Last night, with two people I had just met, I had an amazing conversation regarding definitions.  What is “sustainability”?  What does “greener living” actually mean?  Are there actual standards for these words.

Sean, a new friend, brought up something about Michelin determining nine new initiatives for the company and that six of them focus on sustainability.  According to the conversation, the spokesperson was asked to define what sustainability meant to the company, and the answer was something along the lines of being able to continue manufacturing the best tires on the road, to provide continued work to their employees, etc.

I realized how, skeptics that we are, such an answer often provokes sneers and jeers from environmentalists.  Likewise, for skeptics of environmentalism, such an answer is used as fuel to argue what a joke “sustainability” is.

“Ha!  They’ve defined it themselves.  Their ’sustainability’ has nothing to do with the environment and is all about their bottom line!  Both ’sustainability’ and corporate America are a joke!” both sides say.

To you, I cheerfully say, WAKE UP!  Welcome to the triple bottom line, and realize that measures toward social, environmental, and financial progress is the ultimate answer to our societal and economic ails.

Simply put, I do not believe “sustainability” can be singularly defined.  Honestly, any corporate entity must look at more than their “environmental impact” in deciding the “right” way to conduct business.  

Taking care of employees is vital to corporate and personal sustainability.  This includes affordable health care.  Reasonable pay for work rendered.  Cutting outrages bonuses from execs when times get tough for the nation.  These tactics keep the business afloat (hopefully) during recessions and shows employees gratitude for their hard work by rewarding them with the promise of health to their families.

Environmentally, in many ways, making your building more energy efficient and initiating gas-conservation tactics for your fleet help the environment.  Sometimes, those initiatives cost more initially, but will dramatically reduce expenses in the long term.  Thus, what is “right” for the environment is also “right” for the company bank account.  

 We would love to think companies are thinking more altruistically in these times, but honestly, UPS didn’t “Go Green” purely so that Indian will stop crying.  They knew they would save money, and the goodwill from the citizens that their efforts earned give them PR that no money can buy.  Genius.

If that turns you off from UPS and other companies making “greener” efforts, think again.  Regardless of their motives, consider how much of a difference UPS makes alone on airline emissions:

With almost 600 jets, the Atlanta company ranks as one of the biggest airlines in the world. As part of its environmental effort to curb emissions, UPS is looking to cut down on the amount of fuel its planes consume by reducing the amount of time jets spend idling on the tarmac before they take off, UPS chief information officer David Barnes tells the Business Technology Blog.

That doesn’t even take into account their ground fleet of hybrids, efficient routing, paperless invoices, etc.  Kudos to them!  I do not ask why they chose these efforts.  I applaud their commitment to progress and reevaluation.

I may not agree with many practices of Walmart, but I have even stopped touting them as the Anti-Christ because of their continued efforts to be more environmentally sound.  Now, if they would focus on the social aspect of the Triple Bottom Line… but I digress.

After Sean got me thinking about our terminology and what a joke it is, I still have to say, I feel more optimistic and empowered than ever.  Whether these companies have progressive, conscientious CEOs, or whether they feel the heat of consumer demands and expectations, or even if these companies are looking for the best ways to save money without resorting to sweatshops and toxic materials, more companies are growing sustainably every day.

And I will continue to applaud them.  Vocally, but more importantly, with my money.  Believe me, they hear money louder than any other tactic.  If you buy, they keep working on goals they already have.  If the money starts to dry up, they rethink what they do.

When I need new tires, you can count on the fact I’ll be looking toward Michelin for mine.  And if those two articles don’t convince you to do the same, maybe this one will.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Recently I had to purchase a new car (new to me, at least) due to an accident back in September. I had been driving a 2006 Impala with combined 30 mpg, and I knew that this unfortunate event had the silver lining of allowing me to talk with my money about environmental issues that matter to me.

Needless to say, I have ZERO interest or use for an SUV.  Truly, most people who have an SUV have no excuse to have one except they think it looks big and cool.

Hybrids, frankly, were no option.  I had $13K to work with, and I refuse to have a car payment.  I’m lucky that I don’t have to make monthly payments to that, and I refuse to start by choice.  Cash, up-front, and done.  It’s mine.

With hybrids being not affordable (including pre-owned 2004 models, which were still fetching $15K), I looked into the Smart Cars.  Affordable, but as stated in a previous post, I also refuse to drive a small, fragile vehicle that cannot ultimately protect Marc, myself, and our passengers in the event of an accident.  We got incredibly lucky with the first in that the driver at fault was not driving an SUV when she t-boned us.

This week, I saw a flurry of articles online supporting my fears.  Had I gotten a smaller hybrid or such, I would have been paying out the wazoo for insuring it!  Turns out these cars do not stand up well in accidents, resulting in insurance premiums to cover the high personal-injury claims that such accidents cause.

Other costs leading to high insurance, as sited in the article, are maintenance and repair costs of alternative-fuel vehicles, street racing incidences, and theft rates of compact cars.

Cost is not the end-all-be-all for me, and I believe that efficient vehicles are the long-term cost-effective solution.  We all still inhabit a world, however, where we can only do what our wallets allow.  Still yet, the biggest point for me is safety.  I actually feel like I NEED a mid-sized car just to have a CHANCE in surviving a serious impact.

Thankfully, driving smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles is becoming cool and will eventually become more affordable.  Unfortunately, driving demolition monster-trucks and SUVs is also still “cool” in our culture.  And in an odd world where people think it is OK to text, talk, email, and jam while driving (totally ignoring our culture’s tendency to drink and drive), we each have a lot of considerations when choosing a vehicle.

In case you hadn’t heard, I chose an almost exact replacement.  Gina is salvaging other Impalas, and Lelee, a 2007 Impala, is taking care of me now.

Safe driving and sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue Allen

I watch a silly show:  Kimora Lee Simmons: Life in the Fab Lane.  A couple weeks back I was going to write a post on how her Fashion Week plans could have been much more eco-friendly and less dramatic had she not hired a Chinese factory to produce her men’s clothing line (which were late in being flown to LA).  I hesitated, however, and Kimora came through in this week’s episode ”Smells Like Fabulosity” with even more green fodder.

Truth of it is, there’s no need for me to give a full-on analysis of how contrived of an episode it was, juggling moments of her eco-spending spree, hybrid SUV purchasing, and “Going Green!” chants with the filming of her new commercial touting her choice of transportation via personal cars, chauffeurs, and a private jet.  Pennyrile does a better job than Icould.  By the way, Pennyrile, I dig your perspective.  Grounded, realistic, and without the pretentious idea of instantaneous green-perfection. 

As cute as her daughters are in absorbing the “go green” messages Kimora was teaching, I WISH Kimora had taken a more realistic and honest approach, as I feel it would inspire more people than she did with an episode that seemed entirely too gimmicky and ultimately like a self-absorbed publicity stunt.

But hey, maybe she really was inspired to do her part, and gimmicky is just Kimora’s style.  Effort deserves applause, right.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

PS.  The Daily Green touches on some of Hollywood’s more annoying Green Trends that border on blatantly hypocritical, and that’s actually how I felt about this episode of Fab Lane.