Page 9 - Green Builder January 2017 Issue
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Corporate CREDIT: U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
America Still
Investing in CREDIT: RUBBER DRAGON Not-so-Fantastic
Sustainability Plastic Killing
Ocean’s Islands
But the gap is growing between those
that do and don’t embrace green thinking.NVOLVEMENT BY TOP U.S. companies in sustainability Birds, fish and ultimately people
is continuing to grow, with many reporting strong Imay fall victim to microplastics.F THE CONSTRUCTION industry needed more incentive to
business benefits, according to a study by construction keep using sustainable products among its building materials,
all it needs to do is read CNN’s report on “Plastic Island”
I analyst Dodge Data & Analytics (www.construction. (http://cnn.it/2gJyR2i). The story details the devastating impact
com). However, the study also reveals a gap between the of plastic waste upon famed Midway Atoll in the North
majority of committed companies and a minority of companies Pacific Ocean.
that do not see the business value of sustainability investments.
“Standing on the island’s remote shoreline brings a calm and
According to Dodge, the number of companies in favor of humility—until you look down at your feet,” the story notes. “On
green investments rose from 15 percent in 2006 to 41 percent the beach lies a motorcycle helmet, a mannequin’s head, an umbrella
in 2015. But the number that considers such involvement a handle and a flip-flop. They didn’t fall from a plane or off a ship, and
waste of resources increased from 17 percent to 21 percent there aren’t any civilians living here who could have left them behind.”
during that same period.
Instead, they were washed in with the tide from thousands of
The “green gap” corresponds closely to the respondents’ miles away, some of the pieces ending up in the bellies of albatrosses
perceptions of the benefits of investing in sustainability, who lack the sense not to eat them. They can’t digest the plastic and
the report notes. It’s also likely that those not in favor of they die. The same goes for fish swimming in the dispersal zone of
investments lack a person or team on staff dedicated to 5 trillion fragments of such waste, some so small that the naked eye
sustainability efforts. can’t see them. Many also absorb PCBs and other toxins.
The study, Corporate Sustainability Reaches Middle Age: A And what happens to birds and fish will, according to the report,
Review of Key Trends and Insights from 9 Years of Research, is eventually happen to humans.
available for free at Dodge’s products site (http://bit.ly/2gTNzTx).
Changing the world’s dependence on plastic isn’t likely to happen.
www.greenbuildermedia.com But, the story’s authors offer a glimmer of hope. “Remember
smoking? We don’t do that as much anymore.”
January/February 2017 GREEN BUILDER 7
