Corporate Sustainability Initiatives Deserve Our Praise
When we look at some of the bad actors in Corporate America, it’s possible to reason that nothing good – in the ethical sense – even comes from this quarter. But this is a horribly shortsighted and unfair conclusion. Of course, there are acts of humanitarianism and philanthropy that take the form of corporate giving, which happens to the tune of about $10 billion per year. But more germane – at least to our purposes here at 2GreenEnergy – are corporate sustainability initiatives – many of which are completely sincere, and utterly massive in scope.
Coming soon at 2GreenEnergy will be a special blog to highlight the work of “Corporate Role Models” – those whose efforts in reducing carbon footprint, development of sustainable products, use of life-cycle analysis to understand and reduce their overall environmental impact – should be understood, acknowledged, and given due praise.
One of our interns here will be doing research and writing frequent pieces along these lines. Perhaps now is a good time to ask you, dear reader, for your help here. If you’re aware of corporations – large or small, domestic or international – whose works vis-a-vis sustainability should be heralded, please let us know by posting a comment to this post.
Thanks very much.
Greetings, thank you for your newsletter. I am hosting a seminar on November 1 in Atlantic City about Green Marketing. It features guest speaker, Jacquie Ottman who has helped Fortune 500 Companies to communicate sustainability/green to the customer. She also wrote a book called New Rules of Green Marketing. With her, I have a lawyer who will be discussing the new FTC rules about calling a company green and the ethics behind it. Anyway, I think it would be worth sending to your readers. Check out the website http://www.atlantic.edu/green and click on the seminar. Have a great day…Jean
Sounds like a terrific seminar; hope you do well with it.
Dear Craig if one doors close ten doors open thus is life.
Insted of going for practice and taking people for granted as they suffer will your endless theory about this and that end as this quote explains : THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE BUT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN PRACTICE ”
India & innovation should go together
Good growth par for the course the country must now start delivering world class products @ ET JURY ROUND TABLE By Team ET
Where are the dreamers? Where are the men bank roll the dreams ? Where is the Indian Who invents something that the work look up to and buys?
It is a missing place in the INDIA STORY that business minds are beginning to sense even a toy deal with present frustration like regressive rules a commatose bureaucracy and eight month long policy inaction.
We think like a sweat shop……………? 7.8% growth is easily possible,I am not worried about that but when do we become a nation thats known for cutting edge innovation?
When do you get inventors and mechanics all around? YOU NEED ONE PERSON HERE (SABEER) WAS NOT ENOUGH ? Said Mahindra&Mahindra boss Anand Mahindra
THE MOST IMPATIENT IN THE GROUP THAT Packed the winners of The Economic Times AWARDS for Corporate Excellence 2011
Others were JP Morgan chase CEO Jamie Dimon,Zia Mody senior partner at AZB,HDFC Chairman Deep Parekh,Thinker COO HARISH MANWANI,ADITYA BIRLA chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Infosys Chairman K V KAMATH
” We have the fire in the belly,We have entrepreneurs,We have young people but we do not have venture funds investing,the way they do it in Silicon valley ” said Parekh Who frowned at 7% growth a member that DIMON THINKS THAT REST OF THE WORLD WOULD DIE FOR AS THE GROUP MET FOR CHAT AFTER THE JURY MEETING
The discussion swung between the cronic absense of innovation in INDIA and the current policy GRID LOCK
There is no environment for innovator as Academia ,Industry, and Technical Institutions function as ISLANDS.Never exchange note with each other Birla said.
But give a decade and it will happen as affordability rises more people access the tools for innovation said Kamath.
The eternal Optimist according according to Manwani THE OBSESSION WITH CAPITAL AND GROWTH IS SO OVER WHELMING IN INDIA.
Where innovation boils down to slashing cost that Intellectual Capital Is Ignored
JP MORGAN CHASE CEO Jamie Dimon He was in INDIA and his talk @
This was HYPE or REALITY?
2010-2011 ET AWARDS FOR CORPORATE EXCELLENCE look at economics in the last 50 years…….. How much they have grown inspite of wars and bad policies.Obvious How the rest feared.
THAT TIME IS RUNNING OUT……….DIMON WAS REFFERING TO HISTORY THAT TAKES ITS OWN GIVEN COURSE BUT OTHERS IN THE ROOM TALKED THINGS TO MOVE QUICKER,SAVER (FIND DURING THEIR LIFE TIMES)………..
M & M Boss Why it is hard to emulate that when we have Intellectual Capital which is riding corporation/companies around the world?
First order of business today in INDIA IS FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO SAY; Where is the intellectual capital and talents…………
LETS PULL THEM TOGETHER AND THATS FOR GODS SAKE,Design a future that INDIA has a major role.
I am extreemly frustrated about the slow role of Indian companies in order to make cutting edge innovations
We are good at incremental innovations which one? We are not copy cats which is lot of emerging markets are accused of we know now to take a particular plateau of developmets and improve on that we are good at KAIZEN We do not believe we can do cutting edge stuff we think as if we are back office we haven’t made any break through has yet LIKE THE APPLE
WE NEED ONE PERSON HERE TO INVENT A PRODUCT THAT THE WORLD LAPS TO BUY
BUT THAT CAN CHANGE MIRACULOUSLY…….. AND I WISH TO BE AROUND TO SEE THAT.
