Environment

Mixed Message

I caught a couple minutes of an National Basketball Association game on television this weekend.  During the broadcast a commentator highlighted the environmental sustainability steps taken by the NBA.  I thought, ‘good for them.’  As I held this thought I watched a commercial jet take-off from our local airport and I began to wonder.  After a little time on the internet I discovered that a couple of NBA teams are working to incorporate carbon offsets or green architecture into their franchises to mitigate their carbon footprint. What I could not find was a program to address the impact of the NBA’s travel schedule.  82 games a season with 41 away games equates to 82 at least segments in a private/leased jet (before you account for preseason and playoffs).  Thirty teams play in the league which totals 2,460 take-offs a season.  Just focusing on the air portion of the travel I could not discover any specific initiative to schedule games in a manner that prioritized efficient air travel.  If the NBA wants to incorporate a real statement about its commitment towards sustainability they might focus on scheduling games using the same strategy of a small company.  If you put a sales associate in New York, why not continue to New Jersey, Boston, and Philadelphia instead of flying back to Denver or Los Angles between visits to each city?

Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Hockey Association, and collegiate sports all have an opportunity to make an remarkable statement about their environmental sustainability commitment.  It is a positive step to see conservation and sustainability programs in place but if this is a core value for a league, address the largest sources of your environmental impact.


If Walmart started charging five cents for each plastic bags at checkout, it would give license to many stores to match their lead.  If one professional sports league addressed their carbon footprint caused by air travel it would put a spotlight on all the other leagues.


Is your organization living its core values?  Do you need to show-and-tell all the steps you have taken or is it self-evident?

Game Changing Beetle

I read an article in Forbes magazine that discussed the impact of the Bark beetle that is infested the lodge pole pine trees across the west. It has added many opportunities for the logging industry, so much so that they cannot keep up with demand. It has also changed the landscape and threatened to change the iconic images portrayed in the visitor bureau’s website. Visiting Winter Park, Colorado last summer I was amazed at the expanse of dead trees across the valley. Now flying in and out of Denver I can see the altered landscape from above as the plane crossed the Indian Peak Wilderness Area. Having spent time in the valley over the years, I suddenly realize that this is a game changing event.

The impact of one small beetle is transformative. The beetle is now on a journey to change the look of much of the western landscape. How we react is still being debated.

Ecological Load Factor


Continuing to read a fine line by Hartmut Esslinger. He proposes developing a future market using a pricing index that includes an ‘ecological load factor’. Meaning that the environmental impact of an item a consumer purchases would have an ELF index and the price would increase if the process the manufacture used to produce the item is environmentally unfriendly. If the product utilizes green production processes, sustainable materials, uses less energy and is recycled or returned to the manufacture at the end of its lifespan, the ELF index would be low. If the product did not meet the standards set above then the price for the product would have a higher EFL index. The index would evaluate the ecological impact of manufacturing process of product, materials used and the cost to dispose of the product at the end of its life cycle. Currently, we give tax credits for green initiatives but consumers do not have to pay more at the point of purchase. How would the marketplace change if pricing were altered to reflect the ecological load factor of each item?

How do we prepare for changes to the marketplace? What might we anticipate that supports the mission of our organizations? Where is your enterprise on the ‘green movement’ scale?