Reducing GHG emissions is good business, corporations report

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http://republic-news.org/archive/151-repub/151_crawford.htm

Reducing GHG emissions is good business, corporations report
Many companies hide their efforts to use less energy for fear of being labeled “green washing”

What does Walmart, Aveda, Ben and Jerry's and Sun Microsystems all have in common? Corporate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction strategies.

A growing trend in corporations is to actively pursue plans and policies to address GHG emissions. This trend is not being driven by the widespread acceptance of the science behind climate change but rather by the business case for improving bottom-line results through aggressively increasing operating efficiencies while hedging against future liabilities. What was once dismissed in boardrooms as tree-hugging philosophies is now eagerly embraced and trumpeted by CEOs right on through to the ranks of entry-level employees.

New titles and divisions have emerged to manage and implement these strategies. Titles such as Vice-President of Sustainability and Director of Eco Responsibility are now commonplace in many of the world's largest corporate organizational charts. Two recent conferences focused on this subject, providing insight into how this trend is taking shape and the resulting changes on business operations. In Ottawa, the World Wildlife Foundation and the Canadian Centre for Policy Ingenuity held a one-day event titled “The Business of Climate Change.” Notable speakers were Paul O'Neill, the 72nd Secretary of the US Treasury, Jeffery Simpson, a Columnist with the Globe and Mail, Elyse Allan, President and CEO of GE Canada, and Avrim Lazar, President and CEO, Forest Products Association of Canada. Days later in New York City, Reuters held a two-day conference called “Corporate Climate Response” at their Times Square headquarters. Representatives from numerous companies like Walmart, Sun Microsystems, AMD, Ben and Jerry's, NFL, Staples, and Whole Foods gave presentations on their own corporations’ strategies.

A theme consistently reiterated at both events was that acting on climate change is good for business. It was also noted that certain political parties, companies and lobbyists have spent numerous resources over the years trying to propagate a myth stating the opposite. Those scare tactics resulted in many companies delaying action and thereby throwing away millions of dollars in inefficiencies and other wastes while continuing to grow their GHG emissions. Efforts to correct the damage done by this myth continues today and is further complicated by the mainstream media's propensity to label corporate environmental policies as “green washing”—a tactic where a company adopts an environmental policy for the sole purpose of boosting their own public image. This fear of the “green washing” label has kept many companies quiet about their own internal efforts to act on climate change.

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