Sustainability
is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Years ago, a company’s success or otherwise was judged on its financial performance – earnings per share, return on investment, etc. Now, however, as consumers become increasingly concerned with the environment, corporate success is also based on a company’s environmental impact. Environmental neutrality is no longer good enough – improvement is expected.
Yet a lot of us still mistakenly think sustainability relates only to environmental impact – but in fact sustainability encompasses SO much more.
The consumer and the community also expect companies to support the communities in which they live and work. Support is defined in a variety of ways. From volunteering for food drives to donating resources for natural disasters, being involved and supporting the community is critical.
An easy way to remember the three areas of focus for sustainability are People, Profit and Planet. The old “bottom line” was the mark of economic success. Today, companies are measured on the TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE (TBL) – Their social impact (People), their financial success (Profit), and the positive action they’re taking to reduce the use of natural resources (Planet).
At Pratt Industries, sustainability has always been the cornerstone of our culture and a business component engrained in our DNA. Our success through sustainability is evident in every aspect of our day-to-day recycling and clean energy initiatives, but also from internal programs like motion-controlled lighting to our in-house recycling programs. And within the communities where we do business across the country, we support local and national philanthropies as well as relief programs for those affected by natural disasters.
At Pratt Industries, we have 4,000 green collar workers dedicated to our environment and the communities in which we live. Having a healthy triple bottom line helps us continue to give back. When you choose Pratt Industries, you or your business become an ambassador for social, planetary and cultural change.
[...] Employees of Pratt Industries have been taking care of the people in the communities in which they live and work long before community outreach became part of the wider corporate concept of the Triple Bottom Line. [...]
At the home level, we are taking antdavage of invreaed options for glass recycling in our neighborhood started by a beer brewery in collaboration with various greups and this was badly needed after our curbside recycling program dropped glass. We gather non 1 and 2 plastic and when in the neighborhood of a city recyle site,drop that off. We recyle newspaper plastic wrappers along with plastic (when we get them)grocery bags at our grocery store but prefer paper bags which we then recyle in our local school’s paper recyle with our newspapers. We ntry to use cloth bags for grocery shopping. We also give paper andm platic grocery bags to our church food pantryn for use with their clients. We compost all leaves and grass clippings at home as well as fruit and vegetable kitchen scraps. One of our two cars (two working adults) is a hybrid. We open shades to use solar passive heating and try to turn down the thermostat in winter. We don’t do a good job on doing meatless, driving less, etc. I justn boughtmy first LED bulb which will last onger thsan I will be alive if I am to believe the label!!
[...] order to measure the success of a corporate sustainability program, accurate reporting is crucial. A survey recently conducted by Ernst & Young focused on [...]
One small thing that we do it compost! It is so easy and it is aiamzng to see how much composting has cut down on the amount of trash that we put out on the curb every week. It is no exaggeration to say that we cut down our trash by at least half. It works like magic really, it is aiamzng how quickly food scraps, like banana peels and apple cores, break down into compost that we can then use for our garden. Too bad I don’t have a green thumb!We also blew in insulation to the walls of our 100+ year old house. There used to be no insulation and we could feel the cold air coming through the walls. The insulation made a huge difference and definitely cut down on our heating bills. We tracked our gas usage before and after blowing in the insulation and our heating bill went down by about 15 to 20%. Not to mention that the house feels warmer.
[...] Sustainability: How Does It Apply to Corporate Success? Tagged:Corporate Trends, Sustainability var shared_object = SHARETHIS.addEntry({title: "Top 10 Sustainability Hurdles for Businesses in 2013",url: "http://innovations.prattindustries.com/2013/01/09/top-10-sustainability-hurdles-for-businesses-in-2013/"}); Leave A Comment Click here to cancel reply. Name * [...]
[...] Sustainability awareness has come a long way in recent years…and so, too, has the methodology in ensuring claims made are claims verified. And no sustainability initiative in the business community has received more attention than the Walmart Packaging Scorecard. Introduced in 2006, the scorecard included measurements for GhG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions, Recycled Content, and Cube Utilization, to name a few. But now, Walmart is making a significant change. After many years of modifications based on supplier input, Walmart is introducing new category-specific scorecards. [...]