Which Companies Are Taking Climate Change Seriously?

Are you interested in which companies are taking climate change seriously? If so, then you'll be interested in ClimateCounts.org.

Climate Counts tracks companies that are addressing climate change as well as those that are ignoring it. They tally this all up into a scorecard, which you'll want to check out. Companies are categorized as stuck, starting, or striding in their response to climate change. Of course, Climate Counts encourages you to patronize companies tackling climate change and don't patronize companies ignoring the issue.

Climate Counts is a nonprofit organization funded by Stonyfield Farm, Inc. and launched in collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet.

A note of caution: As the name implies, these scores are related only to climate change and do not reflect the company's social or other environmental practices.

Business Schools Can Help Achieve Millenium Development Goals

In the July/August edition of BizEd is an interview with Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations. Among Ban's responsibilities are leading the organization to achieve the eight Millenium Development Goals:

1. Eradicate poverty and hunger



2. Improve global educational opportunities



3. Promote gender equality



4. Reduce child mortality



5. Improve maternal health



6. Fight diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria



7. Inspire environmental sustainability



8. Establish a global partnership of organizations to achieve these goals

He is promoting the U. N.'s Global Compact, an initiative that brings together government, nonprofits, educational institutions, and business to improve the prosperity of those at the bottom of the world's economic pyramid.

The world's businesses possess the power to make these objectives a reality. The contributions of business schools also will be essential in helping the U.N. meet its 2015 deadline, Ban stresses. By teaching social responsibility, he says, business schools can instill in each of their students the skills to change the world--and the intention to make a difference.

Read the full interview in the July/August 2008 edition of BizEd.

FREE Ways to Begin Greening Your Business

I recently told one of my students that I work to help businesses become more sustainable or "green." His response was, "that costs money, doesn't it?" My response, "not necessarily." This made me think about the little things businesses can do that are environmentally-friendly, won't cost a penny, and will save the business some money.

So here are some tips for the business that wants to start the journey toward "green" but doesn't have the funds to implement big changes. All the tips below are free to implement (Oh Yes! It's FREE) but have one thing in common: change what you currently do.

1. Office paper - switch from 100% virgin fiber paper products to recycled paper products. For example, we recently compared a business' current office and copier paper purchases to recycled office and copier paper. “The final combination of paper choices recommended to the client represented a 10% cost savings, 13% fewer carbon dioxide emissions, and 35% fewer trees when compared to their previous product.” Other recycled paper products to consider are file folders, hanging file folders, notebook pads, binders, calendars, posters, envelopes, business cards, letterhead, forms, self-stick notes, and anything else made from paper! Savings: cost reductions, carbon dioxide emissions reductions (carbon dioxide emissions contribute to climate change), and fewer trees used.


2. Hand towels - switch from 100% virgin fiber hand towels to recycled content hand towels. In a recent comparison for a client, we were able to identify 100% recycled hand towels that represented a 2% cost savings over their current product. Savings: cost reductions, carbon dioxide emissions reductions, and fewer trees used.


3. Toilet tissue - switch from 100% virgin fiber bath tissue to recycled content bath tissue. In a recent comparison for a client, we were able to identify 100% recycled bath tissue that represented a 46% savings over their current product. Savings: cost reductions, carbon dioxide emissions reductions, and fewer trees used.


4. Napkins - switch from 100% virgin fiber napkins to recycled content napkins. In a recent comparison for a client, we were able to identify 100% recycled napkins that represented a 10% cost savings over their current product. Savings: cost reductions, carbon dioxide emissions reductions, and fewer trees used.


5. Facial Tissue - switch from 100% virgin fiber napkins to recycled content napkins. In a recent comparison for a client, we were able to identify 100% recycled napkins that represented a 4% cost savings over their current product. Savings: cost reductions, carbon dioxide emissions reductions, and fewer trees used.


6. Lighting - turn off lights when not in use and when replacing, use more energy-efficient lighting, such as compact flourscent bulbs or LED lighting. Savings: can help reduce energy bills.


7. Electronics and office equipment - turn off when not in use and when purchasing, make sure it is Energy Star certified. Dispose of old electronics through a recycling program (most cities will take old electronics for recycling). Old office electronics, furniture, and equipment can also go to donation programs through public schools, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, or other worthy causes (see our blog post list of places to donate your e-waste). Savings: can help reduce energy bills, can reduce the amount of waste you pay to have removed, and will keep dangerous chemicals out of landfills.


8. Recycling - Check with your city sanitation department (or check Earth911's search engine) to see what can be recycled and where it can be recycled. Common items for recycling include aluminum cans, glass, paper, plastic (including plastic bags), cardboard, styrofoam packaging (styrofoam food containers are not often recycled), electronics, cooking oil or grease, printer and ink jet cartridges, and many other items. Savings: can reduce the amount of waste you pay to have removed.


9. Employee coffee mugs or drink cups - encourage employees to bring reusable coffee mugs or drink cups (and plates and utensils) rather than using disposables. Savings: can reduce the number of disposable items you purchase and can reduce the amount of waste you pay to have removed.


