Recycling waste, reducing energy consumption and encouraging employees to volunteer more time for social causes.
These sustainable practices are in vogue at Colorado’s biggest companies such as Ball Corp., WhiteWave Foods and RES America — notwithstanding the tough economic times.
“Environmental and social sustainability is in our DNA,” John Hayes, chief operating officer at Ball Corp., said Wednesday at the fourth Sustainable Opportunities Summit in Denver.
More than 600 attendees were expected at the two-day summit, which continues today at the Colorado Convention Center and features 60 speakers from around the world.
“Our goal is to reduce our greenhouse-gas emissions by 16 percent by 2012,” Hayes said.
For instance, Ball — a manufacturer of beverage cans — has redesigned the cans to reduce aluminum use by 15 percent. It also trains employees to reduce energy and water use, and it recycles waste to shrink its carbon footprint.
At WhiteWave Foods, which sells Horizon organic milk and Silk soy milk, the goal is to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 10 percent by 2011 and increase volunteerism by 5 percent each year, said chief executive Joseph Scalzo.
“Our belief is that our consumers and customers, including retailers, restaurant operators and others, choose us based upon our sustainable practices,” Scalzo said.
Wind company RES America relocated to Broomfield from Austin, Texas, last year because of the area’s cluster of green, sustainable companies, chief executive Craig Mataczynski said.
No doubt sustainability improves a company’s bottom line and talent retention, said Richard Franklin, who runs Envirobrand, a consulting firm in Denver.
“Wal-Mart, General Electric and many other Fortune 500 companies are doing it,” he said. “Young graduates from business schools first inquire about a company’s CSR, or corporate social responsibility report, before accepting a job.”
However, to get the maximum benefit, companies should implement sustainable practices properly, said Mike Biggs, a management student at the University of Colorado Denver.
“Some people just check boxes, say, ‘Yes, I have done that,’ ” he said. “But that’s not enough. Once we start quantifying goals and evaluating performance, the sustainability movement will gain legitimacy.”
Gargi Chakrabarty: 303-954-2976 or gchakrabarty@denverpost.com
