Today one of my friends asked if I was “one of those environmental people”…my response: Yah, I think so…relatively?
But the real question was how far was I willing to take my commitment and that’s where he started asking.
“Should I leave the hummer at home when I see you?” – I sure hope he would. That gas guzzler could stay home while we took the bus. I pay for my upass so why not? Busing to UBC
on a regular basis should make any other travel experience via BC Public transit a snooze! Except its not like that. We need to learn how far our personal thresholds are. I may not know be well versed in the scientific area of the environmental issues, but I consider myself well versed in other areas such as the idea of mass consumption (which I think is better labeled “unnecessary” consumption). It was important for me to understand that I just couldn’t know everything but focusing on small parts would be more effective.
If we were talking in terms of a relationship- You can’t know everything about that other person, but first you learn their favourite food then how to make it and finally you’ve mastered that and move on. Along with that you learn other basics favourite colour, what they like to do, but so far no deep conversation about their childhood or life defining reasons are released!
So how far was one of your favourite athletic companies willing to go?
Last June, Addidas was labeled one of the top 100 socially responsible corporations in Maclean’s Magazine. This is a good was to gauge how far manufactures and corporations are willing modify their strategic plans to customize their behaviour into a more environmentally conscious one.
And what exactly did they do different?
– One of their popular running shoes are now made with 50% recycled polyester and 100% recycled polyester laces. So far word on the street is that it hasn’t compromised the performance of the product.
– They have made a commitment to shift their use of regular cotton to “Better Cotton” – the procurement is done more sustainbly by using less water, pesticides and better labour conditions.
If thats what makes you listed into the top 100 Sustainable corporations I think we have a long way to go before reaching a level and kind of consumption that is conducive to a better green environment.
-p^2
keeptheeco 
I think you bring up a great point regarding “how far” we’re willing to go, and what our personal thresholds are. On a personal level, I do consider myself sustainably-orientated, but I am definitely one of those people who wouldn’t choose the sustainable option if I found it excessively inefficient. For me, it’s a constant struggle between efficiency and sustainability. If it’s going to take me more than twice as long to get to school by bus versus by car, I can’t justify it – my time is simply worth more than that. So I think that by discussing our personal limits, we can gain insight into what “makes us tick.” By addressing the things that prevent people from engaging in sustainable behaviour, I believe we can ultimate influence unsustainable behaviours.
I think a sustainable corporation should not only focus on achieving profit maximizing but simultaneously improving, or at least not worsening, the environment and society in the short and long term. Sustainable corporations should also incorporate the triple bottom line (environmental, economic, and social) in their decision making. What Adidas did looks more like green washing to me as they do not seem to put any effort on making direct changes on their production lines to reduce wastes, pollution, and CO2 emissions. I think in order for corporations to be listed as top 100 sustainable corporations, they have to meet three main conditions: first, the rate of usage of renewable resources should not exceed their rates of regeneration; the rates of use of non-renewable resources cannot exceed the rate at which sustainable renewable substitutes are developed, and last, the rates of pollution should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment.
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I think the two points that you mentioned in regards to adidas being in the list of Top 100 sustainable corporations are just a small part of the company’s sustainable initiative. adidas has an overall strategy of reducing its environmental impact 15% by 2015 in all of its areas such as value chain and product creation, among others through a project called Green Company (http://blog.adidas-group.com/2011/12/another-milestone-on-the-road-to-be-a-green-company/). It is an environmental programme that runs in their offices, warehouses, distribution centres and production sites around the world. Several of their buildings are also ISO 14001 certified. The ISO 14001 certification is a framework that assists organizations in developing their own environmental management system and adidas has already aimed in applying this framework to their global locations such as their main headquarters at Herzogenaurach, Germany, adidas North America in Portland and distribution centres in Spartanburg and Indianapolis, US. This effort in reducing their carbon emission, waste and pollution is not something I would consider as greenwashing, as Marco mentioned above. As concerned consumers, we should all take the time to read a company’s sustainable initiatives and programs before we judge them. Here’s adidas Group’s blog that talks about their current sustainable initiatives: http://blog.adidas-group.com/category/sustainability-aspects/
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