Save the Planet? Bring on the green.

As I was starting a load of laundry this morning, using a bottle of newly released 2x concentrated detergent I was reminded of a post I'd been meaning to write.

The environmental movement has gained tremendous momentum in the last couple of years and I'm glad that it has - done correctly it's in all our best interest to take care of the planet and it is cerainly a stewardship issue.

I want to suggest something, however that some might question me on (and I might be wrong, but hear me out).

I am often skeptical of corporations that claim environmental purposes behind changes they make. Why? Because if you look at a lot of the things they're doing, the net result is 2-fold: great PR and more money for their bottomline.

Now, I'm a capitalist, so I have no problems with businesses making money. That is their job and managers have a fiduciary responsibility to the stakeholders/shareholders to maximize returns over the long-term. They have other responsibilities too, but that one is fundemental. So when a business rolls out a new product under the guise that it's going to save the environment I tend to ask myself a question: what is this initiative doing for the business financially?

In many cases I'm sure the motives of businesses are totally pure. And I have no doubt that there are people in every corporation in America that care deeply about things like global warming. But I stop short of buying that all the new initiatives we're seeing from businesses are really primarily aimed at environmental protection - these are afterall the same companies that have been ripped all over the place for decades for the waste they produce.

A couple of examples of things I question:

1. The aforementioned 2x Concentrated detergent. This one seems to be a P&G (Proctor & Gamble) brain child (P&G has always had PR issues, they're not exactly seen as the most socially reponsible organization in the world). Does concentrating the detergent reduce the amount used? Yes. Does it reduce the amount of plastic required for packaging? Absolutely. So in theory this is better for the environment. But what does it do for their bottom line? Well, it makes it more likely that you're going to use too much with each load and since the price seems to have gone up inversely proportional to the concentration that means you're going to spend more when you use too much (and you'll notice the fill line in the caps are now way down in there, so filling to the brim is complete overkill now, much more than before). It also means that the containers are smaller (a benefit for the consumer), but also a way to reduce transit costs in a time of exceedingly high fuel costs. Not to mention the money they're saving on packaging (did I mention that this stuff didn't get any cheaper per load)?

2. Hotels requesting that you reuse your towels to save water and detergent and in the process the planet. Is this a good practice for the environment? Yes, of course. I certainly use my towels at home a couple of times before washing them and I'm not opposed to doing so at a hotel. But what's this really doing for the hotel? It's saving money on things like water and detergent, but perhaps more importantly it is reducing their labor costs (which are significant) because they use less man hours each day doing laundry and it reduces the time it takes housekeeping to make up a room.

Is this a cynical view? Yes, sadly it is. But please don't miss what I'm getting at here. It's not that I think we should reject these efforts and others like them. I just want people to realize that large corporations may or may not really be as concerned about the environment as they want us all to think. Is what they're doing wrong? No, not at all. Kudos to them for finding ways to benefit the planet, become more financially efficient, and get some good PR in the process (that's management gold). Just don't assume that there's nothing in it for the company aside from the peace of mind that they're making an effort to save the planet. My question for some of these companies would be, so what are you doing for the environment that doesn't make you money? Doing things that make more money doesn't make a company green, it makes them shrewd. Doing things because they're the right thing to do, regardless of what it does for the bottomline make the company a good steward (of the enviroment, resources, dollars, people, etc.).

I'm done. Let the tomato throwing commence.