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Types of Projects: A Rainbow of Green • 65

to this packaging challenge is a big priority for us. We are working on a few
different fronts to improve the environmental characteristics of the K-Cup
system, as well as to mitigate its impact.
Here’s what we are doing
We are actively researching alternatives to the K-Cup Portion Pack’s petro-
leum-based materials.
We are conducting a Life Cycle Analysis to help us understand the overall
environmental impact of the K-Cup Portion Pack as compared to the use of a
typical drip-brewer. There are environmental considerations at every step on
the road from “tree to cup”. By studying the K-Cup over its entire life cycle, we
can more clearly understand how and where we can reduce its footprint.
We are working to identify the right definition of “environmentally
friendly” for all our packaging, including the K-Cup Portion Pack. For exam-
ple it could mean carbon-neutral, made with renewable materials, recyclable,
biodegradable, compostable, petroleum-free, all of the above, or something
entirely different. We are researching what is possible today and tomorrow,
taking into account the current state of packaging technology, consumer
preferences, community infrastructure, performance requirements, and the
demands of the marketplace.
We also continue to offer the My K-Cup, a reusable filter cartridge assem-
bly that can be refilled by the consumer, is easily cleaned, and is compatible
with all Keurig home brewers sold today.

So we can see that it’s the operation (or more succinctly put, the use) of the
single-serve coffeemakers that is causing the impact.

green—general

There are a multitude of projects that we all can name that would seem to
be devoid of any green at all: developing a new software release, develop-
ing a new curriculum at college, or producing a movie. Even though we
don’t see them as green projects, we assert that every project has an oppor-
tunity to improve its greenality. The project team can still gain insight
from this spectrum. Let’s take a new software release, for example. They
can think of their project as green in general, because the project itself
will not have such a tremendous impact, nor will the product. But both
will have some impact. The project team can collaborate virtually to save
paper and travel, the information technology (IT) departments involved