Companies and Conservation Come Together

Caught in an interesting crossroads are two converging ideas in the world of utilities: global warming and business.  Carbon emissions put out by large companies across the country are leading to global warming and it appears they are finally accepting the blame.  So, they have decided to try a more eco-friendly approach by trying to reduce their carbon emissions while maintaining their businesses.

Georgia Power and the Nature Conservancy sponsored a panel to address how to deal with these hot-button issues. The panel consisting of 100 representatives from big name companies such as Kimberly-Clark, UPS and King and Spalding met last Thursday with others from universities, environmental groups and government agencies in Atlanta, GA.  They all agreed that our nation’s companies can simultaneously help themselves and the environment by planting trees in cleared areas, even as far as Indonesia and Brazil.  Paying for this protective measure will mean carbon credits, considered to be a cost-effective to limit their carbon emissions while keeping their customers satisfied.

Planting trees may not seem like a big deal, but our destructive habit of deforestation has been shown to be the second-leading cause of global greenhouse gas emissions.  This problem is even worse outside of the U.S.  Reforesting will allow trees to absorb our emissions; cutting them down only releases their absorbed emissions back into the environment.  Degradation is dangerous to the global environment, but many countries can turn a profit by cutting down their forests to use for logging, mining and space for agriculture.  But the panel agrees that individual landowners and governments will be compensated for the land that is reforested.  And we can all enjoy the compensation to our environment, which will help to reduce our climate change problem.

I’m glad to see that companies are starting to take this seriously, although it is most likely due to the fact that we as consumers with environmental concerns have pushed them to take responsibility and do something about it.  But that is a good thing.  And while the panel was hosted in Georgia, it has a national and global effect.  Because bringing businesses, consumers and organizations to the table to discuss better business practices, environmental safety and overall sustainability is what SocialYell is all about, I have to say that I am proud to see these panels popping up.  The simple act of dialoging about something is the first step towards progressive action.  Hopefully this will inspire other panels and even more action.  It is a big deal when we can get the attention of corporations, and even better when we can find a solution that generates an overall positive response.  So, keep yelling!  The world is listening.

Have a different opinion?  We’d love to hear about it!  Join SocialYell today to rate businesses, debate on hot-button issues in the forums and lend your voice to the way for social change.

Ashley Strickland is a senior at the University of Georgia. She is a summer intern for SocialYell and blogs about health, social equity, consumer advocacy, charity, sustainability and just about anything green.

Photo courtesy of nortinirt/Flickr