An opportunity to do business better
March 05, 2013
Just read a thoughtful article by Jo Confino on the difficulty - but importance - of getting people to understand that what we choose to spend our money on has environmental and societal consequences. The more we purchase and discard without holding companies and ourselves accountable to the environmental degradation that results from manufacturing and distribution, the worse off the planet is for our children. And, as my friend Carbon War Room President Jose Maria Figueres says, there is no planet B.
You could look at the situation as bleak but it’s actually an opportunity to do business better and help others at the same time. Consumers have the power to convince companies to take responsibility for their environmental footprint and to invest in renewable energy solutions and other energy-efficient practices that will keep our planet in business.
The hospitality industry has got a head start on this approach and is tackling a challenge that I find very troubling: plastic bottle waste. Through a new initiative called Whole World Water, hotels and restaurants commit to filtering water onsite and bottling it in beautiful recycled glass bottles - with a portion of proceeds going to local clean water projects so that one billion people can get access to safe drinking water. This video is my message to the hospitality industry to join Whole World Water.
There is obviously a lot more to be done in every industry but the hotel sector has figured out how to help guests do the right thing. By choosing a filtered alternative over plastic water bottles, guests will help to eliminate both the planet’s terrible plastic waste and drinking water problems.
As more hotels and restaurants adopt this simple solution, what else can be done to reduce plastic waste? And what are some other examples of industry-wide approaches to an environmental or societal challenge?
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