Category | Arts & Living

Earth Talk: Corporations aim to improve production

Published on April 9, 2007 by The Sentinel

Dear EarthTalk: How can ordinary people convince corporations to behave
more responsibly toward the environment?     –
James B., Bridgeport, CT

    Beyond the simple exercising of one’s own purchasing
power, there are many actions consumers can take [and organizations and
resources available to help] to pressure companies to green up their
ways.

    A good first step is to research the environmental
records of companies involved in the industries that matter to you. The
websites buyblue.org and alonovo.com evaluate companies according to
various “green” criteria.

    Co-Op America makes available online its “Guide to
Researching Corporations,” which points to information on everything
from corporate product safety records to animal testing policies to
activities that impact everything from rainforests to the air quality
in minority neighborhoods.

    Co-Op America also works at the cutting edge of
consumer activism, pushing companies into “doing well by doing good.”

    Its “Adopt-A-Supermarket Campaign” uses the power of
individuals to pressure grocery stores into carrying more “Fair Trade”
items, products including coffee and chocolate made by companies that
commit to sustainable environmental practices and guarantee workers
fair wages.

    At Co-Op America’s website you can download a
campaign guide that provides background on the issue and tips on how to
form an “adoption team” of concerned citizens that makes regular visits
to educate store managers.

    Another effort, “Be Safe PVC” conducted in
partnership with the Center for Health, Environment and Justice,
encourages major companies to phase out their use of the highly toxic
plastic, polyvinyl chloride [PVC]. They’ve already convinced Microsoft,
Johnson and Johnson, Victoria’s Secret, and Bath and Body Works to
phase out PVC in their packaging.

    Other Co-Op America successes include persuading
Sempra Energy, the parent company of Southern California Gas and San
Diego Gas and Electric, to abandon plans to build coal-fired power
plants in Nevada and Idaho, and convincing the U.S. Postal Service to
withdraw a proposal to deliver all residential mail in blue plastic
bags, similar to those used for newspapers.

    Another group, Ecopledge, recruits consumers to sign
“pledges,” which demand specific improvements to companies’
environmental behavior and promise to cease doing business with the
firms in question if they do not make efforts to green their practices.

    Armed with such pledges, Ecopledge has succeeded in
convincing Dell and Apple to reduce the amount of e-waste they
generate, getting ConocoPhilips and BP to drop out of Arctic Power [a
lobbying entity pushing to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
to oil drilling], and working with Staples and Office Depot to craft
green-friendly paper sourcing policies.

    Ecopledge is currently working on a campaign to
pressure major rental car companies, including Enterprise, Hertz,
Cendant and Vanguard, to buy and rent cleaner cars, an effort, they
say, that would save 500 million gallons of gasoline, reduce CO2
emissions by 14 billion pounds, and save American drivers some two
billion dollars in gasoline expenses every year. 

   They are also pressuring major meat producers, including
Premium Standard Farms, Smithfield and Tyson, to clean up hog and other
animal waste that is causing widespread damage to the environment and
human health in their areas of operation.

CONTACTS: Buy Blue, www.buyblue.org ; Alonovo, www.alonovo.com ; Co-Op America,  www.coopamerica.org ; Be Safe PVC, www.besafenet.com/pvc ; EcoPledge, www.ecopledge.com .