Our climate is quickly shifting and with it, many people’s prioritisation of the environment. After all, why wouldn’t the world’s current state of affairs have an impression on the public? Our endless pursuit of economic growth and expansion has meant many great things – new innovations, discoveries and connections among them – however, has also come at the cost of our planet’s health. On a global level, people and corporations alike are becoming increasingly cognizant of the fact that our current ways of doing things are simply unsustainable.
This is most notable on the business level, where notions of corporate sustainability have long been promoted as a way out of our current circumstances. Indeed, companies across the board have begun to implement new and innovative solutions to bolster their environmentalism, and we’re already seeing some promising results. The following are some of the most impressive steps we’ve seen organisations take to improve the sustainability of their operations.
Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund
As the world’s largest company, it’s no secret that Amazon has a major role to play in changing current norms for the better. This is something they recognized in July 2020, when they launched a new, and what would turn out to be a groundbreaking initiative in combating their environmental impact. The Climate Pledge Fund was designed to address the planet’s increasingly concerning health and is aimed at supporting businesses that build products, services, and technology that contribute to the Earth’s decarbonization. It started with a massive $2 Billion contribution from Amazon and is leading the way in incentivizing today’s corporations to go green.
This fund is also set to help Amazon and its counterpart companies in meeting The Climate Pledge by the year 2040, which is an initiative taken by the retailer along with signatories of the Paris Agreement to be net-zero in carbon.
https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/about/the-climate-pledge/the-climate-pledge-fund
Apple’s Carbon Neutrality
A relatively large promise for such an extensive company, Apple has announced that it aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. This includes their entire business, from the supply chain to the product life cycle. In order to achieve this, the tech giant has set out a few different plans. For starters, they’re looking to increase their use of renewable energy sources. They’re working towards a full-time use of renewable energy in their operations, and have already had 110 of their global manufacturing partners move to 100% renewables. While they plan on extending this further up their operations, it’s no small feat – especially considering the fact that their supply chain consists of over 1 billion devices – but it’s one they’re confident in achieving.
Additionally, Apple is also working on creating new products with reduced carbon footprints. This is being done through the use of recycled materials, and more efficient manufacturing processes. They’ve already made some major strides in this area, with the iPhone 11’s Taptic Engine – made with 100% recycled rare earth elements – being one of their most notable achievements. All in all, it’s clear that Apple is taking its sustainability goals seriously, and we can expect great things from them in the years to come.
Clorox’s Emphasis On Recyclability
Clorox is a notoriously plastic loving company and has been for some time now. It is however beginning to shift its priorities away from its traditional practices and in favour of ones that are more sustainable. One of their most notable initiatives is their focus on recyclability. They’ve worked hard to ensure that their products can be easily recycled, committing to making 90% of their product packaging as such.
They’ve also made further efforts into encouraging recycling as a general practice, becoming involved in TerraCycle’s Loop pilot program to help people properly recycle their and others’ products. They’re also working on making their overall practices more sustainable, which has led to a decrease in their use of virgin materials and emissions. In fact, Clorox has said that it aims to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 across its operations. All in all, Clorox is setting a great example for other companies in terms of sustainability, and we can expect great things from them in the future.
https://www.flexpackmag.com/articles/90277-clorox-terracycle-partner-to-recycle-food-storage-bags
Target
Target is a company that can be unequivocally characterised by one word – things. A mass retailer, Target has long made its dollar off of the production and sale of tangible goods. This is something that’s obviously bad for the planet, as it’s often accompanied by things like ridiculous amounts of plastic from packaging and emissions from transport trucks. It’s something Target has expressed interest in turning around over recent years, however, as it’s begun to make efforts in transitioning to a more sustainable model.
Through recycling programs, they’ve put an increased emphasis on material sustainability. In 2018, they shared that stores and supply chain locations accomplished a remarkable feat – reducing the amount of waste they sent to landfills by 75%. They’re further aiming to bolster their infrastructure in favour of a more environmentally friendly model, having installed solar panels on the roofs of 500 of their stores in 2020.
And of course, like many other companies leading the way, Target has also taken a pledge to reduce its carbon emissions. Their current goal is net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across their enterprise as a whole by 2040.
https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/planet/sustainable-operations
While these initiatives are just a start, they tout a promising outlook on the future of sustainability. They prove that we are recognizing what a wasteful, half hazardous growth strategy can do to our environment, and are finally beginning to see the value in taking action. Doing so will only become more important as time goes on, and with any luck, these companies will serve as an example for many more to come.