The Maya Boutique Hotel - Going Green in Style

Positioned in the snow covered mountains of Switzerland, overlooking a gorgeous valley, and next to a world class skii resort - how much better could it get?  The Maya Boutique Hotel in Nax, Switzerland out did themselves!  Not only are they located in one of the most beautiful spots in the world but they are protecting the environment by doing what they refer to as "what simply makes sense".  Made out of straw bales and using as little energy as possible, they created a hotel that is unique in all aspects and cannot be found anywhere else.

Their sheer humbleness is what astonished me the most.  They have won many awards in sustainability as well as innovation in major conferences from London to Paris.  Not just that, they are only 3 years old!  The family ran hotel is nothing short of spectacular due to the owners passion for hospitality and "doing the right thing".

It is amazing to find out that the hotel is made completely of straw bales compacted together to make nearly unbreakable and insulating walls.  They are about 3 feet thick and are used everywhere within the hotel from the dining room to the guest bedrooms.  The outer part is covered in plaster, and some places wood.  The wood is mainly there to keep with the traditional swiss chalet theme.  Then the inside is covered with natural clay.  This was a very intelligent choice by the owner as the clay allows the rooms to go without ventilation as the clay absorbs excess moisture and heat.  This is the first hotel ever to be built completely out of straw bales!

In the technical aspects, they have quite a bit of environmentally-friendly energy saving equipment.  To heat hot water they use solar tubes which are extremely efficient, especially in Valais due to the sheer amount of sunshine.  Not just that, they have a clay oven that not only cooks dinner but also heats the whole lodging because it captures excess cooking heat through copper tubing that winds through the entire closed circuit system.  By relying on these two sources of heat along with the straw bale insulation, this hotel barely needs to spend to heat the hotel during the cold swiss winter.  The straw bales work wonders to keep the heat trapped in the hotel during the winter and keep the heat out during the summer.  On top of the interesting heating systems they use, they even have their own personal energy management system.  It is a top of the line personally designed management system that can change the heating elements due to their uses or preferences with the touch of a finger.  It is truly something you need to see in person to understand.

In regards to the design, they decided to keep it eco-swiss.  They try to use as many sustainable materials as possible all the while keeping with the traditional swiss theme to preserve the local culture.  Their worst nightmare would to become a modern looking eyesore on the top of a mountain clashing with the traditional swiss architecture.  To be even more culturally correct, the dividers used to separate each room are made out of clippings from the grape vines that grow all around the valley.  It looks just as amazing as it is sustainable.  Each room has its own look and feel which makes all 8 of their rooms truly unique.

 Finally, in my personal opinion the coolest part of their hotel is their mini sauna chalet.  It is a cute little circular cabin that they made into a sauna - with a view.  On the other side of the sauna they have a window that looks directly over the valley all the way to the other sets of mountains.

Overall this was a great trip!  I really appreciate the Maya Boutique Hotel letting us take this field trip!  I can't wait until I get to stay here as a guest!

When Responsibility is EXPECTED!

Many companies are making efforts to be environmental stewards and generally responsible through their business decisions.  However, can they afford to do anything less?  I've spoken to a few large companies CSR representatives and recently they have explained that helping the community isn't something they do as an extra to boost their reputation.  These days if anything not helping would deteriorate their reputations.  Communities now EXPECT these big companies to help schools, volunteer, donate and the list goes on.  Although I believe that businesses should do as much as they can to help the community (so long as it doesn't take away from their product) - I am interested in why communities are looking to big business to solve their problems.

We belong to a society that demands constant growth and can't tolerate slow down or decline - thus when problems do arise the first solution is to fix the problem immediately without really finding out what the problem was to begin with.  There are no gradual solutions anymore, people don't put back the puzzle piece by piece - many look to buy a whole new puzzle.  In my opinion this is why people look to businesses to help the community.  It is because companies are the only ones with such big numbers, so much money, so much capacity that they can solve these problems in one go - with no reflection on the problem.  They can alleviate the issues without doing much but writing out a large check. However, is that really what we need as a community?

Developing a stronger more resilient community to fight your own problems.

Instead of demanding that one large player gives up a lot to solve a problem "or else" why not bond together as a community and build ourselves again from the ground up?  This type of structure is much stronger because all the links together makes it harder for something to take the community down again.  A quickly and cheaply built building would come tumbling down after an earthquake.  The new community which is more tied together and closer through problem solving would act as the steel bracing within the building keeping it sturdy in the face of disaster.

Again, I am not saying these companies shouldn't help out - I just think communities need to find a way to balance out their demands.  Most small problems can be worked out internally if you really work hard.  However, you would want these companies to help out when you need incomprehensible amount of support such as a natural disaster.  If we stop demanding something for nothing and threatening to stop being customers due to simple problems - bigger businesses would be more willing to help when something truly important comes up.

