Going Green

Going Green – Should A Company Do It?
Ben Surato
Baker College – MKT111B

Environmental efforts of modern times date back to the late 1940s and early 1950s, during postwar America. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first piece of legislation to lay down federal regulation of water quality passed by Congress. (PBS.org, n.d.) This type of legislation was put in place forcing businesses to recognize corporate responsibility and eco-friendly practices. Since that time, the federal government has implemented countless regulations and restrictions in order to protect our environment from not only corporate entities but also the general public. Today, green efforts are recognized socially as a responsible movement and met with applause when executed without regulatory action. Local business and global giants alike operate are quick to market their eco-friendly efforts in order to gain publicity and sales. The intent of this essay is to briefly explore some aspects of the corporate responsibility movement known as “Going Green”. Going green has a tremendous impact on consumers in a multitude of ways. One example of consumer benefit is evident through lower priced product. Cost savings can be passed on to consumers when manufacturers are able to cut production costs. Production costs can be lowered by reducing packaging materials and reusable post-consumer packaging, optimizing supply chains to limit fuel costs, and utilizing energy efficient equipment to keep utility costs low.
Aside from the cost savings consumers can experience, the impact going green has on the environment helps promote a second example of consumer benefit; sustainability. Through efforts to promote sustainability by improved environmental actions all industries can help extend the supply of our natural resources. Consumers will benefit for centuries to come if current sustainability measures help ensure future generations’ ability to produce to products we enjoy today.
On the topic of sustainability, I believe it’s the responsibility of all business to adopt environmental initiatives, regardless of their association amongst industries. This opinion is a simple matter of promoting a better tomorrow and healthier planet. More directly, I believe the relationship businesses have on each other is direct in nature by some account. Consider the following:
A sandwich shop feeds assembly workers at General Motors. Those workers build the cars driven by workers at the oil refinery where fuel is produced for our grain farmers’ equipment. Grain is transported by rail to an elevator where it is and sold at market to bakeries, helping feed our country.
With an open mind one could see that each stage of the cycle above represents entities separate in industry and product still related. Taking one factor out of the equation can directly affect the outcome entirely. In terms of corporate responsibility and environmental initiative, the same stands true. Failure to comply with regulations or a lack of initiative can cause ripples that do not recognize industrial boundaries. Thus even a small sandwich shop’s efforts to save energy could help break bread at my table.
Marketing the green effort to consumers can help enforce the idea of an all-for-one stance on environmental initiative. That said I consider it a necessity for companies to advertise their efforts. I believe companies making strides internally promoting environmental initiatives should help motivate external bodies to do the same. As a consumer, green marketing can also be a benefit by creating competition amongst producers of substitute goods.
I believe fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Sonic, and Wendy’s should initiate a green effort to sell refillable cups for their soft drinks made from recycled products. This effort would reduce the amount of waste associated with paper, plastic, and foam beverage cups while increasing the use of recycled products. In terms of cost, as an example, McDonald’s Corporation estimates it served 69 million customers daily in 2012. (McDonalds Corp., n.d.) Assuming each customer received a beverage with their visit; over 25 billion cups were dispensed in 2012. We can only guess McDonalds’ annual cost for cups, but even at one penny each that number reaches towards $250 million. Selling reusable cups to 10 percent of McDonalds’ consumers alone use would result in a decrease of around 2.5 billion [paper, plastic, foam refuse] cups annually at a cost savings of around $25 million (neglecting to factor in several factors such as beverage profits and cost of refillable cups).
In summary, I feel like the green effort of today’s society is an expectation received with great public attention and acceptance. My opinion is that every business should endorse some sort of environmental initiative, implement action, and promote others to do the same. I believe the actions of every business, regardless of industry or product, have a direct correlation with the success and actions of their neighbors. Corporate responsibility surrounding environmental awareness must hold precedence within organizations in order to create a healthy and sustainable future for our planet.

References
McDonalds Corporation. (n.d.). 2012 annual report. Retrieved from McDonalds Corporation website: http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/ Investor%202013/2012%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf
PBS.org (n.d.) Timeline: The modern environmental movement. Retrieved from http://www.pbs. org/ wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/earthdays/2/

References: McDonalds Corporation. (n.d.). 2012 annual report. Retrieved from McDonalds Corporation website: http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/ Investor%202013/2012%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf PBS.org (n.d.) Timeline: The modern environmental movement. Retrieved from http://www.pbs. org/ wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/earthdays/2/