Beyond greenwash: Which companies are making the most progress along the road to true sustainability? And how much further do they need to travel? Neil Hodge asks those on the front line of the green business agenda.
| Author | Hodge, Neil |
| Position | Economics |
For the past decade an increasing number of companies around the world have been turning their attention towards environmental sus-tainability. The issue has two clear concepts - how to mitigate the negative impact of a business on the environment, and how to minimise its consumption of finite and increasingly scarce natural resources.
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Following the lead of organisations such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Carbon Disclosure Project, which have both established environmental reporting frameworks - coupled with the "regulatory creep" of the US and Europe wanting greater disclosure on "green" and non-financial risks - many of the world's leading companies have taken a harsh look at the environmental impact of their operations and have set themselves challenging targets.
UK retail giant Marks & Spencer launched "Plan A" in January 2007, setting out 100 commitments to achieve in five years (which has since been extended to achieve 180 sustainable commitments by 2015), ranging from cutting waste and packaging to sourc-ing more local produce in a bid to reduce the company's carbon footprint. Unilever - as well as tackling sustainability challenges in its own operations - has its "Sustainable Living Plan", which encourages consumers to take small, everyday actions that can add up to make a big difference.
Global brewer Molson Coors, which produces Carling, Cobra and Foster's, has been monitoring its water usage for several years and has set a benchmark to reduce its consumption. Neil Tonge, head of environment, health and safety and business services at the company's UK operations, says that "as water accounts for 95 per cent of our products, we have a duty to ensure that we use it as efficiently as possible and that improved water consumption is at the heart of our operations".
On a global average the company currently uses four pints of water to produce one pint of beer, but at some of its sites this figure is being drastically reduced. For example, its plant at Alton in the UK uses only 3.1 pints of water to produce one pint of beer. Less water consumption also generates significant energy savings. Last year, the company's UK operations used 99 megajoules of energy to produce a hectolitre (100 litres) of beer: this year the overall UK figure is below 96 megajoules, with the company's Alton site using just 63 megajoules to produce a hectolitre.
Molson Coors has set itself a commitment to improve water efficiency by four per cent across all its sites by next year. In Burton-on-Trent, which is the highest volume brewery in the UK, the drive for water efficiency saved 700 million litres of water last year. The company wants to improve on that figure and has a goal of saving one billion litres of water per year by the end of 2012.
Tonge says that there is a real business case for managing water. "The...
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