My focus these days is on sustainability—and I am talking about it in all of its forms. My family and I are looking at our home and our personal habits, what we consume and recycle, and rethinking what we need versus what we want. I have an ever-growing pile of books on sustainability that I am tearing through. There is a real sense of urgency about the need to understand the impact that all of us are having on the world and its resources.
Lately, I have been helping with a Fort Collins TEDx conference in April 2012, hosted by CSU, Colorado State University, on sustainability. A small group of college students are organizing it but I have enjoyed brainstorming with the lead organizer about all the different aspects of a conference of this size, from what topics should be covered to how to feed the attendees sustainably. I am managing their twitter account and helping with social media ideas. It is fun and I am learning about local sustainability concerns and efforts. Many young people understand the urgency of this issue. They know that as China, India and Brazil expand into their new roles as economic power centers and consumers of the earth’s resources, the supply of raw materials for production is being spread thinner and that we have to act now to change our culture to one that embraces sustainable practices, both as individual consumers and corporations.
Most of what I read about corporate sustainability focuses on the for profit world. But lately I’ve been thinking about how to best help nonprofits to embrace this way of delivering their services. There is a leftover notion that “going green” is expensive. This idea persists from the time when actions to manage waste in a company were remedial. In other words, the business continued to make widgets the same way, but tried to figure out a way to dispose of the waste created in the production of the widgets. Along the way, there have been environmental regulations that changed the model to a compliance effort. But now, many businesses are owning the sustainability issue and making it a part of their corporate culture. Everyone participates and offers ways to reduce waste, improve quality, and foster innovation. Zero waste is the goal.
How does this apply to nonprofits? This is an issue that is only now getting some attention. Since money issues tend to plague nonprofits, would a conversion to a sustainability standard cost more or would it end up saving money? Would funders be willing to fund a conversion to more sustainable practices, including the use of green office supplies, upgrading lighting to LED bulbs, the purchase of a hybrid vehicle or new energy-efficient appliances, or the institution of a recycling program? Some of these ideas could be instituted without input from funders, but should funders care how green a nonprofit is?
For profit businesses that are engaged in sustainability efforts provide reports on their progress to shareholders, investors and customers. It gives them a marketing edge and actually improves their bottom line because there is less waste, more efficiency and innovative ideas coming out of the effort. I have not yet seen funders or foundations ask for any sort of evidence or report on a nonprofit’s sustainability plan as part of a grant application, but I would not be surprised to see it coming. Funders and contributors to nonprofits want to know that their money is being spent wisely and supports the mission of the nonprofit. An effort to include sustainability practices should be part of every nonprofit’s mission because it decreases the organization’s environmental impact, lowers the cost of operation and sends the right message to the community it serves.
Sustainability is everyone’s responsibility, including nonprofits. Foundations, funders, and contributors to nonprofits must encourage and support this effort by being willing to fund conversion efforts to more sustainable practices. Once nonprofits make this change, there will be a reduction in unnecessary waste and energy costs, which will save money and direct funding back into services and programming.
Plastic: The Immortal Container
There are few days that go by where I don’t find myself worrying about the environmental impact of the lives that we lead. That may sound dramatic, but look around you. Look at the items under your sink, in your medicine cabinet, or in your cupboard. Chances are, most of the items you’ll find are housed in some sort of plastic container. Think about the bottles of over-the-counter medications, laundry detergent, shampoo, milk containers, the thin plastic bags that you brought your broccoli home in, kid’s toys, and on and on. The amount of plastic in our individual lives is huge. Now think about our collective lives. All day long, we are provided with plastic that we use and throw away or which houses something else we need. When it is empty, we toss it. We may try to recycle some of it, but most plastic isn’t designed to be re-used—which is unfortunate because it lasts almost forever.
I don’t know if it is too late for the world to turn around. When I was a kid, I remember the big push to get people not to litter. The slogan was “Please, please–don’t be a litter bug cause every litter bit hurts.” Remember? It took awhile but people did eventually grasp that message and it is a rare thing to see someone just throw their trash on the ground and walk away. Is it too late to change the way we consume products? It’s hard to say.
Many people now bring their own reusable cloth or recycled grocery bags with them to the store. That’s a good thing and something that many European countries have made the norm for many years. When I was in Paris a few years ago, I was surprised to find that products, such as yogurt, came in glass containers. Remember when our products were in glass? Mayonnaise, milk, spices, orange juice–even soda. Now more and more items are made in single-serving size plastic containers. Convenience is big for Americans and single servings make life easier. At least it seems to.
I am not suggesting anything revolutionary, but perhaps we can all try just a little harder to pay attention to packaging and make that a part of our consumer purchasing behavior. Plastic contains petroleum. If an item comes in a glass bottle, rather than plastic, buy the glass and recycle it. Unless you will waste the food, buying a bigger size and dividing it into single serving portions may be environmentally friendlier and less expensive.
And if you recycle, make sure you are doing it correctly. Many items that would seem to be recyclable are not, if they are contaminated with food, such as a cardboard pizza box. The waxed plastic cardboard of milk cartons is not recyclable. To recycle properly, you usually have to take the extra step of rinsing, or even washing out, the container. If you don’t, the recycling company ends up throwing it away and it ends up in the garbage with the other non-recyclables.
Personally, I think that the time is coming when we are will be forced to adopt energy-saving practices, all across our lives. Until then, I hope we can all learn to be more aware of the life-span of each item we bring into our lives and make better choices. Do what you can, because everything we do in this regard matters far more than we know.
Posted by Marilyn P. Fried on April 16, 2012 in Commentary
Tags: garbage, litter, plastic, recycle, single-serving, single-use