Earth and Industry » csr

Dell Cuts 18 Million Pounds Out of Packaging Loop Since 2008

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:11:12 +0000

After my little rant yesterday about Nestle's "Eco-Shape" plastic water bottles, I'm happy to report on more positive steps in the packaging world (While one might interpret those remarks about Nestle as purely bashing the company, it would be more accurate to interpret them as a knock on the greenwashy marketing and on the bottled water industry as a whole. But I digress.).

In the last few years, computing and electronics giant, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), has established itself as a company with a strong green gene -- and that focus on sustainability extends to making advancements in materials and packaging.

In December 2008, Dell announced a plan to transform computer packaging. And in that time, the company has increased the amount of recycled content in its packaging by approximately 32 percent, including the introduction of bamboo packaging. To achieve the company's larger packaging goals of increasing recycled content in its packaging by 40 percent by 2012 the company is implementing a strategy based on the three Cs: Cube, Content and Curbside.

“Establishing these packaging goals has transformed my team from great packaging engineers to inspired environmental champions,” said Dell’s senior manager of Global Packaging, Oliver Campbell.

Dell outlines the three Cs strategy in their recently released 2010 Corporate Responsibility Summary Report (pdf):

Cube

Reducing the size of product packaging has required changes ranging from putting fewer items in the box, which allows for smaller packaging and a simpler "out-of-box" experience for customers, to using engineering tools to run various “what if” scenarios.

Using these tools, Dell says it has optimized its Inspiron 15 laptop packaging so that 63 laptops fit on each shipping pallet, up from 54 before the retooling. More laptops on each pallet means fewer shipping vehicles and a smaller environmental impact from shipping

Content

As mentioned above, Dell has increased the amount of recycled content in its packaging. For heavier products that require sturdy support, the company has stepped up the use of recycled foam versus using virgin product.

Dell has also increased its use of post-consumer recycled plastics, integrating the equivalent of more than 9.5 million half-gallon milk jugs into its packaging.

In 2008, Dell embraced bamboo as a strong and compostable alternative to the molded paper pulp, foams, and corrugated cardboard often used in packaging. Starting with its Inspiron Mini 10 and 10v netbooks, the company now uses bamboo packaging in its new 5-inch hybrid device, Streak, and for several of its Inspiron laptops.

Curbside

A critical part of any sustainable packaging strategy is closing the loop. Ensuring its product packaging is curbside-recyclable is part of that commitment. To reach its goal, Dell increasingly selects recyclable materials for its packaging, including PCR plastics and molded paper pulp.

While bamboo is still not accepted by many municipal recyclers for curbside pickup, Dell is teaming with Georgia Pacific, Unisource Global Services and Environmental Packaging International in an effort to certify its bamboo packaging for recycling.

According to Dell's Campbell, “The progress we’ve made has kept a lot of materials out of landfills, made responsible packaging disposal easier for customers and is making Dell a more environmentally responsible company.”

via: Greener Packaging

UPS Driving More Miles, Using Less Fuel

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:13:19 +0000

It's no real secret that UPS (NYSE:UPS) has gotten pretty good at fuel efficiency. From mandating more right-hand turns to adding nearly two thousand natural gas-powered and diesel hybrid delivery trucks to its fleet, UPS increased the miles per gallon of the delivery vehicles in their U.S. Domestic Package segment by 10% from 2000-2009. And in 2009, UPS drivers logged 77.3 million miles more than they did ten years earlier, yet used 3.2 million gallons less fuel.

Not settling with fuel efficiency improvements to date, the global delivery giant last week promised to improve its fuel economy an additional 9 percent by 2020. Modest, perhaps, but when a fleet of vehicles the size of UPS can improve efficiency by just a small amount, we could be talking about savings of millions of gallons fuel.

