and 2 principles important in network planning, implementation and troubleshooting, knowing them by heart is a must in your quest for becoming CCNA Certified.

The Physical Layer
The Physical Layer is the lowest layer of the OSI stack. But it is also the most special one. It is the only layer where data is actually being moved from one device to another.

Other layers simply perform their functions within the OSI stack before sending out the data.

When data frames coming from the Data Link Layer enter the Physical Layer, it is broken further into a stream of bits that can be interpreted as binary 1’s and 0’s.

These bits are then being subjected to encoding methods to convert them into voltage or light pulses.

The Physical Layer works closely with the Data Link Layer to resolve LAN and WAN hardware issues.

In order for Layer 1 elements to do their function, they should be guided by protocols residing on the Layer 2. Let’s take the UTP cable as an example. The UTP cable is a Layer 1 component, but the maximum distance it can serve is controlled by layer 2 protocols such as Ethernet. In this case, it is 100 meters.

The Data Link Layer
The Data Link Layer is where many LAN and WAN technologies are defined. The most popular ones are Ethernet, Token Ring, and Wi-Fi.

Moving data across the Physical link is a primary role of the Data Link layer. It packages the data sent to it from the upper layers into frames. Each frame consists of a header, a payload, and a trailer.

The header contains information that is vital for the proper delivery of data. This includes the IP address of the sender and receiver as well as the protocol used to format the data frame.

The payload contains the actual data. The trailer holds the information for data control and checking. Once framing is made, it is will be passed over to the Physical Layer for transmission.

The Data Link layer will also reassemble data from the Physical layer for use in the upper layers.

Data Link Layer’s error detection capability is possible through Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). This ensures that the data at destination exactly matches that from the source.

In order to differentiate the logical and physical functions of the Data Link Layer, the IEEE 802 Standards introduced two sub-layers:

1.   Logical Link Control (LLC)
The LLC sublayer’s job is to provide and manage the connection between two networked computers. It also handles the error checking features of the Data Link Layer.

2.   Media Access Control (MAC)
This sublayer takes care of the frame’s access to the physical layer. It adds the destination computer’s physical address onto the data frame. This is called a MAC Address.

It is a 48-bit address encoded on each networking device. In a workstation, the MAC address is burned into the NIC. On a router, each port has its own MAC physical address.

Ideally, no two devices should have the same MAC address in a network. Otherwise, it will bring disastrous results on the network.

Not all Network Operating Systems (NOS) use the physical address to identify network devices.

Instead, they use logical network names. Another protocol called the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) associates physical and logical names to resolve interoperability issues.

Figure 3.4 – The two sub-layers  of Data Link Layer LLC and MAC

There are a number of network elements that operate at layer 2. The most common ones are bridges and switches.

These devices make decisions about what to do with data they receive by looking at the Data Link Layer frames.

We have reached the end of today’s lesson. I hope that you have gained a more solid grasp of the OSI Reference Model. In addition, I hope you are now feeling more confident to taking your full CCNA training course.

By now, you should understand the underpinning concepts of different OSI protocols and the processes that work behind each layer, just like any CCNA expert. If not, I strongly urge you to re-read this lesson again.

In the next lesson, you will deal with an equally important and interesting topic, the TCP/IP protocol suite.

CLICK HERE to continue CCNA Training for Lesson4

Find out how your business compares to industry achievers as well as tips on how to maximise your resources at this interactive and informative seminar

Care Systems & Associates is conducting a 3 hour seminar for Aged Care Providers who are serious about maximising their resources for 2010.

This seminar is provided FREE of charge will focus primarily on resource and revenue maximisation from Resident and Subsidy Management. All interested parties must book prior to attendance.

Venue location is easily accessible via car or train with free parking opposite in Brays Bay Reserve.

Where:

Aged & Community Services Association of NSW & ACT (ACS)

Level 3, 9 Blaxland Rd, Rhodes.

When:

12^th February 2010,    10.00am – 2pm

Exceed your financial goals for 2010 by attending this free workshop.

