Sustainability
and Eco-Friendly Initiatives in American Organizations
Team
6: Alyssa Weisberger, Mike Arroyo, Dylan Gagne, Troy Singleton
Southern
Connecticut State University
The role of
sustainability and eco-friendly initiatives in American organizations promote
economic value that can impressively affect business communication. They boast
that these eco-friendly initiatives offer an excellent return on economic
benefits and are also important to business success. But not only that, being a
sustainable and eco-friendly company is what is right. After all, every
business is located on the same Earth, so why not try to protect that vital
thing at all costs? Some companies don’t see it this way and are only in the
game for profits and their own benefit. But, of course, there are business that
are not only focused on their own business’ success, but also the safety of our
environment. As a group, we believe that everyone should try to be sustainable
in everything that they do, whether it be in their daily lives or in their
careers.
To start, sustainability can be
defined as “the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.” (“Sustainability”, n.d.) Efforts
for sustainability all began in 1970 when Earth Day was started. This all
started the thought of protecting the Earth and its natural resources. But,
things started to get serious on Earth Day’s 20th anniversary when
accords and treaties begun to be put into play to protect the Earth. Some of
these include the London Protocol, the Clean Air Act Amendments, the Federal
Organic Foods Production Act, the Pollution Prevention Act, and the National Environmental
Education Act. (Meyer, 2012)
The thing that started the main concern for
the protection of our environment was the amount of garbage that was being
produced. Many people started to see this and they realized how damaging this
could be for the environment because it is the complete opposite of being
sustainable. Everyone wanted to figure out something to do about it; and that’s
when recycling became mainstream. (Meyer, 2012)
In 1996, the EPA (the environmental
protection agency) started their WasteWise program which is a program that
encourages businesses and organizations to include sustainability in the
business practices. (“WasteWise”, 2017) In 1996, Clorox was the first WasteWise
Program Champion. This paved the way for other businesses to be sustainable
because caring about the environment was not only the right ting to do, but it
was also a smart business move. By showing that you care about the environment,
it makes customers want to purchase your products.
Another problem that brought a lot of
peoples’ attention to the protection of our environment was/is global warming.
Before sustainability was even a thought, no one even began to think about
cars’ emissions and how they were destroying our atmosphere. This sparked the
idea for vehicles that were better for our environment. In 1999, the first two
hybrid vehicles were introduced. They are the Honda Insight and the Toyota
Prius. These vehicles were hybrid electric vehicles that could travel a certain
distance on a single charge. Without the absolute need for gas in order to
travel by car, one could imagine how this would be better for the environment.
But this was just the start of businesses implementing sustainable initiatives
into their business plans. (Meyer, 2012)
In 2001, British Petroleum (BP) launched its
new movement of “Beyond Petroleum”. This new position from BP was taken in
order to show the world that they wanted to move away from using fossil fuels.
(Siegel, Kaye, Aster, n.d.) BP’s new green position helped to grow its
business, and several other businesses copied their idea of having a green
position to not only protect the environment, but to also grow their business.
(Meyer, 2012)
Companies are beginning to
realize that going green helps their business more than hurts them, and going
green is now the latest trend. In the article "BBC - Future - Why Apple
and Google are moving into solar energy", it explains why companies like
Apple and Google are moving to solar power. The article says “’For these big
corporations, electricity is one of their biggest costs,’ says Ash Sharma, a
solar energy analyst at IHS Technology. ‘Locking that in at a low price is
really critical for them.’” (Baraniuk,
2016) It takes a lot of energy to power modern data centers. Besides
running servers 24/7, all that machinery needs to be kept cool – a huge cost by
itself. " In 2015 Apple spent nearly $850 million dollars on a brand new
solar polar plant for their California facilities. 91% of IKEA stores are
powered by the sun." (Mearian, 2015) It is no secret that
companies are always looking to reduce unnecessary costs and still gain profit
from their products.
