Essay On Statement Of Purpose4

Background of the Problem3

Sources and Methods.5
Report Organization8
References9
Introduction
Background of the Problem
Currently, the society faces different unprecedented sequences of environmental, industrial, and economic crunches. The crises result from the unsustainable development patterns that are founded on mismanaged natural and social resources. However, the most intricate threat is the impacts of climate modifications. Presently, temperatures on the planet continue to rise dramatically. Additionally, fossil fuel combustion, extensive deforestation, and irresponsible land utilization contribute significantly to the increasing level of greenhouse gas emissions. Such emanations are considered the principal basis of global warming, which has caused the vanishing of glaciers in different world regions (Figure 1). Therefore, urgent steps are crucial to reversing the phenomenon because the continuing temperature increase could cause colossal ecological catastrophes, social turmoil, and economic disasters.
Figure 1. Melting of McCarty Glacier, Alaska (Education Scotland, n. d.). The top image depicts the glacier in 1909 whereas the bottom image shows its condition in 2004. The high rate at which the McCarty Glacier has retreated is in line with increasing global temperature.
Nevertheless, the climate change threats can generate several prospects, and the companies that have exceptional visions and management teams can utilize the emerging openings in the modification of their business models. Additionally, they can employ efficient energy and resource utilization to invest in the local societies and establish eco-innovations. In the future, firms that engage in the “green” economic ventures will acquire significant competitive advantage and become renowned as essential leaders within a particular sector.

Statement of Purpose:

The presentation of the firms that have transformed into green businesses can inspire other companies into adopting sustainable measures and, hence, curb the risk of climate change.

Sources and Methods:

The research materials for the proposed climate change solution have been selected from the DeVry's library. The articles are crucial to the study because they provide background knowledge of the methods that have been attempted to transform typical companies into green businesses. Such approaches have helped to curtail carbon emissions and ameliorate environmental sustainability.
For example, McKinnon, Straube, and Wutke (2014) have investigated the impacts of logistics providers on the reduction of their carbon emissions to thwart climate change. The article outlines different strategies that the logistics providers can employ to enhance their corporate sustainability. The policies also make the corporate activities’ social and environmental impacts more transparent. Furthermore, the paper provides guidelines on the establishment of realistic targets for the reduction of carbon emissions (McKinnon, Straube, & Wutke, 2014).
Reynoso and Heusinger (2010) discuss the challenges and opportunities of the tax incentives provided to enhance inexhaustible energy, as well as energy efficacy, in the US. The authors point out that the tax incentive programs primarily provide opportunities for different companies to ameliorate environmental sustainability (Reynoso & Heusinger, 2010). However, the green incentives bring various challenges to businesses as the State continues to revise and add novel regulations to current programs.
In the article by Nerlich, Evans, and Koteyko (2011), the impact of using the ‘low carbon diet’ compound in books and advertising campaigns to encourage the reduction of climate change is investigated. The term refers to the lifestyle trend that minimizes carbon emissions resulting from production, processing, packaging, transportation, and preparation of food substances. The lifestyle choices include preferring the consumption of locally grown foods to the industrially processed food items. Moreover, the low carbon foods consume minimal fossil fuels during their preparation and, hence, reduce carbon emissions.
Sebastian, Stefan, and Arnd (2014) conducted a multiple case study to examine the elements that influence the company’s readiness to participate in the collaborative carbon-emission reduction approaches. The research was significant because it employed the manufacturers’ views to emphasize the collaborative approach to the reduction of carbon emissions (Sebastian et al., 2014).
According to Alireza et al. (2011), the world's reliance on the production of the heavy oil has augmented rapidly in recent decades due to the maturity of existing oil reservoirs, as well as their diminishing productivity. Unlike conventional oil, heavy oil has a relatively higher viscosity level and more cumbersome production process. Thus, different thermal techniques, such as the steam injection method, are applied in oil heating to augment its production and flow. Furthermore, the thermal recovery approaches are extremely energy intensive and associated with significant adverse environmental impacts. For example, the recovery methods yield substantial amounts of carbon dioxide (Alireza et al., 2011). Consequently, alternative non-thermal retrieval approaches are required to ensure the generation of heavy oils through environmentally acceptable methods. In the heavy oil reserves, the injection of carbon dioxide increases oil recovery while eliminating the negative impacts of thermal methods. The authors, therefore, demonstrate that the forceful insertion of carbon dioxide in the heavy oil reservoirs is an efficient and environmentally favorable approach to heavy oil recovery (Alireza et al., 2011).
Corbett (2013) observes that the hope of extenuating deleterious impacts of climate change has led multiple organizations to take steps in the reduction of their carbon footprints. In particular, the carbon-reducing initiatives employed by different companies range from green products inventions to encouragement of behavioral changes among the customers, as well as employees. The article applies the hypotheses of coaxing systems design to determine the blueprint of carbon management systems. Moreover, it investigates how such systems can persuade the employees to adopt ecologically responsible behaviors (Corbett, 2013).
The procedure of the present investigation will involve examining four different companies that have achieved the green transformation and, thus, inspire other businesses to follow similar approach. Furthermore, the business cases will illustrate the characteristics of sustainability and its utility as an opportunity rather than outlay. The study will utilize semi-structured interview techniques with typical questions about climate change extenuation efforts. However, the questions will be flexible to address specificities of the company. The project will further examine the details of efficacious sustainability transformations of the selected companies. Hence, it is anticipated that the investigation will present significant examples that can inspire similar firms to transform into green businesses.
The Gantt chart in Figure 2 elucidates the project’s breakdown structure by presenting the dates of the project’s commencement and termination. Consequently, the design will help in the tracking of different tasks against their scheduled time.
Figure 2. Gantt chart. The figure illustrates the project’s progress against the chosen timeline.
Report Organization:
The present proposal begins with an introduction that provides the background knowledge of climate change. It points out the need to adopt relevant measures in order to control the carbon emissions and thwart the adverse future effects of global warming. The paper then presents the statement of the problem. Subsequently, it discusses the research materials crucial to the investigation and outlines the method that will be followed in the study.
References
Alireza, E. et al. (2011). Reducing heavy oil carbon footprint and enhancing production through CO2 injection. Chemical Engineering Research & Design: Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Part A 89(9), 1783-1793. DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2010.08.008.
Corbett, J. (2013). Designing and using carbon management systems to promote ecologically responsible behaviors. Journal of the Association for Information Systems 14 (7), 339-378.
Education Scotland (n. d.). Exploring climate change. Retrieved from http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/exploringclimatechange/evidence/glaciers.asp
McKinnon, A., Straube, F., & Wutke, S. (2014). Greening supply chains: Rising to the challenge of climate change. Operations Management (1755-1501) 40(1), 24-29.
Nerlich, B., Evans, V., & Koteyko, N. (2011). Low carbon diet: Reducing the complexities of climate change to human scale. Language & Cognition 3(1), 45-82. DOI: 10.1515/LANGCOG.2011.003.
Reynoso, R. & Heusinger, S. (2010). States offer rich incentives for going green: Is your company leaving money on the table with unrealized credits and incentives? Journal of State Taxation 28(6), 29-32.
Sebastian, T., Stefan, S., & Arnd, H. (2014). Reducing the carbon footprint within fast-moving consumer goods supply chains through collaboration: The manufacturers' perspective. Journal of Supply Chain Management 50(4), 44-61. DOI: 10.1111/jscm.12048.