10. Office supplies - use recyclable and/or refillable items, such as printer cartridges, pens, CD and DVD disks, batteries, and other products. Savings: can help reduce the amount of office items needing replaced and can reduce the amount of waste you pay to have removed.


11. Printing & copying - For printing, begin by resetting the default font size on all computers to 10 or 11 and resetting the default margin to .8 or .9. By changing the default margin settings to 0.75" on University computers, Penn State found that they could save per year over $122,000 in paper costs, 45,142 reams of paper, 45 tons of waste, and 72 acres of forest. Use your computer and email program as your filing system rather than printing hard copies. Use a software program, such as Greenprint, that will alert you to wasted paper (such as printing a sheet with one or two lines). Learn to use online forms and PDF files. Next time you send out a printing job, select a green printing company. For copying, change the the default settings on the copy machine from one-sided to two-sided copies. Savings: can reduce the amount of paper you buy, can reduce the amount of waste you pay to have removed, and can reduce your company's carbon emissions.


12. Cleaning supplies - use green cleaning products or a green cleaning service. Savings: there may not be any financial savings here, but you are taking steps toward healthier indoor air quality and your cleaning methods will be releasing fewer toxins into the environment.


13. Website - switch to a "green" or "carbon neutral" web host provider. There are many web host providers available which are competitively priced. Savings: cost savings and reduced carbon emissions.


14. Promotional products - next time you purchase promotional products for your business, select those that are environmentally-friendly, are made from recycled material, can be recycled, or those that are all three of these, such as SIGG water bottles. Savings: there may not be any financial savings here, but you are taking steps toward being environmentally-friendly and communicating that message to your customers.


15. Green Team - establish a "green team" of employees who are interested in helping your business become more environmentally friendly. The Green Team's focus should be two-fold:

• identifying additional ways to make your business more environmentally-friendly and


• educating employees, customers, and suppliers on the importance of being environmentally-friendly as well as communicating the business' efforts and accomplishments in this arena.

Where do you find these products? You can begin by checking with your current supplier. If they don't carry the products, then check with other local vendors, with national suppliers, or online.

If you implement the suggestions above, you will have begun the journey toward "green" and will simultaneously save some green!

Where to get a Business Degree in Sustainability

Degrees and certificates in sustainable business are on the rise. There are a number of resources to find those programs.

• Net Impact's Student Guide to Graduate Business Programs provides a student perspective on their graduate business program's coverage of social and environmental themes in the curriculum.



• The Association for the Advancement of Sustainabilitly in Higher Education (AASHE) maintains a list of undergraduate and graduate sustainability programs in a wide range of disciplines, however, you must be affiliated with a university that is a member of AASHE in order to access the list.



• The Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes offers a ranking of the top 100 graduate business programs worldwide integrating social and environmental themes into the curriculum.

While the resources above allow you to assess how much you'll be exposed to social and environmental issues within the curriculum, some students want to make sure they get a degree or major in sustainable business. Here is our list of known schools with majors or certificates in topics related to sustainable and responsible business. As new degree programs or certificate programs arise, we attempt to keep an updated list on our website...so check back often.

Alliant International University
Aquinas College
Arizona State University
Bainbridge Graduate Institute
Ben & Jerry's Climate Change College
Blekinge Institute of Technology
Brandeis University
California College of the Arts
Clinton School of Public Service
Colorado State University
Dominican University of California
Duquesne University
Goddard College
Green Mountain College
Illinois Institute of Technology
Maharishi University of Management
Marlboro College
Michigan Technological University
New College of California
Northwestern University
Nottingham University
Portland State University
Presidio School of Management
Royal Holloway, University of London
San Francisco State University
Saybrook Graduate School
Unity College
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Denver
University of East Anglia
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina
University of Oregon
York University

NOTE: Please check our website (in the right sidebar) for the most up-to-date list. Additional schools are listed there.

UPDATE: Please also see our more recent post for online degrees in sustainable business and our list of best business programs in sustainability.

Corporations Urge Government Action on Water Crisis

CEOs of 19 mulitnational corporations have sent an open letter to G8 government leaders (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) urging them to work with the international business community in addressing the global water crisis. The letter states, "...water is not just an environmental issue - it is a poverty and development issue, an economic issue, and therefore a business issue....as business leaders, we will not achieve meaningful progress unless Governments live up to their responsibilities and commitments....As leaders of the world’s most powerful economies, we therefore call on you to make the emerging water crisis a global priority.”

Signatories include: Diageo; Hayleys PLC; Hindustan Construction Company; Läckeby Water AB; Levi Strauss & Co.; Liqum Oy; Metito (Overseas) Limited; Nestlé S.A.; Netafim Ltd.; PepsiCo, Inc.; SABMiller plc; Siemens AG; Suez; SunOpta Inc.; The Coca-Cola Company; The Dow Chemical Company; Unilever; Westpac Banking Corporation; WPP.