According to the article
"Global Consumers Are Willing to Put Their Money Where Their Heart Is When
It Comes to Goods and Services from Companies Committed to Social Responsibility",
"Fifty-five percent of global online consumers across 60 countries say
they are willing to pay more for products and services provided by companies
that are committed to positive social and environmental impact, according to a
new study by Nielsen. The propensity to buy socially responsible brands is
strongest in Asia-Pacific (64%), Latin America (63%) and Middle East/Africa
(63%). The numbers for North America and Europe are 42 and 40 percent,
respectively." (“Global Consumers are Willing…, n.d.) Therefore,
it can obviously be a boost to businesses if they are eco-friendly, because
consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that is. Also Steve Cohen
writes about the growing business of sustainability and how much money
consumers were spending it. "Green products and services are increasingly
important to the U.S. and global markets. Sales of environmentally friendly
products in the U.S. exceeded $40 billion last year, according to data from
various market tracking services and Advertising Age estimates. This includes
$29.2 billion for organic food, more than $10 billion for hybrid, electric and
clean-diesel vehicles, more than $2 billion on energy-efficient light bulbs and
$640 million on green cleaning products.” (Cohen, 2012) Since then, the market for sustainability is still
continuing to grow. In the article on sustainability.com, 5 years after Steve
Cohen’s article was written, companies found, “According to the US SIF
Foundation, in 2016 more than one out of every five dollars under professional
management in the US — $8.72 trillion or more — was invested according to
sustainable strategies, a number which has consistently grown during the last
decade, and is up 33% compared to 2014. Europe has also seen uptake in
sustainable investing of all kinds.” (Cohen, 2012)
A popular trend for U.S.
Companies to become Eco-Friendly is solar installation. In the 2016 Solar
Industries Association “Solar Means Business 2016 Cheat Sheet” it says that
since 2012, when the first report was released, U.S. businesses have increased
their solar capacity by 240 percent, the solar energy installed by business is
enough to power 193,000 homes. In their 2014 report, they reported 33 states of
the Fortune 500 companies have gone solar. Companies have also started working
on a new trend: artificial intelligence.
(“Solar Means Business 2016 Cheat Sheet, n.d.)
Other trends that companies have used
to be more sustainable and eco-friendly include replacing paper towels with Air
Dryers, recycling as much as possible, reusing recycled products, letting
employees work from home, and using electronic communication like email,
conference calls, and skype. Replacing paper towels with air dryers is
sustainable because you are using no paper at all, so you are not creating as
much garbage, and you are also contributing to the end of deforestation.
Recycling and reusing your recycled items is pretty self explanatory; you
create much less trash in the end, and you don’t have to be using items that
need to be produced in big factories that can be damaging to the environment.
Letting employees work from home would eliminate the emissions from their cars,
thus protecting the environment. And using electronic communication in the
workplace is huge. If there is a meeting in Seattle and your business is
located in Hartford, CT, then having the conference through some type of
electronic communication can be beneficial to the environment because of the
lack of necessary travel. (Weiss, Poppick, 2016)
Most
companies that are good for the environment have had environmental policies
either from the start of their company or soon after everyone started to
realize that the way the environment was being treated was not sustainable.
Companies that are bad for the environment mostly don’t even have environmental
policies in place.
A large company that is very
good for the environment is Patagonia. Their mission statement is, “Build the
best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement
solutions to the environmental crisis.” Patagonia is a business started by
people that were always outdoors and loved nature, so they wanted the company
to be involved in the fight to save beautiful places. Also, they want to try to
save the environment after the recent steep decline in its health. The founders
of Patagonia are aware that their business activity, including using dye in
their products and even lighting their physical stores, can be harmful to the
environment. So, they work hard to try to reduce their negative impacts on the
planet. Also, they try to use recycled polyester and only organic cotton in as
many of their products as possible. An interesting fact about Patagonia is that
every year on Black Friday, they donate all of their profits from the day
towards environmental improvements. Also, when you order an item from their
website and have it shipped to you, their shipping bag says, “Reduce &
Recycle. We believe in environmentally friendly packaging. This mailing bag is
made of at least 40% recycled plastics. It is free of toxins, dioxins, and
carcinogens.” Therefore, this company is very serious in their sustainability
efforts, only for the reason that they feel that is it right. (“Patagonia’s
Mission Statement”, n.d.)