According to the UPS sustainability report released last week,The company's new goal for U.S. Domestic Package segment would improve fleet fuel economy by an additional 9 percent by 2020, representing a 20 percent improvement by 2020 as compared to fuel economy in 2000,

But UPS isn't keeping their efficiency tips to themselves -- at least not for a price. A special division of the company, UPS Logistics Technologies, has developed ten proprietary transportation management products and licensed them to 1,200 companies around the world to help make other service and delivery companies reduce fuel consumption. Tools available include optimized route planning, real-time wireless dispatch utilizing GPS, strategic territory planning and web-based reporting.

In 2009, an estimated 1.1 billion total miles were not driven because of the UPS software, translating into a fuel savings of 186 million gallons and an avoided 1.9 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Yingli Solar Expands World Cup Effort, Will Provide Solar to 20 African Soccer Training Centers

LiveOAK Staff — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:02:40 +0000

If you've watched any of the 2010 World Cup, you may have seen the banners advertising Yingli Solar on field level walls. Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE), the parent company of Yingli Solar, has paid a considerable sum to be associated with the FIFA 2010 World Cup, currently underway in South Africa -- but they are not stopping with mere tournament sponsorship for their marketing and branding effort at the World Cup.

The Chinese solar manufacturer has announced it will provide solar power to 20 soccer training centers across Africa as part of its "Football for Hope. Energy for Hope" program.

Yingli will supply the centers with solar installations that could power field lighting, computers or study rooms in those centers. Of the 20 centers, five are being built in South Africa and 15 in other African countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Mali, Namibia and Ghana.

"The FIFA World Cup offers an ideal opportunity for Yingli Solar to be involved with Football for Hope and to support the '20 Centres for 2010' project with highly desired solar power," said Liansheng Miao, chairman and chief executive officer of Yingli Green Energy.

FIFA's head of corporate social responsibility, Federico Addiechi, said "We are extremely pleased that Yingli Solar is not only a sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but also a strong supporter of the Football for Hope movement and, in particular, of '20 Centres for 2010' by offering its expertise in renewable energy."

Photo credit: babasteve via flickr

Chicago Cubs Win with New Recycling Program at Wrigley Field

Timothy B. Hurst — Sun, 30 May 2010 03:18:58 +0000

In my first visit to Chicago's Wrigley Field a few years back I was struck by both the friendliness of the Cubs fans and the enthusiasm with which they drank beer -- although the two might be one in the same. Now, instead of all those plastic cups ending up in the landfill, a good chunk of them will be recycled, thanks to a new program at the nation's second-oldest Major League Baseball stadium.

The Cubs have partnered with Solo Cup Company, Allied Waste, Free Green Can and Levy Restaurants to introduce the new "Real Fans Recycle" program at Wrigley Field. Fans can now recycle all of their plastic cups in specially-marked bins throughout the park.

The new recycling program will also extend beyond the 'Friendly Confines,' with 25 dual-purpose (recycling/trash) recycling cans now installed surrounding Wrigley Field, providing year-round public recycling opportunities for Cubs fans and residents of the Wrigleyville neighborhood. The Free Green Can will accept recycle glass, plastic, paper and aluminum at one station.

In addition to the 'glassware' that will be a little bit greener at Wrigley, fans will also be using 100 percent recycled napkins, compostable plates and cutlery.

"This can be a model for what other sports venues across the country can achieve," said Kim Frankovich, vice president of sustainability, Solo Cup Company. "Cubs fans can help us make this program a success by putting their plastic cups and bottles in the recycling bins separate from other trash."

In total, the Chicago Cubs and its fans are expected to divert roughly 165,000 pounds of cardboard and plastic material from the waste stream annually, saving an estimated 2,180 cubic yards of landfill space.

Once recycled, the plastic cups will be used to make plastic lumber for picnic tables and park benches, carpet fibers, clothing, automotive parts, paint brushes and, of course, more plastic cups.

Hat tip: Recycling Today
Photo: BrentDPayne via flickr

7 Highly Profitable Companies with a Strong Green Gene

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:19:52 +0000

Nearly every company these days wants to claim that it is green. With clever or strong marketing, companies can convince much of the population that they are. Which ones really have a strong green gene though?

