Three Corporations Known For Being Green

Google’s official Motto is “Don’t be evil”. It should come as no surprise then that the company takes it’s environmental impact seriously.

Google has been carbon neutral since 2007. The company has been able to achieve carbon neutrality by maintaining highly efficient operations. For example, Google’s data centers use fifty percent less energy than typical data centers. As well, Google’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California employs many green initiatives, such as a widely-used shuttle service, the serving of locally-grown food, and the utilization of solar panels.

Google is able to offset the carbon it does generate by purchasing carbon offsets. This includes paying for projects that have the direct result of reducing carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

All-in-all, it is quite clear that Google takes its environmental impact seriously.

As a corporation, Patagonia’s respect for the environment is deeply engrained in its corporate culture. Patagonia’s green initiatives extend beyond policies aimed at reducing its environmental impact, to outright activism.

For example, prior to the 2014 mid-term elections in the United States, Patagonia led a campaign encouraging voters to “vote the environment”. That is, voters were encouraged to vote for the candidate that displayed the greatest commitment to enacting environmentally friendly policies.

Patagonia’s activism also extends to its ad campaigns. In 2011, Patagonia incorporated the message “don’t dam Patagonia” into its catalogue. At the time, the Patagonia region of South America – and the company’s namesake – was at risk of suffering extensive environmental damage due to proposed extensive damming in the region. The campaign was successful in raising awareness of the destructive flooding that would occur if the proposed dams were built. In 2014, the Chilean government finally rejected one of the more destructive dam projects.

Bullfrog Power is a leading Canadian company in the renewable energy distribution space. Rather than achieving it’s environmental goals through efficiencies or activism, Bullfrog Power is green by nature as a result of its innovative business model. The company allows business and residential energy consumers on the conventional grid to purchase energy that comes from 100% renewable sources.

Bullfrog does not distribute energy resources – whether electricity or natural gas – to its customers directly. Rather the company supplies its renewable energy to the grid, making the net result the same.

As a result of Bullfrog’s innovative business model, businesses and consumers have the opportunity to reduce their environmental footprint drastically. This makes Bullfrog one of the best-known Canadian companies leading the charge toward environmental sustainability.