15th Anniversary of oikos Prague: Alumni Meeting

“Youngsters meet old hands”

Prague former members met with actual team and toasted 15th anniversary. We recalled our past, presence and future, all three accompanied by tonnes of fun and great vegan cuisine. Since many alumni work for financial companies, our long-term project focused on alternative finance was the main topic of discussion. Moreover, we had a great chance to learn from their experience with organising events, communication and chapter management. Our advisor then proposed the ways to implement the topic of alternative finance into university’s curriculum. As a result of this meeting, we created internet-based network for all former members to enable easier and faster mutual communication and cooperation. Finally, our alumni suggested another meeting as a Christmas party and we hope to make it happen!

*The meeting took place on 22 November, 2013 at 5pm oikos in a new vegan restaurant Plevel.

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oikos International

posted September 30, 2013

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Call for Applications: Become a Student Reporter at oikos FutureLab 2013

Apply to be a Student Reporter at the oikos FutureLab 2013 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, 11 – 12 November, 2013. You will report on the transformation of higher education and student activism. Application deadline: 10 October. Find out more here

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oikos International

posted September 25, 2013

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Enjoy the latest oikos Case Quarterly

The latest issue of the oikos Case Quarterly focuses on the challenges and opportunities the tourism sector faces in order to behave in a truly sustainable manner. The first case presents the strategic efforts and initiatives of a cruise ship builder, Holland America Line, to improve its fuel efficiency. The second and third reflect on the internal implementation process as well as the difficulties of in the adoption of environmental management practices and their communication through eco-labels. …»

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oikos International

posted September 25, 2013

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The Case for Cases on “Sustainable Finance”

oikos adds “Sustainable Finance” track to its annual Case Writing Competition.

Finance plays a critical role in today’s economy and society as a whole. Development of savings, capital allocation via equity, bonds and commodity markets, as well as decisions to provide loans to firms, have a significant impact on businesses and individuals. Methodologies to evaluate firms, approaches to corporate reporting, and concepts in financial theory are key factors in economic decision-making. And views on the role of banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions are at the heart of long-term economic, social and environmental developments.

The education programs in finance that prepare students on these topics are key factors in that context. They don’t only provide insights into both finance theory and practice, but also shape perspectives and opinions on the field. Making sustainability an integral pillar of these programs is essential to catalyse global change towards a more sustainable economy

Against this background, oikos is adding a third track on “Sustainable Finance” to its annual Case Writing Competition. Launched in 2003, the competition awards leading teaching cases in two tracks on “Corporate Sustainability” and “Social Entrepreneurship”. Cases are evaluated by an international panel of leading faculty in a double-blind review process. Winning cases are made available through the oikos Case Collection, as well as further platforms such as the Case Centre (former ECCH) and caseplace.org. Additional partners of the program include Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs as well as WWF, one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations.

With the addition of a “Sustainable Finance” track, oikos expands the program to support the development and use of cases into a key field of business schools. Cases are a central pillar in management courses in general and finance education in particular. Building up a pool of cases that allow for reflection on finance issues from a sustainability perspective is critical. The new finance track of the oikos Case Writing Competition supports writers in making such cases available.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the reflection of environmental, social and governance opportunities and risks in investments, lending and insurance offerings; the integration of sustainability information (e.g. carbon exposures) in corporate reporting; the role of pension funds and other institutional investors in making financial markets more sustainable, approaches to incorporate sustainability into business models and decision-making in the financial industry; as well as the impact of regulatory action on sustainability in finance.

The deadline for submission of cases is 9 December 2013. Winners will be announced at the end of May 2014. Further information is available here.

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oikos International

posted September 23, 2013

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How are casinos striving to be more eco-friendly

One of the most exciting things that you can do when going out is to visit a casino as they are not only filled with great games for gamblers to enjoy, but they also have restaurants and clubs inside of them to keep everybody happy for the whole night. There are whole city is devoted to casinos such as Las Vegas and Macau but with such amazing spectacles, it comes a price, and that price is the environment. With so much electricity being used by these huge casinos it’s no wonder that some people getting worried about them in terms of the environment around them. This is one problem that an online casino does not have as they are often very environmentally friendly due to the fact that they do not use much in order to keep themselves available to millions of people around the world. There are many casinos that are trying to create a better image for themselves by being more environmentally friendly, and one the main ways in which they are doing this is to apply solar panel technology to their casinos. What this does is allow them to create their own electricity from the sunlight alone that hits their huge casinos every day.

