Marcus Tay's List: Corporate Sustainability Notes

• what started out as a compliance job has evolved into one that guards the value of the brand.”
• Two people share that job at G.E. Ms. Bolsinger is responsible for green products; Stephen Ramsey, the vice president for corporate environmental programs, oversees compliance and external relations.

  • THe work of the sustainbiliy officer can be divided into 2 areas:
    - green products
    - compliance and external relations

• ot of experimenting with cradle-to-cradle products. Our carpet, for instance. When we’re done with it, we can send it back to the manufacturer and they grind it up into little pellets and use it again in the supply stream so it never ends up in a landfill

• “In the best of all worlds, we wouldn’t need a separate person to link strategy and sustainability,” said Gwen Ruta, director of corporate partnerships for Environmental Defense. A utopian world would not need ethics officers either, countered Eugene Linden, a frequent author on climate change.

  • Of course, most ideally, everyone in their positions take into consideration of sustainbility, then there is no need. However, there should still be someone to drive the overall big picture.

• All of the programs have to go through an analysis for the financial aspects and the value-add for the business of Google. Sometimes, like with the solar project, it was a great financial return, so it was a no-brainer. But a lot of times there’s a softer aspect too—like boosting morale or retaining or attracting better talen

• ncrease sales of environmentally sensible products, companies must remove these five barriers—lack of awareness, negative perceptions, distrust, high prices, and low availability.

  • How to get consumers to buy green products
• misleading category, some companies tout features that are actually mandated by law (for example, labeling products as free of CFCs, the ozone-eating propellants the US federal government banned almost three decades ago

  • One way to greenwash is to tout eco friendly as something that is mandated by law
• Other companies mislead consumers by highlighting a single positive product feature while ignoring the negative ones. Paper and lumber products tout their recycled content, for example, without noting the air and water emissions of their manufacturing processes or the impact on global warming
• value of the Prius, for instance, goes well beyond traditional functionality. The car caught the attention of consumers because of its unique and contemporary style and its innovative dashboard, which, via an onboard computer, displays the various energy-efficient functions of the car. By enabling the driver to determine how much and what kind of energy the car is using at any given time, the dashboard communicates the vehicle’s energy efficiency, thereby broadcasting its environmental benefits. By contrast, Honda Motor’s Accord hybrid, which looked more conventional and did not toot its environmental horn, languished

  • As green products may cost more, it is important to offer more features/value as well.

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