Because the climate does count.
July 10th, 2007 by Matt
We’ve got to give props to the Utne Reader for pointing this sucker out to us. And what is “this sucker” exactly? ClimateCounts.org. And what exactly is ClimateCounts.org? I’m glad you asked, baby:
Climate Counts is a collaborative effort to bring consumers and companies together in the fight against global climate change. We have come together with a shared conviction that the time for talk about global warming has passed, and that significant corporate, consumer, and political action is now necessary.
Our goal is to motivate deeper awareness among consumers–not only that the issue of climate change demands their attention, but also that they have the power to support companies that take climate change seriously–and avoid those that don’t. When consumers take action and raise their voices on issues that matter to them, businesses pay attention. A loud and clear consumer movement that demands more aggressive corporate action on climate change will not fall on deaf ears.
Here’s the meat and the mashed potatoes: Climate Counts provides a listing of major corporations and gives them a score based on their commitment to curbing global warming from within their companies. The scores of the businesses aren’t like they are in golf: a low score is bad to the bone. So I was mouth-agape stunned to learn that the incredibly progressive Apple received a score of 2, while IBM scored a 70 (we’re not making a switch anytime soon, though, for reasons explained below). And I know some folks out there will be glad to know that Coke earned a 57, and Pepsi a lowly 26.
Understandably, we should know who’s behind this service: “Stonyfield Farm, Inc., the world’s leading organic yogurt company” and “Clean Air-Cool Planet, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming.” So, we’ll count them as reliable sources (Stonyfield Farm only gives themselves a 63, by the way, and they were “America’s first manufacturer to offset 100 percent of its CO2 emissions from its facility energy use”).
But we need to keep in mind that when choosing businesses to support with our bucks, we might want to consider other factors such as labor practices, health coverage for employees, and impact on small businesses.
After learning about the scores, consumers can take some actions. Obviously, we can choose whether or not to continue using the products and services of each company, but through ClimateCounts.org we can also easily email the corporations. The latter seems like a useful step to help change our favorite companies without dismissing their products. Because we kind of have a love affair going with Macs, we plan on shooting an e-letter to the Apple folks to urge them to get on the environmental ball. It just goes to show that even the best big-businesses can always be better.
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