Here are seven major international companies that are both turning a healthy profit and going well beyond the norm when it comes to environmental efforts. Click here to start the slideshow...

Image Credit: artbymags via flickr/Creative Commons

The 16 People You Must Follow on Twitter for Green Business

Timothy B. Hurst — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:02:36 +0000

From sharing news or quality content, to communicating with friends and communities of interest, the micro-blogging platform Twitter has something for everybody. And there are few communities of interest that have swarmed around Twitter with more fury than the business community. Granted, maybe 'business community' is too large a group to even classify as a community, but 'green business community' isn't. On that note, we bring you the Earth & Industry 16 must-follows on Twitter.

Now, this is not exactly scientific, but it's not arbitrary either. It should also be noted that we left out companies and focused on individuals unless they are in the business of writing about green business. And, of course, this is by no means the definitive list, so please leave your suggestions in the comments below to help make it one. Without further ado and in alphabetical order:

@adamwerbach Named the youngest-ever national president of the Sierra Club in 1996, Adam Werbach is now a business trategist tweeting tips for running a sustainable business. Author of new Harvard Biz book, Strategy for Sustainability.

@AlexSteffen While not strictly a 'green business' guy Alex Steffen of World Changing delves deep into the underlying problems at the root of sustainability. This undoubtedly means he approaches the world of business at multiple levels, but from a different perspective than most 'business people.'

@britesprite Chris Milton is a UK sustainability journalist and writer. Chris says he's never met the opportunity to write a feature he didn't like: "The thing is everyone, every business, is a feature waiting to happen. Because everyone, every business, is in some way unique and ground breaking."

@DavidCoethica David Conor's bio tells us that he knows a thing or two about CSR and ethical business. Conor is a sustainable business strategist, environment specialist, speaker and now blogger, using Coethica "to make the world a better place to live and work."

@DCarli Don Carli's Twitter bio says he's into sustainability, CSR, green, advertising, media, design, marketing and tech. If that weren't enough, Carli is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Communication, a nonprofit working to develop "the next generation of communication and media leaders required to create green jobs, foster environmental restoration and improve quality of life in the communities they touch."

@fabianpattberg Blogging at FabianPattberg.com, among other places, Fabian Pattberg writes prolifically on the topics of sustainability, corporate social Responsibility and the use of social networking for business and individuals.

@gfriend Gil Friend is an engaging speaker, strategic sustainability thought leader and consultant. Gil is the CEO of Natural Logic Inc. and author The Truth About Green Business.

@GreenBizTweets The man operating the switches of the the official and informal source of green business news and conversation from GreenBiz.com is Hugh Byrne. The GreenBiz social media machine is much more than a twitterfeed of the network's wide-ranging content, Hugh has made curation and promotion of others' good content just as important.

@greenskeptic Blogging the new green economy as The Green Skeptic since 2004, Scott Anderson lends his expertise on cleantech and social-entrepreneurial ventures. When he's not busy trying to win converts on Fox Business News, Scott likes to spend some of his time shooting hoops and following the Boston Red Sox.

@GreenSmith Paul Smith describes himself as a "Sustainable/Green Biz Consultant. Digital PR. Blogger for Triple Pundit. Ghost Writer for ____. Social Media Demystifier. Brain for hire." Check out some of Paul's work at Greensmith Consulting.

@jetsongreen Preston Koerner at Jetson Green covers green building, sustainable architecture and small-scale renewable energy better than pretty much anyone in the space.

@Makower Joel Makower describes himself as "Founder of GreenBiz.com; bestselling author; speaker, adviser, entrepreneur in green business, green marketing, clean tech, blah blah blah." We couldn't have said it better, Joel.

@MarcGunther Writer, speaker and consultant on business and sustainability, Mark Gunther is a regular contributor at GreenBiz and a leading voice in the sustainable business. You can find some of Marc's work at MarcGunther.com.

@sustainablog Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is no stranger to green social media. Writing about sustainability and green business at Sustainablog since 2004, Jeff still finds time to teach college students how to write in sentences longer than 140 characters.

