Like individuals, companies have the same obligation to be environmentally friendly. Although most have a long way to go, some companies stand out in how they’ve approached they responsibility to be greener.
General Electric is a company that invested $20 billion between 2006 and 2010 to fund its Ecoimagination initiative. This investment in GE’s technology produced wind turbines for clean power, fuel-efficient train and jet engines, more energy-efficient water purification plants and energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs. GE is reinventing the power grid too. Callied the SmartGrid, this new technology integrate many power sources into one power grid for the fuel efficient use possible. GE’s CEO, Jeffrey Imelt thinks that the Ecoimagination investment, besides being environmentally conscious, will double the company’s investment over time. The return on the investment would prove that being green is good for the bottom line as well as the planet.
With its introduction of the Volt, General Motor’s Chevrolet shows the nation and the world how to drive cars that no longer rely on petroleum as a source of fuel. The Volt is different from typical hybrid cars: the Volt is the first plug-in hybrid car. The 2012 model gets 94 miles per gallon equivalent. This metric is used for hybrid and electric cars: 33.7 kw-hr of electricity equals one gallon of gasoline. In a year, the 2012 Volt will have used less than a half-barrel of oil or other fuel to recharge its battery. To drive 100 miles, the 2012 Volt requires only 36 kw-hrs, making its engine more efficient than that of hybrid cars on the market today.
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream is a company almost as committed to the environment as it is to selling ice cream. Since its founding in 1988, this company has been active in environmental causes. Its plant has newly designed freezer cabinets that reduce the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere, in part by relying on hydrocarbon refrigerant gases. Ben & Jerry’s is working with the Environmental Protection Agency so that this new hydrocarbon refrigerant technology becomes generally available. In addition, Ben & Jerry’s uses paper for its containers from sustainable, managed forests. Finally, Ben & Jerry’s constantly strive to find better ways to reduce and manage the waste produced by the plant. This company isn’t quiet about what it does, so any new development that Ben & Jerry’s adopts will be broadcast, and therefore is likely to have an effect on other companies as well.
