Page 174 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

products). The phone company CREDO donates a portion
of its proceeds to environmental and progressive nonprofit
groups according to how its customers vote to distribute the
funds. At the local level, entrepreneurs are starting thousands
of sustainably oriented businesses all across the world.
Today corporate sustainability has gone mainstream,
and some of the world’s largest corporations have joined in,
including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Intel, Ford Motor Company,
Toyota, IKEA, Dow, DuPont, and BASF. Carpeting company
Interface, Inc., provides one of the best-known cases of a com-
pany changing its practices to promote sustainability (p. 641),
but there are many more. IBM was judged the greenest large
company in America in a survey run by Newsweek magazine
and two research agencies in 2012. IBM’s Smarter Planet
initiative provides technology to help businesses and govern-
FIguRE 6.19 Ecolabeling gives consumers information on ments develop sustainable approaches, such as smart energy
the environmental impact of products, enabling us to pro- grids; green buildings; and efficient systems to manage traffic
mote sustainable business practices through our purchasing
decisions. Fair-trade and shade-grown coffee are examples of the congestion, pollution, and water supplies.
many ecolabeled products now widely available. Hewlett-Packard runs programs to reuse and recycle used
toner cartridges, electronics, and plastics, and Dell reuses or
recycles 98% of its nonhazardous waste. Sprint Nextel aims
Ecolabeling helps address market failure to recycle 90% of the phones it sells by crediting custom-
ers who turn in old phones. Nike, Inc., collects millions of
Another way to mitigate market failure is to help consum- used sneakers and recycles their materials to create synthetic
ers gain full and accurate information with which to make surfaces for basketball courts, tennis courts, and running
purchasing decisions. Increasingly, manufacturers are des- tracks. The Gap, Inc., cut energy use in its stores and distri-
ignating on their labels how their products were grown, bution centers, runs alternative transportation programs for
harvested, or manufactured. This approach, called ecolabe- its employees, and has a sustainably designed headquarters
ling, serves to inform consumers which brands use environ- building. Microsoft became carbon-neutral in 2012 by charg-
mentally benign processes (FIguRE 6.19). By preferentially ing each of its divisions with monitoring and offsetting its
buying ecolabeled products, each of us as consumers can greenhouse gas emissions.
provide businesses a powerful incentive to switch to more One prime example of corporate sustainability is the
sustainable processes. publisher of your textbook, Pearson Education. In 2009,
One early example of ecolabeling was to label cans of tuna Pearson became the first global media company to become
as “dolphin-safe,” indicating that the methods used to catch the climate-neutral (p. 532), and it has remained that way since.
tuna avoid the accidental capture of dolphins. Other examples Pearson has eliminated its net carbon emissions by install-
include labeling recycled paper (pp. 635–637), organic foods ing solar and wind energy to power its facilities, by pur-
(pp. 275–278), fair trade and shade-grown coffee (pp. 91, 278, chasing further clean renewable energy through utilities,
288), and sustainable forestry products (pp. 340–341). and by funding forest conservation efforts. Pearson has also
In a similar vein, individuals who invest money in the reduced its energy use by investing in LEED-certified green
stock market can pursue socially responsible investing, which buildings (pp. 366–368), fuel-efficient fleet vehicles, video-
entails investing in companies that have met criteria for envi- conferencing in lieu of airplane travel, and other energy-
ronmental or social sustainability. A fast-growing trend, in 2012 saving strategies. Pearson has reduced its use of plastic and
U.S. investors sank $3.7 trillion into socially responsible styrofoam by 85% and 50%, respectively, in recent years, CHAPTER 6 • Ethi C s, E C ono mi C s, A nd s ustA in A bl E dE v E lopm E nt
investing, representing 11% of all investment. and is using low-VOC inks and FSC-certified paper (pp.
325–326, 340). For its efforts, Pearson has been recognized
Businesses are responding to sustainability by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for over a
concerns decade and has scored highest of any media company in its
environmental dimension.
As more consumers and investors express preferences for sus- Wal-Mart provides the highest-profile example of cor-
tainable products and services, many industries, businesses, porate greening efforts (FIguRE 6.20). Advocates of sustain-
and corporations are “greening” their operations. By finding ability had long criticized the world’s largest retailer for its
ways to enhance energy efficiency, reduce toxic substances, environmental and social impacts. The company responded
increase the use of recycled materials, and minimize green- by launching a quest to sell organic and sustainable products,
house gas emissions, businesses often discover that they reduce packaging and use recycled materials, enhance fuel
reduce costs and increase profit. efficiency in its truck fleet, reduce energy use in its stores,
Some companies have cultivated an eco-conscious image power itself with renewable energy, cut carbon dioxide emis-
from the start, such as Ben & Jerry’s (ice cream), Patago- sions, and preserve one acre of natural land for every acre
nia (outdoor apparel), and Seventh Generation (household developed. It is also developing a “sustainability index” that
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