The world’s richest companies, that once fought in court against environmental activists are finding today that sustainability makes great economic sense. Customers appreciate that Starbucks uses recycled cardboard and wish it would use more, but the new twist is that sustainable paper saves the corporation money.
David Ford was a top timber lobbyist until he saw there was a third way available to the fighting factions of business and environmentalists. . .
He started a non-profit called MetaFore that recently drew 400 representatives to a leadership forum on sustainable paper products. Bank of America, Starbucks, Nike, Staples and Time Inc. joined environmental organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and Forest Ethics to talk about greening the corporate paper trail. One eco-activist said, “I never thought our group would end up working with big companies to help them sell paper products. . . We are realizing that if good products don’t make money, then (the environment doesn’t) win.”
— Read the excellent AP story at MSNBC.