Apple and Lyft Announce Green Initiatives What are you doing to promote sustainability with your business?
By Nina Zipkin
For many companies, being green isn't just about doing good, but about boosting customer loyalty too.
Last year, for example, a study conducted by Unilever -- a company that does have an admittedly vested interest in knowing this kind of information -- polled 20,000 consumers in five countries and 33 percent said that given the option, they would choose to buy from brands that are focused on sustainability.
Recently, there have a been a spate of initiatives from major companies about what they are doing to to help the environment.
Related: Here's How to Save the Planet and Make a Profit
At the beginning of April, Apple announced that it was now run entirely on clean energy -- including its stores, offices and data centers in 43 countries -- and that 23 manufacturing partners were also on board.
The company also detailed a number of wind and solar energy projects in locales ranging from Nevada to China, along with a recycling robot in Texas. "We're going to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible … because we know the future depends on it," said CEO Tim Cook.
Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green said that starting this April, every Lyft ride is carbon neutral and characterized it as a multi-million dollar investment that was a top priority.
Related: 10 Ways to Make Your Business More Socially Conscious
"By committing significant financial resources to these offsets, we're building into our business a strong incentive to pursue shared rides and the displacement of gasoline-powered vehicles," Zimmer and Green wrote. "The more shared rides and clean vehicles on the platform, the fewer carbon offsets we will need to purchase."
Embattled restaurant chain Chipotle shared its goal of to divert half of all of its restaurant waste from landfills by 2020. According to a release put out by the company, they are already trending in that direction, with a 40 percent diversion rate in 2017.
What initiatives have you and your business put together for Earth Day? Let us know in the comments.