A large
company that is very bad for the environment is Chanel. They tried to clear out
the amazon forest through deforestation to help develop their products. Chanel
is also polluting the Amazon River with toxic chemicals, which is destroying
the surrounding environment. Greenpeace, a company based on sustainability
efforts, contacted Chanel and brought these issues to their attention. They
asked them to promise that their future operations wouldn’t include dumping
hazardous materials into waterways, and Chanel declined to comment. Another
large company that is bad for the environment is Tyson. They have been accused
several times of polluting waterways with poultry feathers and waste. Even
though they have been asked to stop, they won’t. I believe that large companies
that don’t care about the environment continue to run their businesses in this
fashion because they are extremely successful, and they don’t need to be
sustainable businesses in order to be successful. No matter how much Chanel
pollutes the Amazon, people will continue to buy their luxury bags and
clothing, and no matter how much Tyson pollutes waterways with poultry feathers
and waste, people will still buy their pre-cooked packaged meats. (Yarow, 2009)
As usual there is
plenty to worry about when it comes to sustainability in businesses, Government
regulation controls business activities and land use in the interests of
environmental preservation and protection. This means that the importance for
business success is affected by how well we understand environmental law. The
problem some business’s face when it comes to environmental law is the impact
on the environment it will have or any irreversible effects their actions might
generate. Major federal environmental statues such as the Clean Air Act or
Toxic Substance Control Act make sure that these businesses that are
discharging chemicals into the air or water are being regulated and made
accountable for their disposal of toxic wastes.
Other toxic torts (civil wrong arising from exposure of a toxic
substance) are reasons why we have the Oil Pollution Act or the Safe Drinking
Water Act. (Miller, 2016, p. 460-467)
The
impact that each business can create on the environment can cause an adverse
effect, which may lead to a business coming up with alternate actions to take.
This leads to standards for equipment amongst the companies. Regulations
specify the best available technology be equipped and if the cost is too much
then the best practical equipment is called for. In short, the cost of
technology is weighed. (Miller, 2016, p. 460-467)
Traditionally,
most companies didn’t use recycled material for office supplies and were
heavily reliant on natural resources. These businesses for their time were not
actively engaged in the way they can help reduce their impact on the
environment. The problems they faced saving money or boosting their company’s
image are easily seen in today as the benefits of having an environmentally
friendly business.
The skills and
knowledge new business leaders are bringing to their workplace are creating
jobs and gaining a new competitive edge for their business. (Jackson, 2017) The
use of products that reduce your reliance on natural resources for example
rainwater tanks to make solar hot water systems preserves are natural
resources. Office supplies made from recycled plastic or furniture made from
recycled rubber are also other money savers and ways of looking at what can be
done differently. Recycling reduces cost, avoid using materials unnecessarily
for example reduce paper needs by printing double sided or floor panels made
from recycled cork-screw.
A good practice in
promoting environmentally friendly methods can set your business apart from
other competitors and also attract new customers. Green Marketing and the
Australian Consumer Law aims to assist manufacturers, suppliers, advertisers,
and others to access the strength of any environmental claims they make and to
improve the accuracy and usefulness to consumers of their labeling, packaging,
advertising and business success. This is just one example of how important the
impact of communication can be. Providing accurate and reliable information to
your consumers, investors and the rest of the world.
Whether you’re a
small company just beginning to embark on your eco friendly initiative or a
leading global company already collaborating across the planet, sustainability
is what drives business success. Expanding public relations and cost reduction
by reducing air travel by making conference calls instead of interstate or
international meetings promotes reducing the employee carbon footprint.