Email admin.nsw@caresystems.com.au to reserve your space or call us on 02 4578 0699

Limited spaces are available so please avoid disappointment and book early. 

Click on the image below for a full size location map.

On December 9, 2009, The Climate Institute launched its Climate Scoreboard to serve as an online tool that allows the public to track how countries’ current proposals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions would affect future global warming, should they be implemented.

Click image to watch video

*According to the Climate Scoreboard website, “the Scoreboard is based on the C-ROADS (Climate Rapid Overview and Decision Support) computer simulation, which is calibrated to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report results. C-ROADS emerged from research at MIT and allows users to input mitigation proposals for China, India, the US, the European Union, and other nations and regions. It then simulates these emissions’ impacts on greenhouse gas concentrations, temperature change, per-capita emissions, cumulative emissions, sea level rise and other indicators.”

ThatDAMShow.com has a wealth of archived podcasts concerning Digital Asset Management; and a good list of Recommended reading on the subject.

The podcasts cover content and digital media management for the Internet, publishing, broadcast, and anywhere else media is preserved, monetized, archived or managed.

Barb, Beth, Margie

BrownFlynn was featured in an article in the Business Section of The Plain Dealer (Ohio’s largest newspaper) yesterday, highlighting our ability to adapt to the changing economic climate and capture new business opportunities amidst a serious recession. A reporter spoke with Principals and Co-owners Barb Brown and Margie Flynn, as well as Director of Learning Beth Meany (who was particularly highlighted for her work in establishing/running our new division, BrownFlynn Learning). 

Check out the article here.

Every year, more companies across the globe are recognizing the importance of sustainability and CSR reporting for improved reputation and financial returns from customers and investors, in addition to increasing cost savings and risk aversion.  In 2008, 84 percent of the 250 largest global companies by revenue reported on sustainability performance, 75 percent of which used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for their reporting process[1].

The GRI provides a standard framework and guidelines for measuring and reporting an organization’s economic, environmental, and social performance.  The GRI framework yields reliable, credible and comparable metrics through its use of performance indicators in 6 key categories: Environmental, Human Rights, Labor Practices and Decent Work, Society, Product Responsibility, and Economic.  By reporting on the indicators most relevant to their operations, organizations can present their significant environmental, social and economic impacts and opportunities. 

But at first glance, the number of indicators within each category may seem intimidating and even confusing.  To help organizations understand what these indicators mean, as well as where and how to start their reporting process, BrownFlynn Learning provides its signature course, “The GRI Process”, and has recently partnered with Symbiotic Engineering to offer a comprehensive course on GRI’s 30 Environmental Indicators.

On February 11, 2010, BrownFlynn Learning will complement its training session for “The GRI Process” (February 9-10) with the one-day course focused on the GRI Environmental Performance (EN) Indicators.  Environmental engineers (bios below) will help participants garner an in-depth understanding of the standard protocols and methodologies for setting goals and for tracking and reporting environmental performance toward those goals.  Instructors will delve into how the environmental indicators relate to benchmarking, reporting GHG inventories and life cycle analysis, and addressing problems faced by participants.

Expected Outcomes of the Environmental Indicator Course:

• How to use the Environmental Indicators as the basis for the business case for sustainability.
• The current methodologies and protocols relevant to the North American market for reporting the Environmental Indicators.
• How to benchmark, set goals, and respond when the company is going off goal.
• How these indicators are used for reporting to other agencies, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project.
• The course will include discussion of using information collected for GRI for other reporting protocols such as the Carbon Disclosure Project. Instruction will also consider Life Cycle Analyses that takes a broader view of the environmental impact.

