Question

Research your chosen company (ideally from your home country). Consider ONE environmental issue of either AIR, LAND, WATER or ENERGY that need to be addressed and identify sustainability initiatives created by the business/organisation.

What SPECIFICS can you say about the initiative. A few questions to help:

1. When did/will the initiative start?
2. Is it global, local, regional?
3. How big is the problem being addressed – be specific?
4. How successful has it been?
5. What model of sustainability do you think the initiative following - Market, Regulatory or Sustainability approach? Explain
6. Which stakeholders least benefit from the initiative?
7. Can you think of any (potential) unintended consequences?

Write a brief feedback responding to the various questions (and more you might raise) and include useful links found.

Submit to Forum for review during class

PermalinkReply

Answer 1

I am choosing the company Whole Foods Market. It is trying to solve the ENERGY problem.

The initiative started in the year 2016.

It is a global initiative being taken up by Whol foods.

The problem being addressed is big enough to be admired by other competitors. Some of the initiatives are:

• Reduce waste in shops, e.g. by organic waste, which in some areas eliminated waste from landfills by up to 80 percent and resulting in zero garbage in some shops.
• Promoting the use of alternative energy sources to fuel its activities, e.g.:
  • supplementing nuclear power with green energy
  • Purchasing clean energy permits from wind turbines to pay for 100% of the energy used in its shops and services in the United States and Canada (recognized by the Epa)
  • Providing electric car charging stations in its shops (45 out of 20).
  • Converting fleet of trucks to biodiesel fuels and fitting vehicles with fuel-efficient systems.
• Using green construction strategies for shop construction, e.g.:
  • New shops are designed according to recommendations from 'Leadership in Power and Environmental Architecture' and 'Climate Globes,' resulting in special recognition
  • As of 2015, twenty Whole Foods shops were granted GreenChill by the Environmental Protection Authority.
• Strengthening the label partnership of environmental sustainability, e.g.:
  • often partners of non-profit environmental groups, e.g. now collaborating with Recycling For America.
  • Offers staff CSR days to volunteer for area clean-ups and environmental conservation service.

It is pretty much successful in its initiatives. It is able to bring down the energy requirements by 22% and thus I would say it is successful enough.