Promoting car-pooling as an incentive for employees, decreasing the commuting
hours giving employees motivation for teamwork and individual contributions
creates an ethical behavior that makes an impact towards their attitude
changing the world.
There are many
similarities and differences to other countries when it comes to building a
clean economy. The biggest problem some of the worlds largest companies are
facing right now is that of Climate control. This international community has
yet to come to an agreement on climate change but according to company’s
surveyed by the Carbon Disclosure Project over one third of worlds largest
companies are seeing an impact of climate change on their business. (Shirley,
n.d.)
What I learned
from extensive research is that many countries are committed to moving forward in
policy: South Korea approved carbon trading; Australia passed a carbon tax, and
Saudi Arabia and Japan are investing billions towards solar and green energy
industries to cut energy use and pollution just like China who has targeted to
do so with over 300 billion invested into these projects. In the United States there was a different
approach to climate policy affecting reduced emissions by proposing power
plants using the Clean Air Act. New standards issued. (Winston, 2014)
By investing in
some of the above ideas a business can put themselves in good starting grounds
for a sustainable long lasting footprint. The hope is that if more and more
businesses adopt these approaches, the more likely it is that a sustainable
business model will one day be what all businesses strive to achieve. (Jackson,
2017) With the new world of social media everyone has a voice and can be heard.
This allows consumers to gather around a green issue and give some companies
problems or pressure to change their behavior.
For example, Crayola using recycled markers or Dunkin Donuts Styrofoam
cups. (Winston, 2014)
If we wish to grow
as an economy, we need to reduce waste and create a more sustainable design
that reflects the wants and needs of the customer. Companies like Nike and Puma
are shifting their new collections to biodegradable shoes and shirts, and
recyclable backpacks and jackets. A company’s ability to reduce waste may not
be exciting but it shows how a company can turn a cost center into a source of
profit. One example of this is DuPont’s
building innovation products business, which reduced its landfill waste from 81
million pounds to zero in three years. (Winston, 2014)
Perhaps most
importantly, brands that establish an environmental stewardship among today’s
youngest consumers have an opportunity to not only grow market share but build
loyalty among the power spending millenials of tomorrow. A recent study online
showed that almost three out of four respondents are most willing to pay extra
for sustainable offerings. (“Green Generation:…”, n.d.) In other words, they
are willing to pay more for a product and services that comes from companies
who are committed to positive social and environmental impact.
Strikingly
consumers considered baby boomers ages 50-64 surveyed that they would also pay
extra for a substantially green and viable market. When it comes down to financial commitment
the findings show that those willing to spend more show that personal values
are more important than personal benefits, such a cost or convenience. Increasing
Global awareness and responsibility is key for marketers connecting their
message to their consumers and communicating effectively through their brand. (“Green
Generation:…”, n.d.)
It could I suppose
be argued that all over the globe from small traditional companies and up are
striving to become more sustainable and eco-conscious. Business models are
being rewritten as we speak with the aim of becoming more effective and
profitable. The changes being made from operational, to cultural, and
behavioral revolutions are proving that a sustainable approach can be both
beneficial to the balance sheets and a business’s bottom line. In other words,
by putting yourself in charge of your energy use, cutting down on waste and
using smart technology to manage buildings effectively can possibly lead to
options of generating your own power.
As times get
tough, reducing a company’s environmental impact has a double benefit: cutting
environmental costs and reducing turnover. It seems that the greater importance
a business places on energy efficiency in every decision, the greater the
impact will be on long-term business competiveness and efficiencies, which
increasingly affect business communications.
When thinking about ways to enhance business success and
employee satisfaction, Patagonia is a great company to use as an example. One
of Patagonia's main priorities is to make sure their employees are as
environmentally conscience as they are. When the employees agree with and
share the same values as the company for which they work, they will be much
more satisfied working there. Not only will they be more satisfied with their
work, but they will become free salespeople for the company as well. How
this works is that all of their employees will spread a positive word about
Patagonia in their everyday life and more and more potential customers will
begin to here the message. Another way Patagonia keeps their employees
happy while doing their part in protecting the environment at the same time is
having a two month paid retreat to volunteer for any environmental program of
their choice. Patagonia already does have a tremendous amount of business
success and employee satisfaction, but there is always room for improvement.