Agenda:

8:30 – 8:45am: Welcome and Introductions of Trainers

8:45 – 9:00am: Environmental Indicators and the Business Case for Sustainability

9:00 – 10:15am: Core Indicators Overview

10:15 – 10:30am: Break

10:30 – 11:15am: Core Indicators – Setting Baselines

11:15 – 11:45am: Additional Indicators Overview and Baselines

11:45am – 12:30pm: Lunch

12:30 – 1:30pm: Goals, Benchmarking and Utilizing the Management Disclosure

1:30 – 2:45pm: Reporting GHG Inventory and Life Cycle Analysis

2:45 – 3:00pm: Break

3:00 – 3:45pm: Case Study

3:45 – 4:30pm: Remaining Participant Questions, Discussion and Wrap Up

Trainer Bios:

Mark Reiner

Mark is a founding Principal of Symbiotic Engineering in Boulder, Colorado. Symbiotic was formed in 2006 and is a Colorado-based energy/carbon consulting firm that focuses primarily on environmental life cycle analyses and the development of web-based tools that integrate utility data, GIS, and structure attributes from tax assessor databases to develop energy intensity patterns of individual properties, neighborhoods and service areas.  Mark specializes in materials evaluations and overall sustainability reporting using GRI G3 International protocols.  

Previous to starting Symbiotic, Mark was the co-lead for the infrastructure assessment for the Master Plan of Kigali, Rwanda while also serving as the Projects Director for Engineers Without Borders – USA.  He has also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Colorado at Denver where he taught “Urbanization of Developing Nations”.  He received his PhD from the same institution in Civil Engineering. 

Michael Whitaker

Dr. Michael Whitaker is a founding Principal at Symbiotic Engineering, LLC, with a focus on conducting greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and life cycle assessments (LCA) both domestically and internationally.  Currently, Michael directs Symbiotic Engineering’s GHG management, LCA, and sustainable real estate development and quantification programs.  Using internationally accepted methodologies and life cycle systems thinking, Michael quantifies energy, emissions, and material flows to develop action items that enhance the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of clients. 

Prior to co-founding Symbiotic Engineering, Michael focused on analyzing the life cycle GHG impacts of transportation and electricity generation systems and on developing GHG emission reduction strategies for private organizations and public entities.  His experience encompasses a variety of organizations including municipalities, universities, governmental laboratories, real estate developers, and other domestic and international companies.  In 2007, Dr. Whitaker completed his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado Denver as part of the Urban Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering Project with his work focusing on comparing the life cycle GHG impacts of urban mass transit systems in the U.S. and India.

Caitlin Rood

Caitlin Rood is an Environmental Engineer, specializing in pollution prevention (P2), environmental management systems (EMS), and environmental results programs (ERP).  Ms. Rood is a Lead Certifier under the California Climate Action Registry and has been involved in three greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory projects.  After passing the Environmental Lead Auditor EMS examination, she with several Department of Defense installations on various aspects of EMS implementation. 

For the past 11 years, Ms. Rood has served as key technical staff and project manager for P2 projects in numerous industry sectors, such as telecommunications, dental, mining, auto repair and fleet maintenance, ski areas, golf courses, lodging, hospitals, aqueous cleaning, metal finishing and surface coating.  In addition to her technical roles, Ms. Rood has experience developing outreach and training materials.

For more information about this course and to register, visit http://www.brownflynnlearning.com.

An organization that coordinates activities in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sectors on Thursday officially inaugurated their new office in Accra. The Office named “WASH House” is host to eight organizations all working in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector and would serve as a knowledge resource centre. Dr Minta Aboagye, Director of Water at the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, who cut the tape to officially open the house, said the networks and coordination between the eight organizations had created a lot of vibrancy in the WASH sector.

He said even though Ghana was on target to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on water, the country had less than enough water to satisfy its citizens. “Currently our water availability in Ghana is about 40 billion cubic metres,” he said, explaining that one cubic metre of water was about 220 gallons.  Dr Aboagye, who is also the Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), said the volume of water the country stored was limited compared to how the population grew. He therefore called on the organizations in the water sector to strengthen their alliances and complement government’s effort in ensuring water sustainability.

The organizations located in the WASH House are TREND Group, Tripartite Partnership Project, WASHCost, Safi-Sana Ghana Limited, Triple-S Project, SWITCH Project, RCN Secretariat, IRC and WARP, all non-government organizations working in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors. The organizations work on managing information within the sector as well as help in the implementation of research outcomes. Mr Eugene Larbi, Managing Director of TREND Group, said the project started about five years ago with the aim of improving sector learning and knowledge management.

