Green Mega-Corporations

Many of us have longed for the government to step in and regulate mega-corporations, to no avail. But now these giants are opting to step up to the plate, making enormous dents in our most pressing environmental problems. The WWF estimates that by 2010, its Climate Saver partners (which include Nike, IBM, HP, Sony among others) will save 14 million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking 3 million cars off the road.

JohnsonDiversey, one of the largest cleaning products companies in the world, surprised many by recently announcing their latest in a series of major green initiatives -- certification through the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers program. 

At a cost of $19 million, this mega-corporation will be able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 8%, saving 89,000 tons of CO2 equivalents (CO2, CH4, and NxO) annually.  The payoff?  Aside from the awesome marketing opportunity, they will see a 163% ROI, netting $31 million in operational savings.  A pretty clean investment, I would say.

JohnsonDiversey in particular has a staggering reach.  With sales in 160 countries, their cleaning products are used in schools, hospitals, stadiums, restaurants, hotels, amusement parks, offices, and most major chain stores.  There are few places in the US that have not been cleaned by their products.  CEO Ed Lonergan and Curt Johnson realized that with this huge reach comes a responsibility, not only to make their own company more planet-friendly, but to help their vast network of clients do the same.