How Waiakea Water and Other Brands Are Meeting Their Environmental Objectives

Not that many years ago, people believed that the Earth had infinite resources to exploit. Businesses could freely use these resources to produce products and nature wouldn’t be harmed or would adapt. That’s now known to be a false notion.

Many companies and people recognize they need to do things in a more environmentally-friendly way if we’re going to protect the planet, the resources that are left, and future generations.

Some companies, unfortunately, continue to seemingly not care how they negatively impact the environment. They spill millions of gallons of oil into the ocean and don’t maintain oil pipelines so they end up poisoning near wetlands.

Plenty more companies, though, recognize that they need to operate more sustainably if Earth and their businesses are going to survive. Here’s how some companies stand out by taking their environmental responsibilities seriously.

IKEA

This company has invested in sustainability initiatives throughout its operations. Their supply chain sources 50% of the wood for its furniture from sustainable foresters. 100% of the cotton IKEA sources meet the Better Cotton Standard. This standard puts a limit on how much energy water, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers are used.

IKEA has installed over 700,000 solar panels on the roofs of its stores. A few years ago, they started selling solar panels to customers in the United Kingdom. Not only does 100% of its stores’ energy come from solar but they net export electricity, exceeding the goal they had set for 2020.

Panasonic

This company has won high marks from experts for its sustainability initiatives. In addition to reducing the amount of energy it uses and converting to renewable energy, it also makes environmentally friendly products. It moved its North American headquarters to a LEED-certified building in Newark, New Jersey. Panasonic intentionally chose a location next door to Penn Station so that employees could take mass transit to and from work. They are also building a Sustainable Smart Town in Japan along with business partners.

Waiakea Water

This premium bottled water brand has been operating sustainably and ethically since it was founded in 2012. It was the world’s first bottled water and beverage brand to achieve a CarbonNeutral certification for the way it manufactures bottles. The water it sources comes from an aquifer, which has a 1.4 billion gallon recharge rate. This makes using this water sustainable.

Waiakea Water partnered with Pump Aid. It’s a nonprofit that builds fresh water wells in rural Africa. Over 1.35 million people have been given access to water as a result of this partnership. 3,200 Elephant Pumps have been installed and over 500 million liters of water have been donated.

Seventh Generation

This company created the green household cleaners industry. Cleaning products inevitably end up being washed down a drain and ending up in the sewer system. Wastewater treatment plants can only do so much to remove the harsh chemicals found in conventional household cleaners. Seventh Generation showed that green cleaning products are just as effective as conventional ones.