Page 375 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

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mining companies that use mountaintop extraction as their primary
means of production. Another example is the Climate Principles, a
global framework introduced in December 2008 to aid banks and
insurers in managing climate change-related risks in their products
and services.

Tourism and Recreational Services
The travel, tourism, leisure, and entertainment industries have re -
sponded to both customer interest and broader social responsibility
concerns by adopting a host of environmentally friendly policies
and practices. These range from energy and water conservation pro-
grams at hotels to specially designed eco-tourism adventure trips in
exotic settings. According to the World Tourism Organization, “sus-
tainable tourism” involves management of all resources in such a
way that economic, social, and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while
main taining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biolog-
ical diversity, and life support systems [9]. In other words, tourism
can benefit local communities by creating employment and income
while remaining ecologically and culturally sensitive.
One entertainment company that was an early adopter of sus-
tainability principles is the Walt Disney Company. In 1990, the com-
pany formed an Environmental Policy Division, which focuses on
the education and maintenance of six key priorities: climate protec-
tion, energy conservation, green purchasing, waste minimization,
water conservation and wildlife conservation. In addition, Disney
introduced their environmental brand: Environmentality™, repre-
senting a fundamental ethic that blends business growth with the
preservation of nature [10]. Examples of Disney initiatives include

• Green Standard. The Green Standard is a global employee
program rolled out in 2008 that encourages every Cast
Member and employee to reduce Disney’s operational impact
on the environment by adopting specific environmentally
friendly behaviors at work, in meetings, while planning
events, during travel, and while dining during work hours.
The standard is divided into five phases: Green Workspace,
Green Meetings, Green Events, Green Travel, and Green Din-
ing. Employees are encouraged to recycle wastes, eliminate
use of individual plastic water bottles, use double-sided copy-
ing and recycled-content paper for everyday printing and
copying, turn off unnecessary lights, and minimize driving
alone. They are also encouraged to go “Above and Beyond”
the standard, and have access to an extensive, online resource
center that provides guidance on environmentally beneficial
actions. To support employee efforts, Disney is partnering
®
with Hewlett-Packard to launch the HP Document Output