Nothing should be EXPECTED if you don't expect it from yourself.  If you don't expect yourself to help when every little thing comes up why do you expect it of a business?  Responsibility is something that we should all WANT to do because its the right thing.

Getting Back to Basics - 3 R's

Recycling seems to be the buzz word these days within households, businesses, and communities - which is great!  I am so proud of the efforts people are making to try and improve the Earth by trying to recycle products they would normally just toss in the trash.  This is the way we are going to start to make the difference the world needs to continue surviving.  The other day I went to Kean coffee shop and saw what an amazing job they were doing being environmental stewards, not because they had recycling bins but because they took it one step further.  They took an average coffee sleeve and put an even larger impact on it than just making it out of recycled materials or asking people to recycle them when their coffee was finished.  No - they asked them to REUSE this simple product.

If you look back at the 3 R's its:

• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle

Recycling has always come last because it's the slower of the 3 to make a difference.  Just by taking this 1 step up the ladder made such a difference in energy use and true impact they are making on the environment.  Although it might be a bit complicated for a company to implement a "reduction" program as they want their products to be bought - inspiring people to reuse parts of their product is a great deal more efficient.

These coffee sleeves aren't destroyed like a paper coffee cup after 1 use, there is no mold there is no bacteria really and it never touches the coffee so why not reuse it?  By reusing it you are either saving it from going to the landfill where it just adds to our growing trash problem as it struggles to decompose; or it goes to be recycled where it takes time and energy to turn the paper into something else.  I've never seen another company try and work their way up the ladder of the 3R's but Kean coffee shop is doing it right!

It really makes me think what else could be reused instead of simply recycled, are there more things that I am overlooking as I sort out my waste?  Its great food for thought, what do you think could be better reused than recycled?  Let me know in the comment section below!

Responsibly Overcoming the Language Barrier

"我告诉你。。。我什么都听不懂!"

Although this phrase seems foreign to us, it is actually quite common... it's one of misunderstanding.  We face language barriers everyday.  Maybe not with Mandarin Chinese to English, but from different languages or even to simply different accents or vocabulary your diverse work force is struggling through miscommunication after miscommunication.  According to the study "The Impact of Language Barriers on Trust Formation in Multinational Teams", by Helene Tenzer, Markus Pudelko, and Anne-Wil Harzing explains that even simple errors and misinterpretations can lead members of the team and company to believe a certain employee is incompetent.  Clearly, this shows how important we perceive language to be - something that can prove if you have knowledge in another unrelated area.  However, this is just a perception, not the truth - you could be completely illiterate and yet be a great at another unrelated skill.

Society has placed upon us the need for language, and the corporate world has stressed its importance even more.  If you are unable to present yourself in a professional well spoken manner you are perceived to be sloppy or too casual which when generalized is applied to your entire career instead of just your language abilities.

I started to realize this on a personal level that my colleagues perceived me as having less ability in my job due to my language barrier.  Instead of just presuming I could efficiently do my job correctly even though I had difficulty expressing myself in their native language they believed due to my incompetence in their language I must be incompetent in other areas such as my job duties (however unrelated).  In relation to corporate social responsibility this lead me to believe that if a company intentionally employs people who are diverse and have different language levels there should be some methods to implement to assure that all employees are able to work as a team instead of being separated by the wall of language.

I would like to provide some of my suggestions of what companies could do to be socially responsible when it comes down to their employees and their language.

Language Lessons

• This doesn't necessarily mean buying Rosetta Stone for everyone in your company that doesn't speak the language fluently, nor does it mean that you need to hire an expensive personal tutor either.  Simple lessons are helpful enough to someone working hard and trying their best to communicate with the company language.  A simple gesture of creating something like a photo dictionary of key words or a general explanation of the company lingo will help quickly improve the communication through the language barrier.

Hire Multilingual's

• Although it may be difficult to find employees who speak more than one language, if your aim is to be diverse - this is one way to alleviate tension between coworkers.  People who speak only one language have a difficult time relating to how difficult it is to learn a language fluently with all of the nuances of grammar and specific vocabulary.  This could possibly create problems when there are misunderstandings due to language as they might expect the  colleague to be more advanced in the language or might also wrongly assume that they don't understand the job if they aren't able to express themselves clearly in the language.  Multilingual would  not only understand the difficulty of learning a language but they would be able to help the non-native speaker to feel more comfortable and reassure them.
• If hiring multilingual's is too difficult, another option would be to create an incentive to learning a second language so that everyone can experience what it is like to not be able to fully communicate.  Moreover, adding a second language to the companies repertoire of skills benefits the business as well as the employees cognitive well-being.