Describing the network as a knowledge space for the WASH sector, he invited organizations working in the sector and those who want information about the sector to contact the organization. Dr Patrick Moriarty in charge of IRC and WARP projects said the WASH house hoped to be a force for change in terms of knowledge sharing and learning about the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors in Ghana. He launched a book titled “Climbing the Water Ladder” that catalogues the multiple uses of water especially in the rural areas. “The book will be given to all organizations working in the water sector and there will be copies in the WASH library for people who want information about the water sector,” he said.

This post was contributed by Cathy DuBois, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Management at Kent State University.

The third annual Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference was held in Washington, D. C. from November 15-18, 2009. The focus of this conference was the critical role of behavior and decision making in accelerating our transition to an energy-efficient and low-carbon future.

In both formal and informal sessions participants discussed the application of principles from behavioral economics, individual differences and attitude theory, and community-based social marketing to influence sustainability-related actions in a range of settings.  Participants shared successes and current challenges regarding organizational initiatives, and proposed agendas for future research and practice.

This conference was a terrific way to meet and learn from people who are involved in a wide array of research and programs aimed at the next frontier in sustainability: getting people to change their behavior.

Technology has and will continue to make a significant impact on energy savings, and improved technology is becoming more affordable and accessible every month. However, there will always be a choice component to human behavior that technology cannot address: whether or not to put an object into a recycling or compost bin; walk or drive; turn off / unplug equipment that is not in use; eat local foods; suggest to one’s employer ways to get work done while using less energy… the list is endless. The cumulative impact of behavioral choices can create a 20-30% additional savings in energy usage, given current technology.

My research at Kent State University focuses on the role of organizational leaders and the human resource function in implementing organizational practices that support desired behaviors. I presented a paper at the conference, “What’s in it for me? Motivating environmentally sustainable behavior in organizations.” The thesis of this paper is that organizations can’t specify and regulate all behavior; therefore, they need to find creative ways to inspire employees to ‘own’ the notion of sustainable behavior.

My research also focuses on the job of sustainability coordinators and managers. Because the first wave of ‘going green’ has focused on technology, most incumbents in this job have a technical background. However, getting employees on board with organizational sustainability initiatives requires significant organizational change and development efforts, which require a set of knowledge, skills and experiences that support social design, rather than technical design.

Through the research, we will review job descriptions and interview sustainability coordinators and managers to learn about their challenges and competency gaps. We expect that this process will also bring to light challenges related to organizational structure, resources, and accountabilities for this job.

Our goal with this research is to create more effective positioning for sustainability managers and coordinators, as well as improved job design and more effective hiring practices. This topic merits attention because it is the focal point of organizational sustainability initiatives. Increasing effectiveness here should cascade across the organization to the bottom line.

I welcome all inquiries related to my research!

Cathy L. Z. DuBois, Ph.D.

Management & Information Systems Department, Graduate School of Management, Kent State University

cdubois@kent.edu

*Note: The BECC conference was sponsored by The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC), and the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE).

BrownFlynn Learning, BrownFlynn’s new training and education division, is now pleased to be offering workshops to enhance sustainability initiatives at any level of an organization.  The workshops are customized to address issues specific to a participant’s company and/or industry.

Below is a listing of the workshops currently offered:

Sustainability – Getting Started

• Triple Your Bottom Line—The Business Case for Sustainability
• Organizing for Success in Sustainability
• Gaining Employee Buy-In for Sustainability—An “Appreciative” Approach

Sustainability and Finance (Ideal for investor relations managers)

• The Sustainability Indices: With More than 100 Rankings, Which Ones are Important?
• Harnessing the Benefits of Corporate Accountability and the Triple Bottom Line

Sustainability Reporting

• From Bloomberg to Goldman Sachs—Sustainability on Wall Street (Trends in Reporting and ESG)

Legal Issues Affecting Sustainability

• Minimizing Risks and Maximizing Opportunities through Sustainability
• Sustainability and Understanding the Regulatory Landscape
• How to Avoid Greenwashing and Prepare for Regulatory Compliance Related to Sustainability

Your Supply Chain and Sustainability

• Engaging Your Vendors While Furthering Your Goals
• Supply Chain Pressures—The Wal-Mart Effect and New Expectations Related to Product Life Cycles

In addition, BrownFlynn Learning offers its signature course, The GRI Process: a GRI-certified training course about the sustainability reporting process. 

