impact on the environment is massive. Collective Conformity Corporations must transform business mod-els so that sustainable growth and financial success are inseparable priorities. Companies have been far too focused on profitability, and it’s now time to include the environmental impact of products and processes in everything we do. It isn’t only the bottom line, the money and profits that are being counted by customers; a company’s sustainability is increasingly being examined carefully before people make the choice to buy products. Consumers care about an organization’s bottom line impact to the environment and human health. Coined the “triple bottom line,” this mea-sure has global retailers and all of their sup-pliers aggressively putting systems in place to accurately evaluate their health impacts and CO 2 footprints. Profit that comes at a cost to people and their health, and to the well-being of our host planet, is no longer acceptable to educated consumers and clients. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), our plan-et’s average temperature increased by one degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century and is feared to rise even more in the 21st century. Human beings are adaptable, but not infinitely so: No one alive today has ever lived through an actual ice age or the kinds of heat waves that a consensus of world scientists is now predicting. Unfortunately, our lack of direct experi-ence with extreme circumstances renders us unable to imagine, for the most part, what is really happening to our world. In today’s economy, and with widespread fears of terrorism, economic pressures, natural disasters and other environmental concerns, it is easy to be focused on the “here and now” at the expense of address-ing long-term problems. Humans’ impact on the environment is no longer in question. What is in question is our ability to impact it, the rate at which it can be impacted and the degree to which we can make a difference. If we act like we have little or no impact and do nothing, there are unknown conse-quences; if we act like we can make a differ-ence, we might actually pull it off. Are you ready to answer how you will help your company or organization modify its practices, processes and products to accelerate its progress towards sustainable operation? CM David Baumgarten is vice president of a fam-ily business that supplies unique and innovative products to the school, home and office market with manufactured products from around the world. Baumgarten’s successful environmental program, business paradigms, award-winning innovative green products and award-winning customer service are unrivaled in the United States office supply industry. Since the company’s 2007 Green Initiative, it has planted thousands of trees and has offset hundreds of thousands of pounds of harmful greenhouse gasses. The company aims to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2015. For more informa-tion, visit www.baumgartens.com and www.conservebrand.com. ® trash cans GREEN CLEAN Make it a Green Clean . . . Innovative Environmentally Friendly Recycled Tire/Plastic Green Cleaning Tools Made in America That Really Work Hard Keeping America Clean. wringer buckets lobby dust pans Think green. ... and more. Delamo manufacturing inc. 7171 Telegraph Road | Montebello, CA 90640 | USA delamo-mfg.com | 888/711.8011 | [email protected] Circle Product Information no. 213 on page 32 www.cmmonline.com 37
CMM – Archives May 2011: 37
