Green Choice Awards (Part 1)

By Alan S. Gensoli

In one or two past columns, I extolled to high heavens companies that have shown, or are making baby steps towards showing concern for the environment. In fact, what I’m really keyed up to do is publish the identities of companies who are abusing the environment, or are doing nothing about the environment despite the gazillion pesos they’re earning, and then lead a call to boycott their businesses. My lawyers tell me I could get in trouble that way. So, I’ll skin them differently. I will continue to celebrate “green companies” and hope that my readers would patronize them, which is tantamount to boycotting their competitors. WE NEED TO MAKE COMPANIES MORE RESPONSIBLE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, AND UNLESS WE PINCH THEIR POCKETS, SOME WILL CONTINUE TO “PRETEND” THAT THEY JUST DON’T GET IT. WHICH IS WORSE THAN TRULY NOT GETTING IT BECAUSE THEY’RE DUMB. 

This year, “Natural Health,” a leading environment publication in the United States, launched its annual Green Choice Awards. The editors worked with Mr. Green himself, Ed Begley, Jr., star of the TV series “Living with Ed” on HGTV, in choosing 10 corporations who displayed outstanding acts of environmental care. They also chose 15 runners-up. Today, I will share with you five of the winners, and next Monday the other five. Perhaps, two Mondays from now I can also talk about the 15 runners-up who, really, are no less deserving of the recognition. 

The annual Green Choice Awards is given to large corporations as opposed to Mom-and-Pops, or what we call SMEs, for the very reason that “Natural Health” magazine knows that large corporations have the wherewithal to create green technologies and make green products accessible and affordable to more people (because they enjoy economies of scale, among other reasons, I suppose). Indeed, while we applaud individual, humble contributions as critical parts of a whole, the leadership of huge corporations can allow us to leapfrog and make up for years of neglect, complacency, and denial. So, here are five of the top 10, in alphabetical order: 

AVEDA: With 2,218 employees in 27 countries, Aveda’s leading brands are Green Science, Smooth Infusion, and Shampure. These beauty care products are not easily available in the Philippines, but we should know Aveda by yet another name. You see, last year Aveda delivered a revenue of $7.9 Billion to its mother company, Estee Lauder Companies. There’s a familiar brand! So, cosmetic users, pucker up with Estee Lauder! From here on, if it ain’t Estee, it ain’t pretty. 

Aveda’s green focus is in the area of sourcing organic ingredients, including the 98 tons of certified organic essential oils and raw herb ingredients that the company purchased in 2008. Another raw material used heavily by Aveda is plastic. Aveda uses 100% post-consumer (meaning, recycled) packaging, thus diverting over one million pounds of plastic from landfills every single year. Aveda also buys wind-energy credits to offset 100% of the electricity used in its facilities. What does that mean? Energy used to produce every single Aveda product is paid for with wind-energy credits. That’s every single product! 

Meanwhile, Aveda employees have raised over $13 Million for 70 environmental non-profit groups. (For all the Estee Lauder-brand cosmetics and perfumes used by our lady members, the Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance should apply for assistance. Hey, why not?) The company also gives employees eight paid hours each year for community work. And those who bike to work, walk to work, ride the bus, carpool, or drive a hybrid all get Aveda gift certificates. 

COCA COLA COMPANY: With over 90,000 employees in over 200 countries, Coca Cola earned $29 Billion in 2008. Aside from the obvious softdrink brands, Coca Cola’s family of products includes Nestea and Minute Maid. So, drink up! 

The company’s green focus is in the area of reducing and recycling plastic. In January this year, Coke opened its sixth recycling plant in South Carolina. The facility has the capacity to make two billion, 20-ounce bottles each year, using recycled plastic. The beverage leader has also introduced the 38-percent-smaller bottle cap, which allows it to save 40 million pounds of plastic annually, in the United States alone. Coke’s vending machines are getting green as well, now using 35% less energy, which savings account for the elimination of 630,000 tons of emissions every year. And get this: Coke’s Drink2Wear line of clothing is sewn from used plastic bottles, in fact some five billion bottles since 2007. 

On top of all that, Coke also organized Green Teams among its employees. Over at the Desna River in the Ukraine, Coke employees collected four tons of garbage and planted over 100 trees. And remember the Earth Hour last March? Two corporate headquarters switched off lighting that night, while billboards around the world turned dark. 

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS: With 4,000-plus employees working in 170-plus countries around the world, the popularity of this company is attributed largely to the Discovery Channel. Thanks to Cable TV subscribers like you and I, Discovery last year raked in earnings of up to $3.44 Billion. 

