Today we traveled to Cat Lai terminal to investigate their shipping and logistics, while taking a deeper look at their sustainability. What surprised me most about Cat Lai is that the port is required to be open for every day of the year, and they only have two hours where no work is being done the entire year. The cargo warehouse is closed at night, and reopens early in the morning. It was too hot today. We stayed on the bus for the majority of the trip because of the heat and the bus having A/C. I believe that Cat Lai has great potential. The workers already have a great system in place to ensure everyone is working at the same time. The place is full of smaller gears that turn the bigger ones and result in major work being done simultaneously. Cat Lai may not be as green as possible yet, but they are making great strides towards it. Management is already creating and training specific AI models for the terminal which will remove the need for human work and extra waste. They are also working on electrical vehicles which will help cut emissions and total costs. The problem with these breakthroughs is the cost. It will be super expensive to train an AI and buy electrical vehicles to do the same type of work that preexisting vehicles do. Cat Lai is green enough for what it is right now. It is unreasonable to think that a terminal with the size of Cat Lai will not have tons of diesel fueled vehicles, conveyor belts, and cranes. The terminal has potential to become greener with this foundation, but I believe that Cat Lai is green enough right now without needing to spend absurd amounts of money for no added benefit.

We had a long bus ride to a great lunch, then another long bus ride to our next site visit of the day, Dan On. Dan On creates loads of different foods and condiments, but focuses mainly on nuts, cookies, and crackers. We got to see how different nuts of made, including how they are roasted, moved, and packaged. My favorite part was watching piles of nuts on a conveyor belt fall into the bagging area and getting sectioned off. We got to see the many amenities that Dan On offers its workers, and it made me a little jealous that I do not work there. They are also in the middle of expanding a new factory to make crackers and cookies. We were unable to take photos because of confidentiality. As our site visits wrap up, I have noticed patterns. Many businesses exchange gifts between the two parties during a visit or meeting. Pitt and the UEF always have gifts to give to the companies, and the companies always give something in return. Everyone has been super nice so far and questions seem to always be appreciated, no matter the company or circumstances. I am excited to move from company site visits to museum and memorial visits this week. The bus ride home included lots of karaoke, to which I apologize to everyone for hurting their ears.