Cutting carbon emissions is also good business
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Posted on May 30, 2006
Filed Under Justice, Global warming/Climate change, Deep ecology, Ecological overshoot, Ecological hope, Consumer culture, Fossil fuel dependency, Earth spirituality
Fostering Ecological Hope
Today from Margaret Swedish:
In order to restore the earth’s ecological balance in a way that can support the web of life of which we humans are a part, the corporate world will need to break with inertia, despite griping from stockholders who want immediate profit results, and a political culture that, at least in the US, makes the federal government a follower rather than a leader – and even that is giving this administration way too much credit.
Not all the corporate world is asleep (this link is one example, though I take issue with the inclusion of coal as one of the ingredients for a solution). Some companies recognize that their business future is connected to the fate of the planet, that the way business is being done now is much too dirty and contributing enormously to global warming and climate change.
One example from today’s NY Times Business Section – Timberland. This company wanted to cut back on carbon emissions, switching to renewable resources for its power and installing solar panels, only to find that the more important way in which it contributed to the greenhouse gas problem was from the living raw material needed for its leather products – cows that produce an abundance of methane, one of the three notorious gases responsible for global warming (nitrous oxide is the third).
But still they are trying, without any help at all from the federal government. Thus far, the Bush administration has opposed mandatory programs of any kind, saying they could hurt the economy; therefore, no rules, no standards, just voluntary programs in which only 8 percent of US companies are participating. But now some companies are asking, begging for mandatory standards, a map by which to navigate through the necessary radical changes required to meet the level of the crisis.
For some business leaders, this is all about business and profit anyway, recognizing that their corporate futures are in jeopardy given the crisis about to descend on us. Some economists, environmentalists, and business leaders would like to see the costs of greenhouse emissions, of pollution and waste, added to the cost of products – then we’d see companies going green pretty quickly.
Timberland’s CEO Jeffrey Schwarz says in the Times article that reducing carbon emissions is about adding value. “What idiot leaves costs on the table? I hope it’s our competitors. I get paid to create value.”
Scientists say we need to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent immediately to stave off runaway climate change. This will take an enormous international effort and commitment of resources. Sadly, we have lost another 6 ½ years with this administration, and are about to lose another 2 ½.
How can we help change this polluting corporate culture? By supporting the initiatives of companies that are going green and getting the most committed environmentalists elected to office, starting this year.
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