@TriplePundit No, not a person, but I couldn't omit TriplePundit from this list as it. Led by founder, Nick Aster, Triple Pundit has grown into one of the most insightful and reliable sources of green business news and featured content on the Web.

@WillSarni Will Sarni is Founder and CEO of DOMANI Sustainability Consulting and a regular contributor here at Earth & Industry. Will's expertise on water issues, brownfields remediation and sustainability reporting strategy.

Of course, you can also follow @earthindustry on Twitter. Earth & Industry focuses on the intersection of people, planet and profit, leading the discussion on how companies can maximize profits while being responsible citizens of this earth. Tweets from the Earth & Industry writing team, anchored by editor Tim Hurst (@ecopolitologist)

The CSR Cluetrain: Are Consumers On Board?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:44:06 +0000

Remember The Cluetrain Manifesto? The web had changed everything: markets were once again conversations between buyers and sellers (or, perhaps more importantly, buyers and buyers), and you'd better get involved or get left behind.

The message has reached businesses, no doubt: try to find a company now without a blog, Twitter stream, and/or Facebook page. Companies touting their social and environmental responsibility have flocked to the web to get the message out and engage with potential customers.

Is it working? Yes... and no.

According to the newly-released 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study, consumers do feel empowered by companies use of social media to talk about CSR. They want to find out about product materials and manufacturing processes. They make buying decisions (or boycotting decisions) based on information they find online. They feel like they have a voice to express their concerns about corporate responsibility.

By and large, however, they're not using that voice.

The survey revealed that, though consumers like social media, they're not participating in the conversation as much as we might think. When asked where they received their information about CSR online, nearly half responded with decidedly Web 1.0 technologies such as traditional web pages and email. Only 15% use social networks for this purpose; blogs garnered an 11% response. And the Twitter stream: 2% say they're following micro-blogs to find out about environmental and social performance.

So, is the big investment in social media a waste? No... obviously some consumers are using this technology, and we may still be seeing these uses taking hold mostly among early adopters (and perhaps influencers) at this point. Plus, there are tactics companies can use to encourage customers to join the conversation: Jonathan Yohannan, senior vice president of corporate responsibility at Cone, notes that you can leverage the channels consumers are using to get them to participate in dialogue. He observes "The value of engaging consumers and broader stakeholders in this way is to enhance reputation, build loyalty and even lead to business innovation."

How's the engagement with consumers on CSR issues through social media going with your company? Finding it hard to get the conversation going? Let us know in the comments...

via Environmental Leader

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is the founder and editor of sustainablog. Follow him on Twitter @sustainablog

Walmart Expands Green Reach to Small Businesses

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:46:01 +0000

Solar at Sam's. Photo: Re-Nest.

Moving beyond their own supply chains, Walmart and Sam's Club are trying to help small businesses think about sustainability

An estimated 600,000 small-business owners or their employees walk through the doors of Sam’s Club every day. As part of parent company Walmart's relatively recent "conversion" to more sustainable business practices, officials at the company saw an opportunity to help green businesses besides their own—and in particular those very small businesses that frequent Sam's club—in a series of articles designed to help small-business owners succeed.

Contributing the first article (pdf) in the series, was Catherine Corley, Vice President of Small Business Insights at Sam’s Club. In the article, "How to Be Green and Stay Lean", Corley discusses how small businesses can implement sustainable practices that also benefit a company's bottom line. Specifically, Corley explores the definition of green, how to develop sustainability strategies and action plans as well as the dangers of greenwashing.

Corley starts out by defining green businesses and gives steps that owners should take to ensure that consumers know a company is sincere. She writes that businesses can increase their bottom line by creating interest in their sustainable initiatives and developing loyalty as a result of that interest and credibility as a result of that loyalty. But she also admits that this can be much easier for large companies with marketing budgets and generally more resources.

“Small-business owners are navigating through the complications of trying to run a socially responsible business on limited budgets,” said Corley, who recently spoke on the topic of greening business at a conference in California. Corley writes that small-business owners can combat this problem by setting goals, starting small and acting authentically.

