Green Options

Enterprise Fleet Management, a division of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, was awarded the 2009 “Stevie” American Business Award for Environmental Responsibility Program.

Brands across categories, but particularly in the natural products industry are choosing charities with which to align themselves. In most cases this is an exercise in determining what the brand will stand for. The bigger the brand, the larger the charity and the more thought is given to this exercise as seen in the almost perfect launch last year of Clorox Greenworks brand.

McDonald’s, the States’ largest purchaser of potatoes, is taking preliminary steps to go pesticide-free, Reuters reports.  Investor groups had been pushing for the move, and now McDonald’s looks like it’s bending.

It will now take steps to reduce pesticide use in potato production for its supply.

Our U.S. potato suppliers are already working with their growers to advance sustainable pesticide practices, such as reductions and alternative methods.

And because it accounts for a huge chunk of U.S. spud use, I suppose it’s good that they’re leaning toward organic. But this isn’t some charitable thing, though they’re gonna spin it that way (of course).

In its recently released corporate responsibility report, Disney outlines its plans to be more sustainable.

We get a lot of press releases from companies big and small touting their green initiatives.   I usually dismiss the ones from major corporations like Disney and Barbie as greenwashing, but I still pass them on to our writers.  After much prodding and persuading from my online friends, I usually take up the issue myself, as I just can’t help myself.  Disney….it’s your turn.

Disney has just issued the company’s first ever comprehensive corporate responsibility (CR) report.  For a company that was founded in the 1920s and is the largest media and entertainment corporation in the world, this report is a long time overdue!

The long term environmental goals outlined in the report are:

Zero waste

Zero net direct greenhouse gas emissions from fuels

Reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions from electricity consumption

Net positive impact on ecosystems

Minimize water use

Minimize product footprint

Inform, empower and activate positive action for the environment

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is expected to sign a memo terminating the National Environmental Performance Track program, a voluntary “beyond compliance” partnership designed to enhance environmental policy effectiveness.

Microsoft has announced plans to make both their headquarters and  their products more environmentally sound.

With energy-conservation, use of renewable energy, improved data center design, and reduction in air travel, the company plans to reduce their carbon emissions by 30 percent compared to 2007 levels by 2012.

A Boston-based branding firm Cone LLC recently released a survey that quantifies consumer interest in having a two-way dialog with the companies they buy from. As we often discuss on this blog, social media is a perfect medium for mission-based companies, such as green businesses. And now eco-entrepreneurs have some real stats to chew on:

First of all 60% of Americans use social media, and the figure is higher for your market, if you sell to younger Americans.

Cone surveyed almost 1100 adults and found that (of that 60%) 85% feel that companies should interact with their customers via social media.

I found it interesting that the men surveyed were twice as likely as women to use social media to interact frequently with companies (33% versus 17%).

Editor’s Note: John is one of the newest additions to the Gas 2.0 writing team. Welcome John!

When Greg Steltenpohl, Chairman and Co-founder of Adina, the San Francisco-based healthy beverage company, does something, one might say he takes it to the extreme.

His company’s tagline, “Drink No Evil”, even applies to their vehicles — including a delivery fleet of electric cars and full-size school bus converted to run on waste vegetable oil (WVO), which Adina uses at their tasting events.

I recently had a chance to interview him about his company’s transportation options. Several interesting topics popped up in our chat, including corporate responsibility, greenwashing, and the importance of outreach. Read on to hear more.

The University of Phoenix, in partnership with local Phoenix, Arizona energy provider Salt River Project (SRP), announced yesterday that they will make the largest purchase of renewable energy tax certificates in Arizona history.

The University will buy 46.5 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits, equivalent to all of its Phoenix campus’ annual consumption and 27% of its more than 200 campuses across the county. It is also enough power to keep the lights, computers, and TVs going in 3,800 American homes for a year or removing the carbon emissions of 5,280 cars.

University of Phoenix is purchasing the credits from the Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility in Washington state through SRP’s EarthWise program.

As a result of the purchase, the University of Phoenix is ranked 7th on the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Top 20 College & University Partner List“.

Editor’s Note: This post was provided by one of our sponsors, the juice manufacturer Odwalla.

These days, consumers are increasingly interested in the environmental and social responsibility of the companies that manufacture their favorite products.  Public companies must answer to shareholders and have largely adopted transparent reporting initiatives that detail their corporate responsibility.  Food and drink manufacturers that depend on raw materials – like fruits and vegetables – are committed to environmental stewardship programs that ensure consistent supplies of produce.