Bank of America is setting new industry best practices for the environment. The bank announced that it will enhance its environmental programs with climate change and forest policies that take significant new steps in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, protection of intact forest ecosystems and transparent public reporting to all stakeholders.

Johnson Controls, a company already recognized for its environmental efforts with the World Environment Center Gold Medal, launched a global program called Blue Sky, to strengthen the company's focus and performance in two key areas: the environment and leadership development.

Norm Thompson Outfitters--Alliance for Environmental Innovation describes how retailer Norm Thompson Outfitters, working with the Environmental Defense Fund Alliance, made the switch to printing its catalogs on paper containing a minimum of 10% postconsumer recycled content.

DuPont's Sustainability Mission focuses on improved productivity to drive down costs, waste production, and energy demand. This case study by the International Institute for International Development focuses on DuPont's strategy for food and nutrition, and safety and security. Describes how the company has invested in agricultural businesses that provide seed, soy protein, and crop protection products.

Carpet maker Interface, Inc. has not only striven to reduce manufacturing waste, and powered some of its manufacturing with renewable energy, but is also implementing a Cool Carpet program to offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the entire lifecycle of its carpet.

Green Power Market Development Group is a collaboration of 12 leading corporations and the World Resources Institute dedicated to building corporate markets for green power. Their goal is to develop corporate markets for 1000 megawatts of new, cost competitive green power by 2010. Its members have purchased a total of 112 megawatts of green power since 2001.

The CEO of Moss, Inc, a Belfast, Maine-based manufacturer of aluminum and fabric display products, has announced that his company will strive toward producing no waste and no emissions. The company has identified seven opportunities for sustainability, and formed teams to address each opportunity by implementing strategies such as product buyback and brokering, as well as establishing a community advisory board.

The Sustainable Silicon Valley Project is a multi-stakeholder collaborative initiative to produce significant environmental improvement and resource conservation in Silicon Valley through the development and implementation of a regional environmental management system (EMS). The founding partners of the project are the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and the Silicon Valley Environmental Partnership.

WaterSolve International, LLC, a designer and manufacturer of advanced water purification systems, creates cost-effective, high-quality water for industry and communities.

Ideal Jacobs Corporation is a family owned and operated printing, plastic, and metal fabrication company established originally in 1921 as a printing company. The company uses an ISO 14000 Environmental Management System to realize a competitive advantage.

The Good Neighbor Project for Citizen Promotion of Sustainable Industries is a Cambridge, Massachusetts, effort to empower citizens to promote only sustainable, non-polluting industries within their communities. The program provides legal, technical and strategic expertise to help residents secure "good neighbor agreements."

Royal Philips Electronics released the company’s second annual sustainability report in 2004, which extends the company’s sustainability principles to Philips’ 50.000 suppliers. In addition, Philips pledges to develop five sustainable-product propositions by the end of 2004.

Sustainable Eco-Industrial Park describes a sustainable development action strategy in Northampton County, Virginia, one outcome of which is the Port of Cape Charles Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park for environmentally friendly businesses.

New Jersey State Office of Sustainability profiles the first state-level Office of Sustainability created in the United States. This Trenton, New Jersey office encourages sustainable business development in New Jersey through a variety of programs.

Sustainable Products Purchasers Coalition acts as a catalyst for the transformation of industry and the marketplace to develop, produce, and consume sustainable products—utilizing the Coalition's aggregate purchasing power to accelerate industry's adoption of the use of LCA tools to address the current need for clear and concise product environmental performance data.

UPS has formalized its examination of the triple bottom line with release of the company's first Corporate Sustainability Report. The report identifies performance measures for the company, chronicles company achievements in fuel savings and efficiency, and sets forth goals the company seeks to reach by 2007.

Yellowstone Business Partnership is a nonprofit organization in the area surrounding Yellowstone National Park that serves as a progressive voice for businesses that value the environment and communities as well as economic health.

Collections of Sustainable Business Success Stories

Green Gazelles
Provides case studies of "small, efficient and innovative businesses that are driving economic growth, creating new jobs and protecting the environment."

DOE's Office of Industrial Technologies BestPractices Program conducts plant assessments and demonstration projects. These evaluations often result in significant energy savings, reduced energy consumption, and improved public relations for industry partners.

CERES/ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards reward best practice in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social issues by United States and Canadian corporations and other organizations. Winners and judging are detailed online.

Business and Sustainable Development: A Global Guide provides links to worldwide case studies of businesses working to improve their sustainability profiles.

Portland's Business for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Program provides case studies on the winners of the annual BEST award program since 1993.

$mart Growth Eco-Industrial Case Studies highlight smart growth activities from Brownsville, TX; Nova Scotia (Canada); Tucson, AZ; San Francisco Bay, CA; Baltimore, MD; Youngsville, NC; Minneapolis, MN; Plattsburgh, NY; Eastville, VA; Raymond, Washington; Burlington, Vermont; Skagitt County, Washington; Shadyside, Maryland; Londonderry, New Hampshire; Trenton, New Jersey; and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Eco-Efficiency Case Study Database is sponsored by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the UN Environment Program. This vast database indexes case studies by eco-efficiency concept. Further, each case study provides information about the company/division size, geographical location and the project year.

Bay Area Council's Database of Best Practices is a searchable database of San Francisco's "Best Practices" that reduce the previous environmental impact of a company or its suppliers. These practices include innovative approaches to energy conservation, environmental building design, environmental management systems, pollution prevention, waste reduction and recycling.

World Resources Institute's Annotated Guide to Business and Environment Cases and Videos is an annotated bibliography that provides a comprehensive resource for all business and environment case materials. It includes cases and abstracts from a variety of sources, including Harvard Business School, MEB, the European Case Clearinghouse, Western Ontario Business School, National Pollution Prevention Center and the Darden School of Business. The bibliography is organized by discipline and is in a user-friendly format.

The International Network for Environmental Management's Case Study Collection provides case studies on the use of environmental management systems in corporations as well as in small and medium enterprises.

CasePlace.org provides cases and teaching materials to bring social impact management into business education.

Megalinks to success stories on other sites provide links to success stories on a wide variety of sustainable development topics, including Sustainable Business.

Last updated: July 23, 2004

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