Ultimately, protecting and growing the bottom line of the small businesses that shop at your store is just good business practices, because you hope that customer will come back for more. But charges of greenwashing can be incredibly damaging to a brand and to the long-term success of any business, large or small. Walmart Stores, Inc. seems to get that on some level — and they seem to think that helping other companies get it is also just good business practice.

Follow Tim Hurst on twitter
Image via Re-Nest

Marriott Hotels and the Greening of Corporate Social Responsibility

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:07:50 +0000

Businesses require many types of licensing to operate. There are licenses to sell certain kinds of products (liquor, controlled substances, munitions, etc.) and licenses to perform certain services (financial, medical, legal, etc.), but the so-called 'social license' to operate is a much fuzzier concept that has as much to do with marketing and branding as actual performance in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

One area where the social license is growing in importance is in the area of environmental responsibility and several certifying organizations have sprung up to fill the need. And the hotel industry is actively competing for green CSR cred as much as any other industry is — mostly because it is hard to tell whether a hotel is truly 'green' or not. One hotel chain in particular, Marriott International, is looking to be at the front of the growing pack of hotels clamoring for attention in the world of green travel.

With more than 3,100 lodging properties in the United States and 66 other countries and territories, Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) is one of the largest lodging companies in the world. Marriott has been recognized by two prominent organizations for its commitment to CSR and ethics in the first half of 2009. Marriott was recently recognized by the Ethisphere Institute and named again as a member company of the FTSE4Good Index.

Battling it out with Hilton and Wyndham over the green-ness of their headquarters, Marriott's environmental initiatives range from working with the environmental organization, Conservation International, to calculate its carbon footprint and launch an environmental strategy to address climate change, becoming the first major global hotel company to do so. As part of the plan, Marriott set out specific new steps the company can take in five key areas: water, waste and energy; supply chain; green buildings; helping protect the rainforest; and employee and guest engagement.

One of the new programs coming from the carbon accounting is the new "green your stay" program invites guests who book on the company website to offset the carbon generated during their stay for as little as $10, or $1 per day for 10 days.

Marriott is also expanding its portfolio of green hotels and buildings. Approximately 275 hotels have earned the ENERGY STAR label from the Environmental Protection Agency—the most of any hotel company—and thirty Marriott-branded hotels in design, development or under construction are expected to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Another step Marriott is taking may take many travelers by surprise in the morning when they open the door of their room in search of that free copy of The USA Today — the company is also cutting back on free newspapers.

You can follow other green CSR steps the company is taking by following @marriottgreen on twitter.

Image via pnwra

Vail Resorts Dumps Green Power Purchasing Program

Timothy B. Hurst — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:56:37 +0000

Vail Resorts recently announced they would cancel their green power purchasing program. (TheTruthAbout...)

Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN), one of the nation's largest purchasers of renewable energy, announced on Monday they will not renew their three year contract to purchase wind power credits, preferring to invest money in a Colorado forest restoration project.

Since 2006, the Colorado-based ski resort and hotel company purchased wind energy credits from Boulder-based Renewable Choice Energy for 100% of its electricity needs, a little over 151,000 megawatt-hours annually.

Company officials said its announcement was “concurrent with its announcement of its leadership role in the Hayman Restoration Partnership,” a program also announced Monday to help restore forest lands burned in the biggest fire in Colorado history, the 2002 Hayman fire southwest of Denver.

“As the largest tourism company in Colorado, Vail Resorts has a unique opportunity and obligation to protect forest health not only for year-round recreational opportunities but also for the environmental and economic vitality of our communities, our state and our country,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer for Vail Resorts.

“As a company, we remain committed to addressing climate change and are focused on energy conservation across our company. However, going forward, we intend to channel our efforts on more comprehensive projects, which help protect the climate and also offer habitat and watershed benefits to local communities, such as the Hayman Restoration Project,” Katz said.

Image via TheTruthAbout...