Co-Winner: HanesBrands and O’Malley Hansen Communications – Using Green for Good in Latin America
HanesBrands has a significant manufacturing presence in El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic and focuses CSR efforts there in two key areas: environmental responsibility and social responsibility. Hanes recycles more than 70% of its waste throughout its worldwide manufacturing operations, including Latin America, by recycling scrap fabric, wood, metals, plastics and cardboard. Green for Good earmarks funds for community improvement projects identified by Hanes employees. Projects included remodeling nine schools, rehabilitating two hospitals and one ambulance, coordinating three massive beach cleanups and more. Each was supported by Green for Good media events—from ribbon cuttings to graduation ceremonies—and multimedia assets such as photos and videos, a social media news release and a press releases in the U.S. to make the international CSR community aware of the activities. —BM
Co-Winner: Co-Winner: Southwest Airlines – Co-Mingled Recycling Program
Southwest Airlines’ recycling program was created in 2009 to more efficiently minimize waste that would otherwise be disposed of in landfills. What makes this program unique among U.S. airlines is that Southwest established a nationwide program with a single contractor to recycle waste collected onboard its entire fleet of aircraft using collection facilities in its provisioning locations. The program officially launched onboard recycling on the entire fleet of 548 aircraft, but with the assistance of Republic Services, it has grown to include Southwest’s headquarters in Dallas; six customer service and support centers; 22 aircraft provisioning facilities; and all four aircraft maintenance bases in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Chicago. “For Southwest, citizenship is an extension of our mission and our history to do the right thing for our people, our communities and our planet while maintaining a strong business model,” says Southwest spokesperson Laurel Moffat. —BM
Honorable Mentions:
Coca-Cola Enterprises – Reducing Waste and Changing Consumer Behavior at Summer Events: To motivate and incentivize recycling, CCE encouraged event-goers in Britain and France to change their behavior by showcasing the recycling process. These initiatives include “Swap for Swag,” a CCE swap shop that exchanges used bottles for PET-made festival essentials, and “The Recycling Garden,” a clean, relaxing garden space with on-site recycling, where PET is crushed into bales to create usable furniture. One sofa at a time, festival-goers watched the garden grow throughout the event.
Consumer Electronics Association – The eCycling Leadership Initiative and GreenerGadgets.org: In an effort to raise awareness of electronics recycling and increase the amount electronics eCycled, on April 13, 2011, CEA launched the eCycling Leadership Initiative, an electronics industry-wide effort aiming to recycle one billion pounds of electronics annually by 2016. The program established collaboration among key players in the eCycling space to come to an agreement on objectives and secure media coverage by environmental and technology reporters.