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McDonald’s has 75 percent of the fast-food hamburger market share in Sweden; 1998 revenues were about $350 million. As a result of studying the fundamental nature of their business through the lens of the TNS framework, McDonald’s Sweden serves organic milk and beef, recycles 97 percent of all restaurant waste, has significantly reduced distribution distances, cut fuel costs by over 30 percent, and eliminated 1,200 tonnes of packaging material. About half of the 160 Swedish McDonald’s outlets, the bakery, and national headquarters run on hydropower. All new restaurants use recycled plastic water pipes instead of copper, wood framing instead of steel, and wood foundations instead of concrete, reducing construction material use by 5-10 percent. Seven restaurants are participating in research to develop a biological filter (using bacteria) to eat oil waste and reuse the remaining clean air to heat the restaurants. In 1993, just as Mats Lederhausen was settling into his new position as Managing Director of McDonald’s Sweden, TNS founder Dr. Karl-Henrik Robrt addressed the company’s top management in a two-day course on The Natural Step and sustainability. That year, the company established an Environmental Board composed of top executives and educated them in TNS principles. Every store manager […]
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The most common argument against organic agriculture is that its yields can’t match those of conventional agriculture, making organic methods untenable for large scale farming. An important study from the Rodale Institute disputes this reasoning. It shows that the difference in yields is minimal over time. Over the 15 year study period, organic agriculture was more productive than the chemical-based alternative during years of drought. Other findings from the study were released earlier this year. Organic practices were correlated with significantly reduced greenhouse gases by fixing carbon and nitrogen in the soil. And organic farming methods reduce groundwater contamination.
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The author of environmental business book classic, Lean and Clean Management, has released a new book, Cool Companies: How the Best Businesses Boost Profits & Productivity by Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Using 100 illustrative case studies, he documents that financial performance from energy efficiency and clean technology investments can surpass even Wall Street returns. Most business leaders assume emissions cuts will be expensive or are operating under the illusion that they maximized energy efficiency in the 1970s and 1980s. But tremendous recent advances in information technology and ubiquitous electro-mechanical devices offer the promise of billions of dollars to the bottom line. The book shows business leaders, step-by-step, how to exploit revolutionary advances in the design of motors, lighting, heating and cooling, and building space to save money while helping fight global warming. Look for a Feature abstract from this book soon in “Sustainable Business Insider”. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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With $45 million, BP Amoco is buying the remaining 50 percent of Solarex from Enron, creating the world’s largest solar company. BP Solarex projects annual revenues of more than $150 million, a 20 percent share of the global market. It will have manufacture 30 megawatts per year in the U.S., Spain, Australia and India. Solarex recently commissioned the largest solar electric system in the U.S. to Green Mountain Energy. 1,400 thin film modules will produce 43 kW in Pennsylvania for 20 years. In another widely publicized announcement, BP Amoco unveiled its $50 million investment to run 200 service stations world-wide partially on solar power. All new stations in the UK, Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal and Spain will incorporate solar. Pilot sites are also underway in France and the U.S. http://www.solarex.com
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In its current May-June issue, HBR covers business and the environment for the third time this decade, introducing the forthcoming book (September) by Amory and Hunter Lovins and Paul Hawkin, Natural Capitalism.” Hawken and the Lovinses suggest four major, interconnected shifts in business practices: 1. Dramatically increase natural resource productivity. “Wring out the waste of energy, water, materials, and other resources” in company production systems. By using whole-system design, businesses can create technologies that require a small fraction of the energy and resources used to provide goods and services today. 2. Redesign production according to biological models. Closed-loop manufacturing is an example of how companies can completely eliminate waste by emulating nature’s highly efficiently processes. 3. Change the business model. By delivering services instead of products, companies can create dramatic increases in resource productivity, competitive advantage, and profits. 4. Reinvest in natural capital. Companies “must reinvest in restoring, sustaining, and expanding” their biological resource base.
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The Nike Environmental Action Team (N.E.A.T.), formed in 1993, is in charge of Nike’s worldwide environmental efforts, and introduced the company to The Natural Step (TNS). Six months ago, senior management approved N.E.A.T.’s corporate sustainability policy, rooted in the principles of The Natural Step. Nike has committed to making the principles of The Natural Step a common language and mental model for all 22,000 employees. The company mission statement focuses on creating closed-loop systems by eliminating waste, developing “cradle to cradle” product life cycles, and recognizing the value of employee learning and capacity-building. Nike switched from petroleum to water-based adhesives in most shoe styles, and saved $4.5 million dollars and 1.3 million gallons of solvent in the process. It saves half a million trees each year simply by using two shoe box designs made from 100 percent post-consumer cardboard (reduced from 18). The “Reuse-A-Shoe” program reclaims worn and defective footwear and grinds them into granulated rubber for sports surfaces and carpet padding, keeping 7.5 million shoes out of landfills. Nike’s environmental initiatives: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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Looking for outstanding examples of sustainable business practices? This is the seventh year that Portland, Oregon’s Energy Office has awarded its BEST (Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow) Awards to local companies. Some examples: Through a public-private partnership, Ash Grove Cement Company installed a 9,400 foot pipeline connecting its manufacturing plant to the landfill. Instead of flaring landfill gas into the atmosphere, it’s used as fuel for three of the company’s lime kilns, reducing Ash Grove’s reliance on fossil fuels to the tune of $2 million a year (equivalent to the gas used to heat 13,000 Portland-area homes for a year). By replacing a large, central facility with three smaller centers, Portland General Electric brought their utility crews closer to their work, speeding response time and cutting transportation costs. The new buildings incorporate energy saving features – daylighting, electronic dimming ballasts, dual-fuel heat pumps, higher levels of insulation, higher efficiency windows, and outside air economizers – cutting energy use by $50,000 per year, 43 percent lower than comparable buildings. They used low-toxicity building materials and water efficient fixtures, recycled construction debris, built in stormwater runoff retention ponds and constructed a wetland providing habitat for the Northern Red-Legged frog, a species […]
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In the next few months, S&P plans to release a socially screened stock index developed for a “major index mutual fund company.” The index will be in the public domain, meaning that any mutual fund company can offer a fund based on it. This index will be number 9 in the S&P family of indexes.
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The Vermont Fair Tax Coalition, a coalition of business, consumer and environmental organizations, has released the report, Tax Reform that Agrees with Vermont. It presents an overview of environmental tax shifting, analyzes tax shifting options for Vermont, and presents an inventory of the states environmental taxes, fees, and incentives. The report suggests reducing or eliminating the property, sales, personal income, and payroll taxes in return for increasing, for example, the motor fuel tax, the solid waste tax, creating a motor vehicle feebate program and a carbon tax on fossil fuels in Vermont. In a recent statewide Vermont poll, 93 percent of participants expressed support for tax reform that would help protect clean air and water, and about 88 percent supported tax reform that would help control sprawl style development. A tax shift bill was defeated by just one vote recently in Vermont House of Representatives. For a copy of the report: http://www.foe.org/envirotax/vermonttaxreport.html To read the Tax Shift Bill: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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Nationwide, solar electric companies are experiencing a spike in sales attributed partly to Y2K jitters. Solar Electric Systems of Kansas City notes that Y2K has put solar on the radar screen for back-up power. Golden Genesis Co. of Scottsdale, AZ reports a 40 percent increase in sales for 1998 as several thousand more customers purchased solar systems; this year, sales are on track to increase another 70 percent. The company advertises 1,100-watt solar electric systems for $1,599 – enough to power lights, a refrigerator, entertainment systems, and a computer during short power outages.
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