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“Going green” is a growing trend that is effecting households, families, and now business corporations both large and small. Larger corporations are now starting to realize that environmentally friendly business practices and corporate responsibility are no longer nice suggestions—they are requirements if you want to be compliant with state and national regulations, and stay on good terms with your customers.
In 2012, Ikea, known as Ikea Group, had expanded to 44 countries with 298 stores. Along the way, Ikea rethought every aspect of home furnishing business. In their 2012 sustainability report the Swedish company announced a host of changes which included switching to paper instead of wood pallets, initiating a drive for renewable energy sources such as wind at solar for its operations, working to ensure wood supplies promoted sustainability, recycling 83% of waste and boasting 91% of products were made from renewable, recycled or recyclable materials.
In its 2012-2013 sustainability report U.S. automaker giant Ford pinpointed water usage by its own facilities as a concern. In all reality, proper water treatment plants should have minimal impact on the environment, and this goes for large corporate factory water stystems as well, which is why Ford decided to take a second look. Already operating with a diverse set of policies aimed at addressing climate change while fostering sustainable business, water conservation became a key component of their strategy. Ford evaluates company wide global water usage and its impact on local areas while searching for alternatives and ensuring water usage reduction. The auto giant also set 2015 as the deadline for new vehicles to use 30% less water than past models.
Shoe manufacturer Timberland addressed looming environmental issues by leaping ahead of the game. The company not only developed a robust policy of environmental responsibility, it went one step farther and devised a system of transparency which allows consumers an easy way to check out their environmental performance via data. This new system of accountability is hosted on their site titled Timberland Responsibility. The site breaks down every area of the company and shows how they are striving to protect the earth and run their business at the same time.
Food production icon General Mills views responding to climate change and environmentally sustainable business practices as an essential in the company’s field to table value chain. Working to ensure sources promote regeneration and products do not harm the company’s efforts to create a more positive environmental foundation, General Mills identified broad areas needing attention in a 2013 global response report : grow, research, preserve, people, animals, agriculture, climate change, water and waste.
Famed coffee franchise Starbucks has integrated environmental responsibility into the design of company stores and products in all aspects. Starbucks is not new to the idea of corporate responsibility or going green, so their practices have only been building year by year. From the materials they use to the methods for obtaining ingredients, Starbucks have set several plans in motion to make sure their business is helping, not hurting mother earth. They continue to design and build stores that are LEED certified, and constantly look for new methods and technologies that will allow them to do business in a way that is friendly to the environment as well as their customers.
These business titans have taken on the responsibility of enacting broad environmentally sustainable reforms across their operations. They have proven sustainability and profits can work together in high volume retail business, and it can actually attract customers and impress clients. More companies are catching on to these methods, so we will get to watch as businesses get more creative and mother earth gets a little more TLC.
