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GEMI - The Global Environmental Management Initiative |
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by Jutta Kern
Back in 1990, when the Global
Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) was founded, many
corporations were in the midst of a public accountability crisis as far
as environmental, health and safety standards were concerned. The
Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, in which about 3,800 people died
immediately and several thousand more were left with permanent and
partial disabilities, was still not completely settled between the US
Union Carbide Corporation and the state of India. The clean-up of the
once-burning Cuyahoga River in Ohio was still going on, but at that
time had already sparked the Clean Water Act and the founding of state
and federal Environmental Protection Agencies. On the one hand,
industry had to comply with standards set by these new agencies, but on
the other hand, it slowly began to recognize that, as markets
diversified and customers became more and more demanding, assuming
accountability for corporate behavior could also bear economic
advantages.
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IAP - The Institute of Adaptive and Spaceflight Physiology |
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by Caroline Adenberger
 Founded in 1994, the Institute of
Adaptive and Spaceflight Physiology (IAP) in Graz, Austria is a private
research institution that pursues applied physiological research with
emphasis on gravitational physiology and space medicine.
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swissnex: Connecting the dots . . . with the Environment. Switzerland’s Initiative in Science, Technology, and Higher Education |
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by Charlotte Joudain
To maintain a high position among the
world’s top technology-based economies, Switzerland currently has one
of the most innovative international policies in science and
technology. The Swiss “Houses” act as outposts to boost exchange of
knowledge between Switzerland and their host countries, by expanding
upon the means and activities of the Swiss Science Counselors in San
Francisco (swissnex), Boston (Swiss House for Advanced Research and Education), and Singapore (Swiss House Singapore).
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Cooperation: City University of New York and Austrian Universities Join Forces |
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When contemplating the benefits of
the right balance between globalization and regionalization in higher
education, one can imagine a flourishing inter-institutional knowledge
network. In Vienna, further steps have been taken to realize this goal:
On July 5th, 2005, Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor of the City University
of New York (CUNY), and Elisabeth Gehrer, Austrian Federal Minister of Education, Science, and Culture (BMBWK),
signed an agreement supporting and expanding the exchange opportunities
between several Austrian institutions for higher education and CUNY. On
the Austrian side, the various universities of applied sciences
(Fachhochschulen) and nine major universities specializing in liberal
arts, business studies, the sciences, and engineering, support the
agreement. CUNY, considered to be the largest university system in the
U.S. with 19 sub-universities, represents the American partner.
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Getting there the Sustainable Way: “Sustainable Weeks” in Austria |
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In 2004, from September 15 through
October 15, the first “Sustainable Weeks” were held all over Austria.
This fall again, the food trade, drug, health, hygiene and beauty
retail chains, the construction materials trade, and – for the first
time this year – electrical retailers have jointly declared
themselves willing to target environmentally benign,
regionally-produced, and fair-traded products in their
self-advertising. Instead of price dumping and tough competition, the
focus is on joint objectives such as fair trade, doing business
regionally, organic products, saving on resources, and raising
awareness.
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