Internet Reader: internal sustainability

(Image on right from flickr.com)
While our previous Internet Reader about sustainability was concerned with PR we didn't address one important PR audience every company shares: its own employees. This audience has to be considered with as much attention as more obvious external ones such as investors and consumers: employee good will is crucial to the success of a company. Their motivation to deliver and their loyalty are dependent on the company's image and reputation, which builds pride and commitment. And many companies are finding that sustainability efforts, while often costly to implement, bring savings in the long run. Below are examples of companies who have committed to employee participation in sustainability efforts.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. recently released its first sustainability report, a 5 year plan which focuses on the areas of environmental sustainability, health and wellness, philanthropy, workplace environment and ethical sourcing. They have detailed goals for each of these, but their goals for environmental sustainability include:
1) Conserve more than 60 million lbs. of PET plastic through package reengineering and increased use of post-consumer recycled material.
2) Improve energy efficiency in manufacturing operations by 10% per gallon of finished product.
3) Increase product shipments per gallon of fuel used by 20%.
4) Replace 60,000 vending machines and coolers with Energy Star-rated equipment that is approximately 30% more energy efficient.
5) Reduce water usage and wastewater discharge ratio in manufacturing operations by 10% per gallon of finished product.
6) Recycle 80% of solid waste in manufacturing.
These goals were created to reflect the best interests of the people who make, sell, buy, and invest in the company. They expect to improve company efficiency and employee commitment.
http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/509303-Dr_Pepper_Snapple_Group_releases_first_sustainability_report.php

In an effort to save money and become more environmentally friendly, Verizon has been experimenting with alternative-fuel vehicles and other methods of cutting costs and emissions.  Most of its vehicles have been replaced with Ford E-250 vans.  These vans are able to run on natural gas (CNG), which is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline or diesel fuel.  In addition to these new vans, Verizon has cut down on its CO2 emissions by cutting engine idle time. Since 2008, drivers of Verizon vehicles have conserved more than 2.7 million gallons of fuel, the equivalent amount of greenhouse gases emitted by about 4,580 vehicles annually. Every single Verizon driver has become aware of the contribution the company is making to sustainability through their efforts.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/verizon-to-cut-co2-emissions-by-converting-501-new-ford-e-series-vans-to-run-on-natural-gas-96130124.html
http://www.statesman.com/business/fleet-operators-pushing-toward-green-744155.html?page=2

Wal-Mart switched over to recycled cardboard for all of its boxing needs, and the store’s shelves are now stocked with many eco-friendly items such as photo frames made from recycled materials.  While conveying to employees its commitment to the environment, Walmart is finding the sustainable methods cost-effective.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/12/business/energy-environment/12sustain.html?_r=1

Once Wal-Mart realized that reducing carbon would help save the planet, as well as cut costs, the stores themselves and their employees took measures to save on energy and materials to dramatic results.  The next step for Wal-Mart was to find a way to reduce energy use of its suppliers, and so Wal-Mart came up with these three goals:
1)   100% renewable energy
2)   Zero waste
3)   Sustainable products for customers and practices for employees.
 Every Wal-Mart supplier recently received a 15-part questionnaire, asking for details on energy use and renewable practices. The company intends to use this information to issue a Sustainability Index for each of its products.  These won’t be completed for a year or two, but all over the globe, companies are racing to reduce their carbon footprints to get business from Wal-Mart.
http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news13565.html

Our previous Tribe Pictures Internet Reader about sustainability:
http://tribepictures.blogspot.com/2010/06/sustainability-and-pr-internet-reader.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-12791-Bay-Area-Green-Careers-Examiner~y2010m3d14-How-to-engage-employees-in-sustainability-initiatives

Tribe's intern for the summer

We are thrilled to have Leslie Wentworth (photo on the right) at Tribe, as a summer intern. Leslie is a student at Wesleyan where she will start her junior year in the fall. Leslie is interested in the creative aspect of filmmaking, particularly photography and art direction/costumes - check out her very stylish 40s outfit!

She's been contributing in various areas, in particular on Tribe's "Happiness project".
Here's what Leslie has to say about her experience so far:

            "The last film I made was a short documentary on the removal of peanut butter from my high school’s daily lunch menu. That was in 2007—so clearly my filmmaking experience is somewhat limited. Of course, this is certainly not due to lack of inspiration or interest to make my own film, but rather a severe lack of time and equipment.

            I was more than excited to join Tribe for the summer and gain more experience with filmmaking—not necessarily holding the camera and creating my own masterpiece, but learning about the process of filmmaking and all of the tasks and people involved. I find myself learning something new every day that I am at Tribe—and I’m not just saying this because it would probably not sound good if I didn’t.

            Though I love being a film major at Wesleyan, the education that I am receiving there is more of a basis for what I want to do in the future, as the primary focus of the major if film analysis. Right now I could rattle off the stylistic elements of a typical Fassbinder film and the six types of documentary, but I couldn’t tell you how to pitch an idea for a project and then get it financed.

            What I find most interesting about the creative process (at least what I’ve seen so far) is the amount of collaboration that is involved. In an analytical film paper, I discuss mostly the director’s choices in the film and how he/she creates comparisons, meanings, and images, but it is very rare to see a film made solely by one individual. When at the first creative meeting with recent Kenyon graduate and director of photography Carl Kriss and the Tribe team, Vern asked everyone what they thought about the project and if they had any ideas. I thought to myself, what do I know? I’m only a junior in college and have been here for six days!

            I realize now that the creative process is not just someone sitting down at a computer and pouring out their thoughts that eventually congeal into a fully developed, cohesive project. While the “happiness project” may for the most part be Vern’s brainchild, the input of others is necessary so as not to pigeonhole oneself into something that might be totally incomprehensible or boring to everyone else.

            Using my film studies knowledge, I suggested watching Chronicle of a Summer, a French documentary from 1960, as a starting reference to see what others have done on the subject of happiness in the past. While this film tends to concentrate more on simply getting the truth via cinema vertité at its purest rather than finding small, concrete, inspiring stories, at its heart is the question “Are you happy?” (Actually I thought the film was a bit dull and much too abstract in the sense that it eventually devolves into poeticizing the lives of a few everyday people instead of actually gauging the level of happiness in Paris in the 1960s.) I’m excited to see where the project goes and to be involved with it.

Here are some of the other projects similar to the happiness project. We looked at these to get a sense of what others have done in the past in terms of similar style and subject matter."

http://interviewproject.davidlynch.com/

http://www.imfromdriftwood.com/

http://www.wisdombook.org/

Leslie Wentworth

Tribe and Happiness

Tribe has been working on the "Happiness Project". No, we are not planning on turning every human being into one happy trooper. If only. We are interested in producing a project about happiness as this is probably the issue most crucial to us human beings. Happiness is a daunting subject which has got a lot of philosophers going for centuries. For millennia. What does it mean to be happy? If people say they're happy are they really happy? Can happiness be measured? We brushed these extricate interrogations aside and went for a simple approach: finding out from a variety of people what makes them happy. On a small scale. Or on a daily basis. Carl Kriss, a young filmmaker, has started working on the project under Vern's guidance. We're going to keep digging, hoping for a compelling collection of gold nuggets.

A still from an interview with a passenger who finds solace in distributing food to the homeless.