You'd Be Surprised At How Responsible These 4 Huge Corporations Are Trying To Be

This post is sponsored by UPS.

Why would a corporation want to make itself more sustainable? Because it's good business.

It takes real effort (and a lot of moving parts) to change a big company, but those with serious sustainability goals can become more efficient, improve their reputations, and find new business opportunities.

Here are four major corporations - a car manufacturer, a furniture retailer, a food packager, and a bank - with one thing in common: They're all trying to carry out ambitious sustainability plans.

Heading Back To The Farm

Leading packaged food-maker General Mills has a long history in sustainability: Back in the 1930s, its Green Giant brand encouraged crop rotation as a way to protect farmland from the then-devastating Dust Bowl. According to its most recent sustainability report, General Mills plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage, and water usage by 20% within two years, and solid waste generation by 50%.

But as its operations got cleaner, the company discovered a larger problem at the beginning of its supply chain. The farms where General Mills gets raw materials such as corn, oats, and sugar are responsible for nearly two-thirds of the company's overall greenhouse gas emissions and 99% of its water usage.

Top suppliers must now complete a scorecard on how much energy and water they use, along with how much greenhouse gas and solid waste they generate. Over time, General Mills will favor the cleaner suppliers in its purchasing. The company is working with the World Wildlife Fund to meet its goal of sustainably sourcing 100% of its top 10 ingredients by 2020.

Feel Better About Assembling That Bookcase

Swedish company Ikea is the world's largest furniture retailer, with stores in 26 countries. It says 91% of its main home furnishing materials, including packaging, are made from renewable, recyclable, or recycled goods. By the end of fiscal 2014, 100% of it will be. Worldwide, Ikea is investing $2.01 billion in solar and wind energy.

Ikea uses wood in a lot of its products, but wood isn't automatically sustainable if it's been logged illegally or taken from forests that aren't managed responsibly. The retailer partners with various nonprofits to support responsible forestry. In addition, the company is encouraging sustainability at home. As Ikea's sustainability report states, "To change behavior, it's important to find approaches that are relevant to how people actually live."

To that end, they sell energy efficient appliances, recycling bins for small kitchens, and lamps pre-fitted with energy-efficient LEDs (by the end of 2016, all the lighting they sell will be converted to LED). In the U.K., they are selling solar panels directly to the consumer and also letting customers with electric vehicles get free fast-charges for their cars while they shop.

Pushing Fewer Papers

The financial services behemoth Bank of America has announced a 10-year goal to invest $50 billion (on top of $20 billion already invested) toward for-profit projects devoted to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and alternative transportation. BofA says the move will create jobs and generate profits.

Recently, BofA examined its procedures and supply chain, cutting down on paper consumption by 20%. And by managing energy better and consolidating office space, the bank also reduced energy usage by 25% and water usage by 20%.

BofA volunteers are encouraged to participate in various conservation efforts, such as the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup. Each September, BofA volunteers spend a day picking up cigarette butts, food wrappers, fishing nets, and appliances polluting our waterways. Other efforts include a $250,000 grant from their foundation to conduct urban forest assessments in five U.S. cities.

Where Did That Car Seat Come From?

Ford conducts a public analysis of its sustainability strengths and weaknesses, with goals prioritized on a decision matrix. Among other initiatives, they've reduced their global water use by more than 10 billion gallons.

The car manufacturer tries to make its supply chain transparent so they'll know the original source of all of its raw materials - which sounds like it should be an easy process, but it actually isn't for a huge global corporation like Ford. That's because Ford's suppliers often have their own suppliers, making it difficult to find out the point of origin for something like the leather used in car seats or the chrome used on the trim. Ford is also actively working toward making sure there is no forced labor or trafficking anywhere in the chain.

Along with Bank of America, Ford is an investor in a billion-dollar "green bond" that has been set up to support "climate smart" investments in emerging markets, according to GreenBiz.com.

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