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EcoPartyDownload: Corporate Sustainability, Net Positive, and Where Enviros get it Not Quite Right

10/5/2016

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I finally figured out the stats of my blog site and turns out I have more than one reader.  Huzzah!  The most interest was my recent EcoPartyDownload...so here's to listening and continuing that conversation. These type of posts take me a lot more time, but is it worth it?  Give the people what they want?  You tell me! 

I had to update the "Meet Megan" section of this blog recently and realized I've been doing environmental work for almost 15 years.  Shoot. Time flies.  But then again, in such a fast-moving and constantly evolving profession as sustainability has turned out to be, that feels like light years ago.  Particularly when thinking about the future I see for how corporate sustainability is shifting.  And in this regard, the environmental movement and its theory of change going back decades has not yet embraced what I believe to be the greatest opportunity for corporate America to "step up".  But before I can get to advocating for what I think is the answer, we have to get on the same page, and that involves dipping into how we all got here (I'll make it quick! Like ripping off a band-aid).  But I really do have to give you the skinny on why the environmentalists got to their belief system on what causes corporations to reduce their impact on the planet.  They have a really good reason for being that way.

In the days of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the blue marble photo of Earth that sparked the environmental movement, there wasn't a political lens to it.  I mean, consider: who doesn't benefit or get impacted by waterways, drinking water and air clean of pollution? Passage of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act were strongly supported on a bipartisan basis by Congress (I know...feels like a fairy tale to say that these days!).  And then....came the reaction.  The backlash.  President Reagan's underlying principle of "economy vs environment" meant appointing a blatantly anti-environmentalist to lead the EPA and ripping out the solar water heating system installed by President Carter.  Which all led to the formalization and codification of environmental issues being deeply partisan with the GOP being "anti" for all things environmental, and that divide has stayed the rule pretty much to this day.  With the notable and extremely temporary exception of when climate had it's moment in 2007 where conservatives supported taking action until they collapsed into this still toxic and resistant strain of denialism. Deep roots that denialism has. Sigh.  Anyways, that concrete-like hardening on the political front was a result of multinational corporations deciding that environmental regulation was onerous, expensive and corporates came in heavy to all levels of government against any further action.

So how did this play out outside of the Beltway?  How were companies interacting on environmental issues in their business during the 80s and 90s before corporate sustainability became "a thing"?
(Read on below the jump)
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Links I Love: Obsessed Edition

2/23/2015

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I've been spelunking abouts the interwebs and discovered that a few things have happened on enviro(ish) issues I've posted on.  How exciting!  Here's some updates.

Apple. Is. (Maybe). Making. An. Electric. Vehicle.  [APPLAUSE]
If the rumors are true, let the heavens rejoice...and by heavens, I mean all of us on planet Earth.  Guys, everything Apple touches is the best possible design and turns to sold.  For good reason.  If they truly are taking on making an EV....it will be a vehicle that massively moves the consumer needle.  And I know this because I want one right now.  As I previously went enviro(ish) in depth on, EVs are good for the planet and convenient in so many ways.  This is great news.  YAY!
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Microbeads are already in phase out!

enviro(ish) wrote about these nasty plastics that we were putting on our face (and sometimes in our mouth...yuck!)  Turns out 5 Gyres has already moved the needle on this issue as covered in FastCo.  Congrats!

"But what’s surprising many is that companies aren’t actually fighting against taking action. Approached by environmental groups including 5 Gyres in the last three years, many major manufacturers, including L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Colgate-Palmolive, quickly agreed to remove microbeads from their products within the next few years. For example, a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told Co.Exist that it will complete the first phase of product reformulations by the end of next year and a complete phase-out of all plastic microbeads by the end of 2017."
Photo courtesy of gizmodo
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EverydayEco: Not All Recycling Created Equal

2/4/2015

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OK, what I'm about to say is going to be pretty unpopular with the "dark greens" as I like to call them.  The uber-eco, off-the-grid, Greenpeace-level peeps that want you to do everything possible to save the planet right now and make you feel like you are not doing enough. (Rinse, repeat)

But listen up, we are enviro(ish)....and ish-ness is the most critical ingredient of this entire works.  It means relieving yourself from the guilt of not being perfect and doing everything, all the time.  And that brings me to recycling...

You see, there's this secret about recycling.  Our waste stream is not created equal*.  We know this because of a handy process called lifecycle assessment.  It tells us the energy it takes to make a product, the energy all the way from getting raw materials out of the ground, to manufacture, to customer, to use, and to the end of life. 
*actually the inequality of municipal waste collection and recycling in this country is abysmal....so it really is an unequal experience depending on where you live, but that's another post for another time.

What it tells us, is that materials are not created equally (duh), but I mean really...think about that.  It tells us the ecological impacts of materials when/if they get into the environment at end of life, as well as energy it takes to recycle those materials.  Which inherently means that there's some materials that have worse impacts when tossed into nature than others (obv)....and there's some materials that are too energy-intensive or degrade when trying to be recycled (true).  On the flip side, it tells us there are some materials that are of utmost importance to recycle.  You ready for a list of some of these?  enviro(ish) peeps unite!

So picture this scenario: you have an item to dispose of in your hand, and there's no recycling can in sight.  Maybe you are traveling, on a plane, or in a different city.  Do you throw away or hold onto it until you can recycle?  Ask yourself these three questions....
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EveryDay Eco: Ban the Bottle From Your Life

11/18/2014

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So this post is a bit of a cheat, because I already did a post about Hydrating Reusably at the Office (read there for facts/data/why it matters).  But last week we had an event at work honoring America Recycles Day and I got to meet environmental champion Ed Begley Jr....who was ONLY taking photos with employees that committed to refill.  My coworkers did me so proud!

And it motivated me to take my personal commitment one step further.  I changed a habit!  When I traveled this past weekend, I brought an empty reusable bottle through airport security and filled up on the other side.  I think for the first time!?  I really felt good AND there was a bit of pleasure in sticking it to the man by not paying the absurdly high post-security price of food and drink.

Want to hear a horrifying fact?  Those plastic water bottles behind Ed and I in the display represent the amount the U.S. throws away in less than one second.  The U.S. threw away 273 times that amount during the 2 hours of our recycling event.  Hundreds of people stopped by to look at it with disgust/horror faces, and it only made it clearer.  Time to ban the bottle from your life, it's the enviro(ish) thing to do.  Let's get to it!
psst....have you done it yet??  If not, why not?
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Hydrate REuse-ably @Office

9/12/2014

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Caffeine may kick off my workday, but water keeps me going and hydrated.  I've never drank from a single-use plastic water bottle at my desk...and the more you really think about plastic water bottles, the more it sounds silly and ridiculous. 

For example, I spotted one of my coworkers drinking from a single-use 1 gallon plastic water jug.  Pretty much a different one every other day.  Since I'm known to be 'eco', I don't even think I had to ask him about it....he saw me notice and, let's face it, if you do sustainability all day every day people think you are the 'green police'.  Usually I fight the perception and live by the Funny or Die "Green Team" creed of Will Farrell and John Reilly (if you have not seen this before, you're welcome).  But this time, the eco case was so clear!  Pun intended. 

Anyways, he started defending the plastic waste and the taste....it took a few random conversations over a few months, but he made the transition.  And if he can, you can too!  Here's the basics of what I said to get you going:

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