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Published:2/1/2008

What’s this “Green” Thing?

There’s been all sorts of talk in the past year about sustainability. You can’t turn on the television without hearing about a company that’s introduced an environmentally friendly product or initiative. Nike, for instance, just introduced the 23rd anniversary Air Jordon basketball shoe, which was created under Nike’s “Considered” design philosophy, which aims to reduce waste and use environmentally friendly materials wherever possible. The new Air Jordon uses a water-based bonding process, “environmentally preferred” rubber, recycled materials and a more efficient pattern design that eliminates waste. All for just $185 retail (unless you want the $230 limited-edition model).

Nike isn’t the only one. Subaru has an automobile plant in Indiana that has been designated a National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat. Dannon eliminated the plastic lid on its foil-closed yogurt containers, saving 3.6 million pounds of plastic a year. And Google offers its employees free on-site doctors (which explains why they get 1,300 resumes a day).

It seems that being kind to the planet and to your employees is big business these days. Which is a good thing, since a new survey of 22,000 consumers by Information Resources says that roughly half of American consumers take “sustainability” into account when choosing a brand.
So now it’s our turn.

It’s been said a lot in the past year, but it bears repeating: We are the “original” green industry. But at the same time, we are heavy users of energy, plastic and water. We need to do something about that. We need to work toward lessening the impact our individual businesses have on the environment. And we need to pay attention to our employees and their needs as fellow human beings.

This is “sustainable floriculture.” And we’ve come up with a formal definition of that:

“Producing and selling greenhouse or field crops in a manner that provides a profit for the business, minimizes the impact upon the environment, maximizes employee well-being and benefits the community.”

We hope the industry will adopt this definition simply because there’s so much confusion about what the sustainable movement is all about. Which is a shame, really, because in reality it’s simple: sustainable floriculture means being good to the planet, good to your employees and good to your community, while still making a profit.

Now, two points that I hope will convince you to give this sustainability thing a fair shake:

1) Sustainable floriculture is NOT a destination. It’s a journey, one that’s made up of thousands of small steps over many years. It’s a journey that your children or your staff will continue long after you’re gone. Maybe you’ve already made the first steps. Recycling old cardboard. Capturing your water runoff. Installing energy curtains or a higher-efficiency heating system.

2) Sustainable floriculture is NOT a feel-good, warm-and-fuzzy exercise. Sustainable floriculture is a way to make money. Take a grower in Florida I know, for instance. He sent me a list of 17 different things he does that can count as sustainable, from collecting water runoff to buying used vehicles at auction from the local university. When I asked him why, he replied, “I’m cheap! I hate waste!” He’s not out to save the planet or to win a Sierra Club award. He’s a sound businessman who sees waste as lost profits. The fact that his efforts are also good for the planet is a nice side benefit.

Are you open-minded enough to learn more? Then come to Dallas, Texas, November 7-9, because GrowerTalks is hosting the first industry conference dedicated solely to sustainability. We want to help the whole industry figure out the whys and hows of sustainability. We’ll have passionate, expert speakers from inside and outside of floriculture sharing their stories and ideas.

One more thing: If you want to learn more on a regular basis (besides what we publish here), check out Jennifer White’s “GreenTalks” e-mail. She’s helping all of us keep up with the news, trends, facts and fallacies surrounding the sustainable trend. CLICK HERE to subscribe.