Six Trends in Corporate Sustainability

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainability-trends-corporate-six

The Guardian reported on a survey to examine corporate sustainability trends in late 2012, conducted GreenBiz Group and EY members of the GreenBiz Intelligence Panel. The first thing that struck me as odd was why The Guardian was just commenting on this in 2014 now even though this survey was conducted in 2012. Looking past this flaw, I read that the top six rends are:

1. The "tone from the top" is key to heightened awareness and preparedness for sustainability risks

2. Governments and multilateral institutions aren't playing a key role in corporate sustainability agendas

3. Sustainability concerns now include increased risk and proximity of natural resource shortages

4. Corporate risk response is not well paired to the scale of sustainability challenges

5. Integrated reporting is slow to take hold, and;

6. Inquiries from investors and shareholders are on the rise.

I was shocked at how accurate I found this list as I found myself agreeing with everything that is on here. I was surprised to see that number 2 was on the list. The government or any other institution of that nature hasn’t done much to act as a large enforcer to corporate sustainability agendas. What I’ve observed that happens is that groups NGOs will step in and try and make companies comply by publishing sustainability reports.

What are your thoughts on this list?

Greener Products Program

Sometimes when you buy a product that claims to be green, it’s a lie and there is no way to notice the lie unless there is some sort of certification. Listed below are some of the top green programs and their labels. Check on the products in your household to see if they have the label to help ensure that they have been properly certified.

Design for Environment is a program run by the EPA to help buyers identify cleaning and other products that perform well, are cost-effective, and are safer for the environment. The next time that you go into the supermarket, look for cleaning items with the DfE label so that your family does its part to protect the environment.

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S.EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy. ENERGY STAR identifies and promotes energy-efficient products and practices that can help save money and protect the environment.

The Green Electronics Council maintains the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to help purchasers evaluate, compare, and select electronic products based on their environmental attributes. Registered products meet baseline criteria and are rated Gold, Silver, or Bronze based on their performance relative to 23 required and 28 optional criteria.

WaterSense aims to protect the future of our nation's water supply by promoting water efficiency and enhancing the market for water-efficient products, programs, and practices. The WaterSense label, which is independently certified, indicates that these products and programs meet water efficiency and performance criteria.

For a full list, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/programs/. 

Climate Reality Project

One day in class, we had Drew Solomon come and give us a presentation on climate change. He works with The Climate Reality Project which is a non-profit organization involved in the education and advocacy of climate change. The presentation consisted of information on how climate change is affecting the weather patterns that are happening all over the world. Floods, droughts, and mudslides were highlighted in his presentation. What left a lasting impression on me were the opportunities that they have for normal people to take action.

They highlight the fact that our voice does matter and that we can make a difference. Suggestions that they made for us to speak up was that we should write a letter to our elected officials. I have an unpleasant experience in this area because in the 9^th grade, I wrote a letter to one of my elected officials talking about class sizes and the respond that I got was from a department that wasn’t related to what I wrote saying that they appreciate my concern and that they are doing something about it. Another suggestion for making a difference was for us to join organizations that are committed to solving the climate crisis. I really liked how they didn’t highlight just their efforts but the efforts of other groups.

My favorite two favorite suggestions that they made were to stay educated and to keep talking about the climate crisis with anybody I know. Many Americans don’t know about climate change nor do they believe that it is really their problem, the Climate Change in the American Mind: Americans’ Global Warming Beliefs and Attitudes survey proved this. These suggestions are my favorite because to change this we need to thoroughly educate the public and to make sure the topic of climate change is a hot topic.

Businesses Going Green

Over the past three weeks, I’ve been looking at businesses attempts at going green. Some businesses go green either from an external pressure forcing them in that direction or they choose to because they believe that it is the right thing to do not only for themselves, but for society too. Examples of outside factors that push businesses to go green include NGOs and consumers protesting  a company’s actions. Examples of factors that could cause a company to change its mind on its own to go green include enhancing the brand’s reputation, reducing energy, and because it strengthens employee engagement. 

An example of a company that went green on its own accord is Interface, the carpet tile company. Interface began in 1973 when its founder Ray C. Anderson recognized the need for flexible floor coverings that would facilitate emerging offices. In 1994, Ray set the company on a new course, moving them away from the traditional industrial model and toward a business focused on sustainability, using numerous recycling methods. This whole change was driven by the fact that Ray read The Ecology of Commerce which made him realize that the company needed to be moving on a more sustainable course. A big part of Interface being sustainable is their whole recycling program. Interface has made it possible for you to return your old carpet tiles and then they take apart that tile and reuse the parts that are able to be reused. Interface made this change to a sustainable company based off of an epiphany that its leader had and was able to stay in business due to their dedication towards being sustainable.

An example of a business that had to be pushed to go green is what Greenpeace did to pressure Apple to become green. Greenpeace ranked Apple close to the bottom of the list of companies that recycled electronic waste. To change this, Greenpeace gave tools to Apple customers to voice their concerns about their products. Apple fans created web sites, t-shirts, and blogs to put pressure on the company. Apple took its time responding and their CEO at the time, Steve Jobs, gave a lackluster apology. It wasn’t until recently that Apple started to take steps towards recycling the electronic waste that it produces. 

I believe that in the near future, companies will have to start taking steps and measures towards going green in order to maintain revenue and retain customers. Today, people are getting more and more interested in their favorite companies’ attempts at being sustainable and going green. It is up to those companies to decide that they will change no their own accord or change after being scrutinized by their customers.

Defining Sustainability

What is sustainability? I have spent the last three weeks learning about sustainability and trying to come up with my own definition for it. At the moment, the accepted definition for sustainable development is “meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” For me, this definition is inadequate, broad and leaves questions unanswered. This definition fails to define what is the future needs are. Those needs could be fifty times smaller or larger than the needs that we are meeting now. Needs is also undefined here and is left to be openly interpreted. Again, what we consider as needs now could mean something completely different in the next few years. Due to the different ways that sustainability is defined, I feel like it needs to be broken up into categories so that a better understanding and meaning of the word can be obtained.

To make this definition less broad, I feel like sustainability should be looked at in different categories. The two main categories that sustainability fall under are environment and society. In the case of the environment, I believe that sustainability means doing your part to preserve natural resources and reducing your footprint so that Earth is healthy and can be inhabited. In the case of society, I believe that to be sustainable means that the well-being of everyone is being maintained, with the intention of keeping a diversified culture.

This is a starting point on grabbing a sense of what sustainability is. There isn’t one definite definition and everyone is going to interpret it in a different way. To avoid any confusion, there should be separate categories that the word can fall under like sustainability in business, sustainability in the economy, and sustainability for humans. After taking this class, this is now how I choose to define sustainability and I intend to work towards discovering different categories that sustainable development falls under and forming a definition that works for me. 

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