Thursday, November 10, 2011

Make it Plain

This blog post addressed sustainability from a corporate perspective. Initially, I felt the article would not relate to my team's goal and tactics. After reading over it in its entirety, I realized that students are the CFO's when it comes to approving the Green Energy Fund. In order for our group be successful at getting 60% of Phase III residents to support the Green Energy Fund, we have to show them a benefit that favorably affects them. When we pitch to residents, we need to address an issue or need that has already been expressed by residents. If the Student Green Energy Fund presented as an initiative motivated by their desires and concerns and not a fine forced upon them, there are likely to be less favorable results. 

According to the article, when CFO’s did decide to invest in sustainable practices that were financially unfavorable in the short term, they did so because the long term outcome will help control their costs and make their image more favorable among increasingly eco-conscious consumers. While I do not feel the benefits of a Wal-Mart CFO mirror the benefits of a student, they both are stakeholders that decide what they will pay for.

Students at Florida A&M University have a lot of pride. If we tied the Green Energy Fund to school pride, residents that might not be in favor of the fee, may reconsider, support and even promote the bill themselves.   I believe that this technique would be successful if it was done in conjunction with other schools, preferably sport rivals that would bring more attention.
While I would not recommend this article to the Green Coalition, I feel the ideas it sparked can definitely help them tackle student involvement in larger activities. I would recommend this article to my group because it would be interesting to see what ideas it sparked for them.

Citation
O'Sullivan K. (2011,September).Going for the other green: once the domain of tree-hugging do-gooders, the green movement now offers bottom-line appeal, and finance executives are taking notice. Magazine for Senior Financial Executives, Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Gale Power Search database.