See BrownFlynn Learning’s website for more information about our training and education opportunities, which include open-enrollment courses, on-site courses, conferences and webinars.

Zow Yongba, 62, a carpenter from Nanong gewog in Pemagatshel, travelled nine hours by bus to Autso in Lhuentse and then walked for another five hours to get to Jarey gewog.

Twelve others from his gewog also took the same journey to attend a 12–day training on sanitation and latrine construction, which ends on December 2, 2009. Of the 35 carpenters and masons attending, 22 are from Jarey.

35 masons and carpenters pick up new skills. Photo: Kuensel Online

The masons and carpenters, after theoretical lessons in the morning, are constructing four different types of latrines to be showcased to public during the first sanitation fair, which will be held from December 2- 5 at Lhadrong, Jarey gewog. These are the ventilated pit latrine, the ventilated double pit latrine, the pour-flush with off-set twin pit and the pour-flush with septic tank.

“Although we have carpentry skills, there are new concepts and ideas I’m learning from this training,” said Zow Yongba. “I’m hearing of a double pit latrine for the first time.”

The carpenters are being oriented on the latrine door with respect to wind, installation of vent pipe, hand-washing facilities and depth of pit.

The training of carpenters and masons is a follow up of the community sanitation and demand creation (CSDC) workshop according to water and sanitation specialist Karma Tenzin with SNV Bhutan, which is providing the technical assistance. SNV Bhutan is currently intervening in rural sanitation and piloting in four gewogs of Sarpang, Laya, Pemagatshel and Lhuentse dzongkhags.

“The training hopes to create a demand for better and sustainable hygiene and practice and adopting appropriate, affordable and sustainable sanitation solutions, using both locally available and imported materials,” said Karma Tenzin.

Karma Tenzin said that, although a majority of households have some sort of latrine, not many are functioning as they should. Most latrines do not have vent pipe to curb the problem of bad smell and flies, while some latrines are constructed far away from the house. Some latrines are very small in size making it difficult for users.

Once completed, these latrines will be handed over to their respective owners, who contributed the material for construction.

A similar latrine construction course was conducted in December 2008.

Source: Kuensel Online, 26 Nov 2009

Click on title to view/download:

Zimbabwe – Scaling up the Community Health Club Model, 2009. (pdf, 645KB)

Juliet Waterkeyn & Andrew Muringaniza. Africa AHEAD Association.

It is clear that CHCs are not only a popular strategy but that they do in fact produce high levels of hygiene behaviour change. Zimbabwe is not the only country to report good case studies of the CHC approach. In West Africa, Community Health Clubs are being used to rebuild society after a devastating civil war. In Guinea Bissau CHCs in remote rural villages complement an intervention to improve infant mortality, and in Uganda, CHCs have been used to improve home hygiene and create a demand for sanitation in the war toen IDP camps of the north. Whilst in these examples the CHC approach is being done through NGOs on a fairly small scale, in Rwanda the Ministry of Health is planning to introduce health clubs into everyone of the 14,000 villages in the country. In Asia, Vietnam leads the way with training through the MoH which aims to start CHCs in all 25,000 villages. Countries where this can be scaled up may well be able to meet the MDG
targets, given the power of CHC to stimulate demand led safe sanitation.

Click on title to view/download:

Zimbabwe – Community Health Clubs in Urban Areas, 2009. (pdf, 446KB)

Juliet Waterkeyn & Regis Matimati. Africa AHEAD Association.

