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Today is the 39th annual celebration of Earth Day, a “holiday” created in 1970 to increase awareness for environmental protection. People around the world will plant trees, conserve electricity and water, stop driving, and make changes to their habits today in an effort to reduce their impact on our planet. Businesses have also taken note of Earth Day, and many of them have enacted policies or planned special activities for today. Companies in many industries are going green not only to improve their green policies, but also to attract employees and customers who care about the environment.

As the L.A. Daily News is reporting, Anheuser-Busch has Earth Day festivities planned at many of their 12 facilities around the country. Employees will telecommute, carpool, and use alternative transportation this week, as well as participate in tree planting and conservation exercises. Their website’s landing page takes visitors to a new section highlighting their involvement in green projects and their commitment to recycling and conservation. As their Employee Involvement section says, “Through these efforts, we hope to foster a community that has a desire to give back in order to preserve the environment around us. At Anheuser-Busch, we realize that we don’t just work in this world. We live in it.”

Another company working to improve their green quotient is Whole Foods, a grocer specializing in organic and healthy foods. Whole Foods vowed to end their use of plastic, disposable grocery bags by today. As a January press release explains, “Together with our shoppers, our gift to the planet this Earth Day will be reducing our environmental impact as we estimate we will keep 100 million new plastic grocery bags out of our environment between Earth Day and the end of this year alone.” Whole Foods is not the only grocery chain to make an Earth Day commitment. Safeway is converting many of its California locations to solar power. They also buy electricity for their stores from wind projects around the country, making them the 3rd largest retail purchaser of renewable energy. In honor of Earth Day, Safeway added two more store locations to their growing solar grid.

Businesses in other industries are also doing their part to participate in Earth Day. On the media front, The Weather Channel’s eco-friendly imprint Forecast Earth is carrying special programming to help viewers understand the global climate crisis. Their campaign, called “Help Make Every Day Earth Day”, gives viewers (and readers of their website) the opportunity to create videos and blog pieces about green issues. Users can submit their own content to share their ideas and strategies for going green. One video highlights the founder of Eco Envelopes, Ann DeLaVergne, whose company reduces the waste caused by reply envelopes. The Weather Channel has a massive audience, and therefore a massive platform with which to make an positive environmental impact. Their willingness to feature green content, and their ability to motivate viewers to do the same, represents the power that Earth Day has to change people’s minds.

Companies who make efforts to become more eco-friendly are not just becoming more responsible, but they are also influencing their customers and employees. Not only are customers looking for green options, but job seekers are become more conscious of their employer’s actions. As a recent Environmental News Network article points out, “A majority of U.S. workers (64 percent) say that their decision to work for a company or purchase its products are “strongly” or “somewhat” influenced by a company’s environmental practices or polices.” Indeed, as a new generation of green young people enter the workforce, a company’s ability to attract them through environmental responsibility may become a major factor for recruiters.

Environmental responsibility is not just an individual value anymore. Businesses around the world are taking up the pledge to honor Earth Day by improving their green policies. These businesses are well-positioned to have a competitive advantage as consumers and employees reward those who go green.

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

By Haley January Eckels