Business Commons^™

The Relationship Between Vmt And Economic Activity, B. Starr Mcmullen, Nathan Eckstein

TREC Final Reports

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. have exhibited an upward trend over time similar to that observed for gross domestic product (GDP) and personal income (PI). While conventional wisdom suggests that economic growth leads to more driving and thus higher VMT, it is theoretically possible that the causation could also be the other way around. If causation is from VMT to GDP, then legislation such as the Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act of 2009’s directive to annually reduce national per capita VMT could potentially have an adverse impact on overall economic activity.

This study uses times series …

Interview With Jessica Beckett, Free Geek, 2011 (Audio), Jessica Beckett

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jessica Beckett by Thomas Yarbrough at Free Geek Portland, Oregon on August 10th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Christian Ettinger, Hopworks, 2011 (Audio), Christian Ettinger

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Christian Ettinger by Scott Demming at Hopworks SE Portland, Oregon on August 10th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

The Benson Blocks, Suvi Wesa, Evan Abramowitz, Kyle Brown, Jennifer Hanna, Chris Longfield, Karen Reeves

Real Estate Development Workshop Projects

Portland State University's Center for Real Estate students produce a development plan for a property site in Portland known as the Benson Blocks. Their task was to produce an original development plan, including the development concept, market analysis, conceptual design, economic analysis, capital and operations budget, and management plan. The students' plan demonstrates and applies mastery of the development concepts and tools learned through their real estate certificate coursework.

Fruit And Vegetable Resource Maps: Mapping Fruit And Vegetable Waste Through The Wholesale Supply Chain, Leon A. Terry, Carlos Mena, Adrian Williams, Nigel Jenney, Peter Whitehead

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research by WRAP has shown that households waste around three million tonnes of fruit and vegetables per year, raising concerns about the economic and environmental impacts of food waste. This study has been conducted to quantify the level of loss and waste of fruit and vegetables before they reach consumers, through the retail and wholesale supply chain. Furthermore, the study determined how, where and why the product was wasted.

Eleven fresh produce types were selected based on their consumption, post-harvest physiology and management. The 11 products chosen were strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, lettuce, apples, onions, potatoes, brassicas, citrus, avocados and bananas; …

Resource Maps For Fresh Meat Across Retail And Wholesale Supply Chains, Peter Whitehead, Martin Palmer, Carlos Mena, Adrian Williams, Christine Walsh

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Consumers spend more money on meat than any other food item. WRAP has already shown that households are wasting around 570,000 tonnes of fresh meat each year, of which 260,000 (46%) is avoidable with a value of about £1,300M. These wasted products also include embedded water and embedded carbon. This research has focused on the supply of meat from the farm gate onwards, including livestock slaughtering, meat preparation, processing and packaging, distribution and retail. It focuses on fresh meat from the four animal species which comprise some 96% by weight of all animals slaughtered for human consumption, namely chickens, cattle, …

Interview With Franklin Jones, B-Line, 2011 (Audio), Franklin Jones

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Franklin Jones by Grant Russ at Portland, Oregon on May 31st, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Corinna Kimball-Brown, Portland Collective Housing, 2011 (Audio), Corinna Kimball-Brown

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Corinna Kimball-Brown by Chris White at Portland State University, Oregon on March 3rd, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Chris Cone, Portland Fashion Week, 2011 (Audio), Chris Cone

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Chris Cone by Daniel Grey on February 22nd, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Steven Ribeiro, Aldeia Development, 2011 (Audio), Steven Ribeiro

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Steven Ribeiro by John Stephenson in Salem, Oregon on February 18th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

The Lloyd 700 Superblock, Portland State University

Real Estate Development Workshop Projects

Portland State University's Center for Real Estate Students produce a development plan for a property site in the Lloyd District. Their task was to produce an original development plan, including the development concept, market analysis, conceptual design, economic analysis, capital and operations budget, and management plan.

Burgerville: Sustainability And Sourcing In A Qsr Supply Chain, Darrell Brown, Phil Berko, Patrick Dedrick, Brie Hilliard, Joshua Pfleeger

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Jack Graves is considering buying chicken. More precisely, Jack is considering where to buy chicken. He needs to make a recommendation to the purchasing team soon, and the decision is complicated. Jack is a long-time employee of the Burgerville restaurant chain, a quick-serve restaurant chain in the Northwest USA. Burgerville prides itself in being true to its long-held values while maintaining profitability and growth. Graves’ primary job at Burgerville is to assure that the company’s values are embedded in all its actions, including its relationships to its supply chain. His current concern is the dilemma of which values to promote. …

Product Safety And Security In The Global Supply Chain: Issues, Challenges And Research Opportunities, Ann Marucheck, Noel Greis, Carlos Mena, Linning Cai

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

number of high profile product safety events and recalls have heightened public attention to the safety and security of the products that people consume and use. While product safety isn’t a new topic, the effect of the global supply chain in creating or exacerbating safety risks and vulnerabilities is both timely and relevant. In this essay we focus on how the field of operations management can provide fresh perspectives and insights in addressing the challenges of product safety and security in the global supply chain. We first examine the product safety issues and challenges that arise in five industries that …

Tropical Salvage: From Recession To Expansion, Scott Marshall, Lisa Peifer, Erin Ferrigno

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Tim O’Brien, founder of Tropical Salvage, was preparing for another warehouse clearance sale of his unique, handcrafted hardwood furniture. It had been an enormously challenging year and it was important to reduce inventory before the next container arrived from Indonesia. The market for fine furniture had begun to decline steadily in early 2008 following the stock market crash of the prior September. The company survived a difficult period, but not without suffering a decline in sales. O’Brien had spent ten years building a sustainable business model based on environmental stewardship, worker empowerment and unique, high quality product. As the economy …