Letter from the Vice President of Environmental Affairs
The Evolution of New Species
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I’ve loved nature since I was a small child. Unfortunately, back then, “loving” nature meant shooting anything that moved with my BB gun so that I could examine it up close. Sadly, whether boating, motorcycling, or hunting, “loving” nature included using, trampling, and destroying it. That was the culture of my rural south childhood.
Since those early years I’ve personally evolved to realize that nature requires constant protection. I view my career as a corporate environmental manager as my lifelong penance for the environmental sins of my past. |
Large companies, which now comprise fully 50 percent of the top 100 economic entities on the planet, are currently going through a similar evolution.
Back in the 60s, businesses dumped toxic waste into the air and water without concern for its impact on ecosystems and people. Refrigerants that deplete the ozone layer were discarded into our fragile atmosphere. Lead, a neurotoxin, was used in all paint and gasoline; carcinogenic asbestos was in every building; nearly all underground fuel tanks leaked; most electricity was generated from burning dirty coal; no one recycled; and the concept of operational efficiency was nonexistent. There were no corporate environmental staffs other than health and safety compliance officers that kept the largest of companies from receiving fines and going to jail. A renowned TV commercial in the US was of a Native American, with a tear coming down his face, canoeing in a river past floating heaps of garbage.
But in the last decade, a new “species” of company has evolved and vigorously set out to make up for the “environmental sins” of the past. Now, almost every major company in the US employs environmental affairs departments to handle not only regulatory compliance, but also environmental sustainability issues. These issues are being discussed in corporate board rooms. Corporate environmental performance is being examined, and stocks rated, by Wall Street through sustainability indices. Today’s workforce includes graduates with MBA degrees in environmental economics. The business world is almost united in its belief that reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions can go hand-in-hand with increased productivity and profits. Environmental issues are reported on regularly in Time, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, the Economist, and most business publications. And finally, after years of an activist malaise, there is a new grass-roots voice from consumers responding vehemently to irresponsible corporate environmental behavior.
So here we stand somewhere between the mistakes of our past and the promises of a better future. Within this vast range, I’ve seen three dramatic evolutions in the environmental movement in recent years:
- Explosive growth in the sustainable design and construction of buildings;
- Rapid awareness of the benefits of sustainable food; and
- Consensus that climate change must be addressed by businesses, governments and citizens alike through reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Xanterra has tried to lead the way by implementing several major projects: two new LEED certified sustainable buildings; sustainable “green suites” at Zion, an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system integrating environmental management into literally every position in the company; a 51 percent solid waste diversion rate; on-site grease recycling into biodiesel; a companywide sustainable cuisine program; and our biggest environmental project to date – the one megawatt solar photovoltaic system at Death Valley – which will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to the emissions of a small city.
Xanterra has also seized opportunities to implement numerous small changes in our operations: fishing lures made from tungsten, keeping lead out of riparian ecosystems; packaging materials reused instead of dumped in the trash; T-shirts made from organic or recycled cotton; alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles to replace gasoline vehicles in our fleet; bulk dispensing of bathroom amenities; and recycling camper propane bottles.
These are all signs of our evolution as a company. Like my irresponsible childhood eco-acts, business is changing the way it operates. For Xanterra, this eco-evolution defines our culture and our identity.
We hope the evolution is contagious.
Chris Lane
Vice President of Environmental Affairs
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