Most countries in Africa will fall short of meeting the MDG targets for the provision of water and sanitation due to lack of financial and institutional capacity (WSP-Africa, 2006). Although safe sanitation has been found to be the most effective single intervention in reducing diarrhoea (Esrey, et al.1991), this does not necessarily mean the building of latrines, as these can become a fly breeding ground if they are not sealed properly, and further compound the spread of diarrhoea. The faecal-oral route can be broken much more easily and a lot more cost-effectively through faecal burial and hand washing with soap (Curtis & Cairncross, 2003). After more than a decade of pilot projects in many countries in Africa the Community Health Club (CHC) Approach can reasonably predict behaviour change, and ensure zero open defecation and handwashing with soap. By creating a strong demand for safe sanitation and a ‘Culture of Health’ that insures good hygiene (Waterkeyn & Cairncross, 2005) Community Health Clubs can become a potent mobilisation strategy in emergencies not only in rural areas but, as this case study shows, in urban areas as well. During the cholera outbreak that affected 12,700 people and claimed 420 lives in Zimbabwe, the a high density suburb of Sakubva, in Mutare, only had 4 cases and no deaths. This has been attributed to an environmental clean-up and improved the hygiene behaviour due to the efforts of 5,400 members in 36 Community Health Clubs.

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Northern Uganda – Community Health Clubs in IDP Camps, 2009. (pdf, 444KB)

Juliet Waterkeyn. Africa AHEAD Association.

CHCs can be successfully replicated in a variety of contexts: urban and rural, informal and high density, underdeveloped and partially developed as well as within both Christian and Moslem societies. It has also been demonstrated that the Community Health Club Approach is particularly cost-effective when it is scaled up and that family health can be improved for as little as 33 cents per beneficiary (Waterkeyn & Cairncross, 2005). There is now no doubt that the CHC approach can achieve high-impact and sustainable hygiene behaviour change but it is questionable whether scaling up can be achieved fast enough through local NGOs or international agencies. As it is unlikely that the water & sanitation MDG targets will be achieved in many African countries, it is perhaps more realistic to invest in health promotion for self reliance and halve the number suffering from many preventable diseases through improving family hygiene. As demonstrated by countries like Rwanda and Vietnam, it should be possible to roll out health promotion through existing health extension staff and, at a minimal cost, introduce Community Health Clubs into every village in the country. If using this process, the minimal standard of Zero Open Defecation is the target in every village, the MDGs could in fact be achieved to some limited extent.

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South Africa – Monitoring Hygiene Behaviour Change Through Community Health Clubs, 2009. (pdf, 366KB)

Juliet Waterkeyn & Jason Rosenfeld, Africa AHEAD Association.

Umzimkhulu Municipality in Kwa Zulu Natal Province has one of the lowest levels of development in South Africa. The base-line survey highlights that only 15% of households have access to a safe water source whilst the remaining households have to use open ground water, usually in the form of unprotected springs. Sanitation usually consists of a household pit latrine. Although the coverage is high at 90%, around 50% were unhygienic and attracted flies. A health promotion campaign was introduced to build the capacity of the community, with the objective of developing a community-led demand for improved water and sanitation. As the Community Health Club Approach is known to be capable of achieving high levels of behaviour change (Waterkeyn & Cairncross, 2006) it was chosen as the strategy for a health promotion campaign in nine wards of Umzimkhulu. Although Africa AHEAD has initiated Community Health Clubs in informal settlements in Cape Town, this is the first pilot project in South Africa to be implemented in a rural community.

Colombian city Bucaramanga’s water utility Acueducto Metropolitano de Bucaramanga (AMB) inaugurated an educational water park to teach people about the proper use of water resources on 9 November 2009, said general manager Germán Figueroa.

Visitors to the park can see the treatment processes carried out by the utility and learn about the importance of contributing to the sustainability of hydrological resources.

“The park teaches the population how to care for water, allowing citizens to contribute to its preservation,” said Figueroa, adding that this will not just benefit Bucaramanga because tourists will also visit the facility.

The educational park is expected to receive 350,000 visitors from December 1 to January 17 alone, Figueroa added.

Source: Eva Medalla, BNamericas.com [subscription site], Nov 2009