Anand Mahindra Vice Chairman Mahindra & Mahindra. A solid state of partnership with the world.A future where INDIA HAS A BIG ROLE. and this Anand Mahindra have into vechile manufacturing and most respected leader in INDIA Craig and he strated http://www.sparktherise.com to get inventors
When INDIAN ITELLECTUALCAPITAL IS RULING THE WORLD ALL THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO DO IS PULL ALL OF ITS TOGETHER AND MAKE IT WORK TO THE COUNTRIES BENEFITS.
Emerging markets or the new leaders of the global economy
This was HYPE or REALITY?
2010-2011 ET AWARDS FOR CORPORATE EXCELLENCE .
Its about rural development likes of leaders what they wish to see one Indian who can take India
I will conclude with STEVE JOBS RULE” Sometimes when you innovate you make a mistakes it is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving other innovations ”
” We do not market research we don’t hire consultants The only consultant I’ve hired …….. one from to analyze Gateway’s retail strategy So I would not make the same mistakes ”
” Ad campaign s are necessary for competition’s……But good PR educates people ; that’s all it is .YOU CANT CON PEOPLE IN THIS BUSINESS.THE PRODUCTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES ”
THANKS CK
THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF MEETING JP MORGAN CHASE’s CEO JAMIE DIMON AS HE TAKEN INDIA’S DEVELOPMENT
Most Corporate Sustainability Efforts are genuine but primarily motivated by Good Stewardship PR and zero cost. The reality is that policy must be set by Government. Another reality is that new sustainable models threaten long established business models (most of the time). As such, most established actors (Companies) spend most of their money and time attempting to “lobby”, delay or reject most new sustainable efforts. Unfortunately, most of this is, directly or indirectly tied to HYDROCARBONS. HYDROCARBONS are not intrinsically bad but current (and historic) models (for the most part) do not account for their large carbon footprint and an evolution towards a more sustainable substitute. This is primarily due to profit motivation. Until we, as a Country & World begin to incorporate these “costs” into the current BAU – we will struggle to evolve towards a more sustainable substitute.
For several years now, I have been an advocate for our car manufacturers to come togather with the solar pv manufacturers to begin to offer the “general pubilc” package deals when they purchase a new EV or PHEV. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Sunpower announcing that they have teamed up with Ford with this kind of program they are calling the “Drive Green for Life” program.
This program is available to Ford Focus Electric owners and offers an exclusive pre=negociated price on a high efficiency SunPower solar system that will offset most of the electricity used by their new electric vehicles.
Thanks to the SunPower and Ford partnership, Ford Focus Electric drivers soon will be able to drive completely emmissions free and save on electricity costs with every charge.
I have had a 5.4KWH PV Array installed on the roof of my home since 2009 and about 3 weeks ago, I had a 2KWH PV Array installed on my garage roof dedicated to producing much, if not all, the electricity that I will need to drive for the next 30 or more years in either an EV or PHEV.
So far, I have driven over 260 miles in our new “magnificent” 2012 Chevy Volt and haven’t used one single killowatt of electricity from our electric utility company, nor a single drop of gasoline from any gas station. It indeed, brings a whole new dimension to the phrases ” having your cake and eating it too”, and a prepetual motion machine”.
If any of you reading this article would like more information on calculating annusl cost savings over a year, or a lifetime of “driving free on solar”, please feel free to e-mail me at dmwm5261@comcast.net. And, I would love to send you some photos of our new “industrial baby” Volt attached to its own life sustaining umbilical cord”.
Sincerely,
Wayne Mackey
President,
Franklin Renewable Energy Association
Hi Craig,
One business that comes to mind is Rejuvenation, Inc. They manufacture high quality, period-authentic lighting fixtures for vintage homes. They make their products in Portland, Oregon and strive for a very small environmental footprint and sustainable business practices. You can check them out at this link: http://www.rejuvenation.com/company/footprint/big_picture.html?iqg=3ee467e53406893a53ff9349911940cf1e706bb8
They make cool stuff, they make it in the USA, and they don’t hurt or exploit anybody or anything in doing it. Wow.
So have you considered starting an annual award for the company with the best sustainability practices? You could have categories for small, medium and large companies. Thanks for all you do Craig!
Thanks, Marc. We’ve talked about an award, but not recently. Let me re-raise this terrific idea with my people here.
Lately a giant DuPont release the Statement that give the impresion that they are really serious in reducing their carbon footprint:
http://www.electroiq.com/photovoltaics/2011/10/1518620226/dupont-s-environmental-footprint-continues-to-shrink.html, and
http://www2.dupont.com/Sustainability/en_US/sustain_action/initiatives/index.html
Their is obviously ways to categorize ecologically “good” and “bad” companies, like with:
https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Pages/HomePage.aspx
A list of Worst examples (and also of Good practice examples) should be made (at least for largest companies), then widely publicized, and then there are ways to put pressure on “bad” gays, as many recent example show that such presuure can be effective and scare offenders that they will loose their image:
See just two of many successful examples:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/Clickers-and-Stickers-Make-HM-Detox/
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/detox-campaign-hat-trick-adidas-joins-nike-an/blog/36569/?ytannotation