Allow the Employee to Teach Their Language

• Sometimes a word or an idea just doesn't exist in another language.  It might be very frustrating to someone who doesn't speak the company language perfectly to express themselves when they are missing key vocabulary.  One way to avoid this unnecessary frustration is allow specific moments for the non-native speaker to teach their language as well so that the whole office can benefit and be more international.  This creates comfort for the employee as well as increases other employees interest into learning other cultures and being more accepting in general.

Avoid "Professional" Flowery Language and Speak Clearly

• Nothing stops language learning more than over-complicated unnecessarily flowery vocabulary.  Speaking clearly and explaining ideas thoroughly alleviates much of this problem.  Speaking clearly doesn't just entail enunciating your words, but it also includes avoiding complicated vocabulary and not using idioms to express ideas.
• If an employee doesn't understand a specific word, try to explain what the word means.  For example if they don't understand the word "robber" instead explain more clearly that it is someone who steals/ takes something that doesn't belong to them.  Not only will this reinforce the new word but it allows the time for the employee to understand better what you are talking about.

Use Gestures and Body Language 

• Body language experts have come to a consensus that about 50-80% of our communication is through gestures and expressions.  This is perfect for those who are managing or working with someone who has difficulty expressing themselves clearly through the company language; it helps both parties.  It helps you because you will be able to communicate more clearly if you use specific facial expressions or gestures to explain what you want or communicate a general message.  Also it helps the employee because in case they have said something they might not have meant you will be able to tell by their facial expression and non-verbal communication  that they meant something different and you can clarify to avoid miscommunication which could lead to more serious issues.

Be Patient With Non-native Speakers

• Patience is the key when dealing with communication problems, on both sides.  The learner needs patience when receiving feed back as well you when you are trying to teach the proper way to communicate in the company.  The language learning process is a trying one, full of mistakes and blunders.  If one can be patient through this it will give the language learner all the more confidence to try and communicate without having to fear the repercussions for making a simple mistake. This will not only speed up the language learning process but it will also build a relationship based off of trust.  It will allow you to see through the language barrier and realize that the employee doesn't lack skills - they might even do the job the best.  With patience you can see the problem for what it is - a language difference, nothing more.

With all of this taken into consideration, I hope that companies can act in a more caring and understanding way to those who are struggling to express themselves.  Your mother tongue is always going to be the most comfortable, however companies shouldn't put more discomfort and pressure than there already is on learning a language.  There is always more that can be learned and more that can be done to ensure that the corporate culture is satisfactory for all who are employed.

Making CSR Personal

First, lets start off with the question what is CSR? 

Heading Down the Right Path - Responsibility

Its a word passed around in business these days that sometimes gets confused with philanthropy or sustainability.  Although these are elements of CSR, one section of the program does not define it as a whole.  CSR is the overall process ensuring that your business is running ethically and responsibly - not just focusing on one side of the coin (environment, HR practices, philanthropy).  If the general idea of CSR is mainly about responsibility, why do we leave it in the office after the day of work is done?  We pack up the papers, put it in the drawer, and as soon as we walk out it is as if all of the responsibility we try to give to our business flies out the window of our huge SUV as we start revving the engine on our way out from the parking lot.  If we are putting so much effort into our businesses CSR plan, and we understand its importance - what is stopping us from personally living responsibly?  Shouldn't we make it our personal mission to also be living ethically within our own personal brand we all call "ME".

I know that we as people are much smaller than a corporation, but we are the ones that can make the biggest change.  If you ask yourself why your company started using CSR practices its not because it makes more profits, but because that is what your customers demand.  If we go out living our personal lives using the same methodology as CSR we would have even more influence on the economy and the businesses around us - spurring more change than already is happening. One man is just as important as the many because one man can inspire the masses - and hopefully this time it is to do the right thing.

Most people consider themselves to be contributing members of society, but is there a more effective way to inspiring change? To become a more responsible citizen I suggest taking your drive to do the right thing and apply the CSR methods of tracking, goal setting, and achieving so as to create a new hybrid "personal social responsibility".  This way people themselves are able to track themselves doing the right thing and improving over time - just as any business would, allowing measurable results and efficiency in the process.

Although I try to do my best to help make a positive impact, I feel that by haphazardly doing it I am actually taking away from what I could truly achieve. That is why I am beginning the personal CSR journey today by starting with my baseline.  I will track my data for all of next week containing my sustainability info, social responsibility, and overall impact and then post a report. Then I will start making goals and striving to achieve even more than before.  I hope if you found this interesting you can join me on my personal CSR journey.

CSR doesn't just have to be for businesses - its a way of life.