All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
The companies that are still making profits and growing are finding ways to implement green initiatives. Follow their examples.
By Mary Boltz Chapman, Editor-in-Chief -- Chain Leader, 3/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
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Last year when we did our green issue, I wrote in this space about how you need to look at the subject strategically and examine the long-term benefits of going green. I suggested examining food availability, energy prices, waste-collection costs and potential taxes on packaging and carbon emissions.
Today I'm trying another argument: peer pressure. All the cool kids are doing it. And you want to be cool, don't you?
Both customers and employees want to hang out with companies that care about something bigger than profits, something like protecting natural resources, avoiding being wasteful, and caring about their impact on and the future of their communities.
Follow the Leaders
Let's call the "cool kids" the companies that are still doing well despite the disastrous economy.
McDonald's has long been a leader and includes environmental topics in its public corporate social responsibility report. It's been raising its standards in energy savings, the treatment and sustainability of its animal populations, use of recycled packaging, building construction and more.
John Rockwell, the burger giant's LEED quality manager, is active in the United States Green Building Council and since 2005 has led McDonald's green building strategy. He outlined the chain's efforts on the webcast, "The LEED Advantage: How to Build Sustainable, Energy-Efficient Restaurants."
Chipotle is also well-known for its eco-friendly practices. The chain proudly discusses its "food with integrity," meaning "unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added-hormone free, organic and artisanal." And it has applied the same philosophy to its stores, opening its first green building in 2002.
Quieter Examples
Buffalo Wild Wings and Panera Bread Co. have been less overt about their efforts, but they are not ignoring the environment. Buffalo Wild Wings' corporate ethics code states that it will operate in a manner "which does its best to protect the public and the environment." And Panera Bread has added antibiotic-free chicken and some organic ingredients, including yogurt and apple juice, and operates a unit in Abercorn Common, a LEED-certified shopping center in Savannah, Ga.
Of course, their green efforts aren't necessarily what makes them successful companies. But if successful companies are calling environmental and sustainable efforts a priority, shouldn't you?
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