And though I'd like to point the finger at ourselves, the consumers, and our culture of waste, gluttony, and perceived limitless resources, it really comes back to those greater organizations of ourselves called corporations and what you can get away with on a national if not global scale in the form of a corporation.
We have limitless options as consumers for every facet of our life, but so few of those options actually result in positive or neutral impacts on the environment. The real impact comes from patronizing a corporation that is paying attention to THEIR impact. The real impact comes from a corporation using its power for the greater good of the community through diffusion of information and specific business practices.
Jess and I were wondering why our recycling company doesn't accept yogurt cups or other wide-mouth plastic containers, even if they appear to be made of the same plastic as other items accepted like milk jugs. After some googling, I found the most pertinent information on, of all places, a corporate website, Stonyfield Farms.com. It ends up these wide-mouth containers have different melting points and thereby are rejected by most recycling facilities. More importantly, however, was Stonyfield Farm's description of their own LCA, or life-cycle assessment, and my discovery that although using a specific type of non-recyclable plastic may appear thoughtless, they were actually reducing their environmental impact much more significantly during the production process by using a thinner plastic, thus reducing overall wastes, and limiting their carbon emissions. They even gave the smart tip to customers that quart-size containers actually use less energy in production and during the PDS, or product-delivery system. Read more here.
Now these revelations are far from mind-blowing I know, and Stonyfield Farm is far from a model corporate citizen. But the fact they're engaging their consumer, the fact they recognize it's am imperfect process and they're constantly striving for better ways to improve their business both ethically and environmentally, this is what we need more of in this country and globally. I think both the local San Diego and the U.S. government should play a large part in the reshaping of future corporations. But I think most importantly is advice I can offer to aspiring business folk and young entrepreneurs; if you go out and start your own corporation, don't be a dick.
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