Discovery’s green focus is in the area of creating eco-themed programming. But we’re not talking just Discovery Channel anymore. In 2008, Discovery launched Planet Green, the first TV channel to dish out “green” programming 24/7. Please call your local Cable TV company and urge them to bring Planet Green into your communities. Discovery’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, is a showcase of environmental awareness. Wind-energy credits have been bought since 2007 to offset 100% of the office’s electricity and gas consumption. The building is lit up by 4,000 CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). And the company reduces its carbon emissions by at least 260 tons, and saves 24,000 gallons of water each year by installing rainwater tanks. Now, if Discovery can do it, so can we trap rainwater in our own homes. 

Off screen, there’s more greening happening at Discovery. Employees compete to lower electricity and paper usage, thus tripling the company’s recycling rate. Those who take public transportation or buy bikes are reimbursed, and free shoes are given to those who walk to work. 

FFORD MOTOR: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, and Volvo...these are the key brands of Ford Motor, and you ought to give these a try before you decide on your next luxury car purchase, import, or smuggle (I really don’t mean to suggest the last one, but if you have to do it anyway, choosing a “green” brand can provide saving grace). With 245,000 employees in over 40 countries, Ford rang up a whopping $172.5 Billion earnings in 2008. 

Ford Motor’s green focus is in curbing greenhouse gases. Quite apparent now in the U.S. is the aggressive marketing of hybrid cars as more manufacturers have rolled out their versions and government is giving all sorts of financial breaks to those who purchase and drive them. But while most car makers have remained on the level of using renewable sources of energy, such as electricity and biofuels, Ford Motor has put the pedal to the metal in the race to hybrid domination. Ford’s hybrid car, the Escape, sports seats made from 100% post-industrial recycled fabric. By doing this alone, Ford reduces its carbon emissions by 900 tons and saves 600,000 gallons of water. Moreover, the Escape’s new engine, the EcoBoost, launched only this year, makes the car 20% more fuel efficient. In the face of an environmental emergency, I really don’t see any reason why such seats, such engine, or the car itself, cannot find its way to the Bacolod market sooner rather than later. 

Ford Motor employees live up to the culture of a market leader. They have turned vacant lots in 17 facilities into habitats for local flora and fauna. They have also created walking trails to encourage walking (imagine that from a car manufacturer) and for nearby residents to visit their facilities. Meanwhile, all Ford Motor employees are given two paid days a year to do volunteer work. It’s probable then, that on any given day at Ford Motor, someone’s doing a good turn for the community - on any given day! 

KRAFT FOODS: Kraft has been a mark of good quality food since I can remember, and while many of us know the company by its cheese, Kraft has entered our kitchens and lunch boxes through various other products. And this Kraft continues to do to this day. In 2008, Kraft earned $42 Billion doing business in 150 countries with 100,000 employees. 

Kraft’s foresight and dynamism have brought the company to the world of coffee, where Kraft now is keen on ensuring long-term viability. And so, for this year’s Green Choice Awards, the company’s green focus is in sourcing sustainably grown coffee. And I’m not just referring to sustainable supply of coffee. I’m talking about coffee that is grown in ways that care for the environment. In 2008, Kraft Foods purchased 33,000 tons of coffee that sustains farming practices on 40,000 acres of land. More significantly for the environment, they are “Rainforest Alliance” certified coffee. Meanwhile, eight years of environmental concern have now reduced Kraft’s CO2 emissions, and energy and water use by up to 34%. Recycling rate has been pumped up to an impressive 90%. 

So, remember these companies: Aveda, Coke, Discovery, Ford, and Kraft. Next time you shop, buy their brands; it’s the least we can do to thank them, and to show their competitors who have yet to do their share, that we the consumers demand that they do their share now. On Monday next week, I will tell you the other five winners of the Green Choice Awards. Since the list is in alphabetical order, and since we’ve mentioned winners up to Kraft, only companies whose names start with the letter L up to Z have a chance to be endorsed by me. If your company does not qualify, don’t even bother reading my column next week. It’ll only make you cry. 

I don’t know about you, but I have a “home channel” on my TV. That’s the channel I most frequently watch. It used to be a cable news network. But with the Green Choice Awards, I’ve made a new Discovery! And this is exactly what I mean by “consumerism.” Tomorrow morning I will check my fridge and grocery cabinet and list down all the products that are in there. Every product that has a Kraft alternative should then fear. Put my money where my mouth is, that’s right! Either that, or I’m wasting my time in this advocacy.*