Patagonia could give out free company apparel in a few ways. One way
could be to have holiday parties for employees with raffles giving away company
apparel. Another way would be to give away performance based prizes of
free company apparel.
There are many ways that our group can be sustainable in
our future/current careers. To be more sustainable in Dylan’s current career as
a distributor, he delivers only three days a week when possible as opposed to
five or six days a week with his “gas guzzling truck.” The other days, he rides
his bike out to all of his clients. Biking not only saves Dylan a lot of money,
but also saves the environment by using less gas. Others can do the same
if where they are going to work is in close proximity to home. This
practice applies to just about everyone else's career as well because almost
everyone has to travel to get to work or travel when at work. If everyone
were to find more efficient ways of getting to work, our environment would
benefit tremendously.
Alyssa’s future career, human resource management, has to
deal with training employees on a day-to-day basis. While a company is in the
process of training its employees, it implements various ways of training
employees to become more sustainable both at work and at home. Human
resources plays a key role in getting all of the employees into the habits of
things such as recycling, reducing waste by becoming more efficient, and
becoming overall more energy efficient by encouraging employees to do things
such as turn off the lights when leaving a room or shutting off the water when
it is not in use. Another way for the human resources department to be more
sustainable would be to reduce the amount of paper it uses during the hiring
process. (“Water Conservation,…, n.d.)
Some things that Mike could implement into his Outreach
program in his career could be focusing on training all of the children within
the Outreach program to be more sustainable. This would include
implementing recycle bins all around the premises and encouraging the children
to put all recyclable items in the recycle bin. Another way to create a
more sustainable Outreach program would be to have an entire class dedicated to
creating awareness of the harmful effects of climate change and what the long
term affects will be if action is not taken. Another idea to reduce
even the amount of water bottles that are put into the recyclable bin would be
to purchase a water bottle refill device connected to the water fountains on
the facilities. When printing papers in the Mike's office, he will set
his printer setting to print on both sides of the paper to use half as much
paper in the long run. (Weinreb, 2012)
Troy, in his career as an athletic director, could do many
things to be more sustainable. For example, he could schedule as many sporting
events as possible during daylight hours in order to use less electricity on
lighting. He could have his athletes use reusable plastic water bottles during
games instead of using paper cups. He could use less paper by communicating
through email rather than fliers or postal mail. Troy could use green-certified
chemicals and employ sustainable cleaning methods, such as reusing laundered
towels instead of disposable wipes.
When building homes, it is important for a contractor to
make homes out of environmentally sound materials but also materials that will
last. This strategy, similar to Patagonia’s, will prevent having to use more
material down the road. Building fire resistant houses is also important
because when a house burns down, toxic chemicals are released into the
atmosphere. Another reason why it is important to build fire resistant
homes is because once a house burns down you will have to build a brand new
home in its place, wasting many limited natural resources. Another example of a career than can be more sustainable is
that a painter could be more sustainable by using paint types with fewer
harmful materials. He could use less oil-based paint as well as more
sustainable methods of disposing of old or unneeded paint. (“15 Easy
Ways…, 2017)
In the end, eco-friendly initiatives in businesses have
come a very long way; even though some businesses have yet to cross the
starting line. But, for the most part, companies understand that being a
sustainable business is not only crucial for the Earth’s health, but they can
also benefit from it. Most people are very intrigued by businesses that care
about something other than their profits; so why not that thing be our planet?
Everyone makes a living on this lovely Earth that we have, so it is very
important to understand that we must protect it. As a group, we believe
that everyone should try to be sustainable in everything that they do, whether
it be in their daily lives or in their careers.
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