Companies adopting green practices at a slow pace

The majority of U.S. firms aren’t addressing ways to improve environmental performance, according to State of Green Business 2008, a report by Greener World Media Inc. in Oakland, Calif.

The report tracks 20 indicators of environmental progress, including carbon emissions, toxic releases, packaging materials, paper use, construction of green office space and investments in clean technology.

“Companies are making good progress on fewer than half of the 20 measures of performance” according to the report.

“Companies, in aggregate, aren’t changing quickly or significantly enough to move the needle on climate change and other challenges,” said Joel Makower, the report’s principal author.

More report stats:

• Alternative fuel vehicles represent slightly more than 1 percent of all corporate fleet purchases.
• The percentage of employees carpooling or taking public transit to work dropped almost 10 percent between 2000 and 2006, though employee telecommuting from home or remote locations eight or more hours per week has risen by 16 percent.
• The amount of used computers and other e-waste has more than doubled since 2000, though e-waste recycling grew by only about 20 percent during that period.
• Paper use, measured against gross domestic product, has declined by more than 20 percent during the past decade, while the recycling rate has increased by 20 percent during that same period.

-- Kelli

Comments

[ricardo maxwell]

I think that, instead of worrying so much about questionably effective, "feel good" watermelon environmentalist-suggested "Green" practices, perhaps our industry should be trying to convince the ignorant mayor of Atlanta and others, such as the undereducated misinformed news media, that planting GREEN PLANTS is the solution to the drought, not the cause of it. I hope that I do not need to explain how the introduction of suitable green plants into an area that was previously arid or dry changes the microclimate first and then eventually the macro climate. If our industry doesn't launch a full scale PR campaign to combat the ignorance in the media and in government, there won't be ANY businesses left to adopt these so-called "green practices".

[ricardo maxwell]

I think that, instead of worrying so much about questionably effective, "feel good" watermelon environmentalist-suggested "Green" practices, perhaps our industry should be trying to convince the ignorant mayor of Atlanta and others, such as the undereducated misinformed news media, that planting GREEN PLANTS is the solution to the drought, not the cause of it. I hope that I do not need to explain how the introduction of suitable green plants into an area that was previously arid or dry changes the microclimate first and then eventually the macro climate. If our industry doesn't launch a full scale PR campaign to combat the ignorance in the media and in government, there won't be ANY businesses left to adopt these so-called "green practices".

[Kelli Rodda]

Ricardo,
That's a great point.
One way to make legislators and city leaders understand the seriousness of their regulatory actions is to talk dollars. Has your state's green industry association prepared an economic impact report lately?
You can't simply say, "Save our businesses." It's better to say, "We pump $X billion dollars to the state, and please help us continue that economic benefit."
Back up your points with university research, such as heat island effects;
landscaping practices that conserve water, reduce runoff of fertilizers and minimize need for pesticides; and increasing property values with landscapes.