Earth Day Greetings! What is Earth Day and why does it matter to your business? Earth Day was founded to put environmental issues on the nation's political agenda. It certainly is on the national agenda in 2008. Do you feel inundated by news stories about going green? Just today I heard on the radio how one national cafeteria vendor is incorporating the slow food movement into their cafeteria management by going on a low "carb" diet, which in this case is a low-carbon emitting plan, read about how one San Francisco Air District is weighing fees on greenhouse gas emissions and learned about the Environmental Protection Agency's new initiative to encourage the building industry to adopt green building practices and to enhance public awareness of the benefits of green buildings.
Why does this matter? Because customers and consumers are hearing the same messages. Editorials are changing from when is the United States going to address environmental impacts to how. As green takes center stage, we are facing a heightened awareness and a more educated consumer base. So, has the original Earth Day goal been met? Is the environment on the political agenda? One can argue that it is. One commentator today discussed whether the next president of the United States will be able to undertake climate change as a legislative priority and one Indiana gubernatorial candidate is running a platform of creating Green Collar jobs in Indiana.
"Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events: 'Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems...is being planned for next spring...when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned....'" With a change in terminology to green, sustainable and renewable, there is again a proliferation of reporting on environmental events and a renewed sense of enthusiasm and energy for Earth Day, 2008.
Ice Miller is celebrating Earth Day by renewing its commitment to being a green business and by joining the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Green Business Initiative. Ice Miller has pledged to continually strive toward green business practices, and to operate to conserve natural resources and eliminate waste. For more information on the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce's Green Business initiative, email GreenBusiness@indylink.com.