Not only does this help them the more environmentally friendly but it also saves money in the long run as they do not have to pay as much on their electricity bills every year. As well as this they are starting to change the types of lighting that they use to LED lights, even in their huge light shows are all designed to draw people in outside LED lights are started to take over as they can be just as bright as conventional lighting. In order to further entice casinos into becoming greener is an agency known as Green Key. This organization evaluates casino resorts based on certain criteria pertaining to environmental sustainability. Depending upon how they score they can earn one to five keys. The highest ranking is the prestigious five key. Many different casinos have been ranked by Green Key including the famous Bellagio in Las Vegas. Recently, the casino garnered a five key rating, up from its original score of four keys. To receive the higher rating, the casino updated its equipment replacing it with more energy efficient models. They also increased their efforts towards recycling within their casino. Another cutting edge change was the casino installing a charging station for electric vehicles. Other organizations do exist such as EarthCheck.

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oikos International

posted September 23, 2013

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oikos Case Quarterly: Tourism | Issue 11, September 2013

In this issue we focus on the challenges and opportunities the tourism sector faces in order to behave in a truly sustainable manner. The first case presents the strategic efforts and initiatives of a cruise ship builder, Holland America Line, to improve its fuel efficiency. The second and third reflect on the internal implementation process as well as the difficulties of in the adoption of environmental management practices and their communication through eco-labels.

Table of contents:

→ Foreword

Murray Silverman (San Francisco State University, USA) – Protecting our Oceans: Sustainability at Holland America Lines

Murray Silverman and Tom Thomas (San Francisco State University, USA) – Kimpton Hotels – Balancing Strategy and Environmental Sustainability.

Magali Delmas and Charles Corbett (University of California at  Los Angeles). – The Ambrose Hotel: Eco-labelling Strategies for Sustainable Lodging

→ Forthcoming case teaching events and other news

→ How to subscribe

Download the issue.

We hope that you will enjoy reading this issue. Please feel free to forward it to colleagues who are interested in teaching sustainability with cases. If you would like to share your experience in teaching sustainability with cases, we would be very happy to hear from you! Also if you have any feedback on the content of this issue and suggestions for the next issue, send us an email to case@oikosinternational.org.

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oikos International

posted September 20, 2013

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Apply: Become a Student Reporter at the International Business Forum 2013 in Istanbul

Join us as we report on the upcoming International Business Forum (IBF), taking place in Istanbul, 23-24 October, 2013.

Project Highlights

*Focus on regional business innovation in context of global development challenges.

*Onsite program dates are 21-26 October.

*Full coverage of onsite costs (food, accommodation, conference fees), and travel reimbursement up to 200 EUR.

*Submit until 5 October: CV, pitches, and application form.

We are training and sending a team of selected reporters to report on this year’s theme of ”Green and Inclusive Business Solutions for Development”. The Forum is organized by a consortium of German and multilateral development institutions with an interest on the politics of private sector development to impact sustainable economic development and poverty reduction.

With an aim to bring a younger generation’s voice to the media coverage of this event, we will focus on the role of regional business innovations in the context of global development challenges. Through our training program, hands-on experience of conference reporting, and the topic expertise of our editorial team, we will help you develop skills in online journalism, specifically in profile writing, critical analysis and political reporting. We will produce both written and multimedia work, as well as curated news releases to engage our audiences back home during the conference.

The team will be composed of five reporters from around the world, led by up to two editors. Before applying, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with our work, especially our recent conference projects (most relevant being Rio+20) and the types of articles we produce.

We are accepting applications until 5th of October, 2013. 

More details on the project and instructions on how to apply here:

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oikos International

posted September 20, 2013

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oikos Newsletter September 2013

One more cone of ice-cream, one more dip in the lake, one more picnic in the mountain – soaking up the last bit of summer sun, we are gearing up for our fall initiatives. While we concluded the oikos Young Scholars Entrepreneurship Academy a few days ago, two more Academies are just around the corner. Also, coming up are the registration deadlines for the oikos FutureLab and oikos Winter School. In this issue, learn more about oikos Pune’s ingenious project, “i-GREEN”, join the international oikos Fashion team or spend 30 seconds with Juraj Melichár alumnus from oikos Bratislava.

Read more

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oikos International

posted September 9, 2013

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Annual Report 2012

Download the PDF version

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oikos International

posted September 4, 2013

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Alumni Dinner in Warsaw

oikos Alumni in Warsaw
14 September  – 7:30pm
Znośna Lekkość Bytu – Warsaw, Poland

On the 14th of September, oikos Warsaw organised alumni dinner in Pub “Znośna Lekkość Bytu” in Warsaw. More than 10 alumni gathered to chat, get to know each other and present oikos members. During the meeting they met as well with participants of CEE Meeting and oikos PhD Seminar – international students and speakers from both conferences. Some new ideas for projects and potential cooperation appeared thanks to talks with more experienced former oikos members. We would like to thank all alumni for joining us for the dinner. We are looking forward to meet you next time!

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oikos International

posted September 2, 2013

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