Earth to R&D

When Kermit the Frog first sang “Bein’ Green” in the 1970s on Sesame Street, none of us thought that it would become a powerful statement about environmental consciousness in the new millennium. Yet in the past decade, thinking green has taken root and blossomed. It has gone from niche to nearly mainstream, and that shift raises substantial, complex issues for the food industry.

Plentiful, available food-ingredient supplies have always been necessary for business sustainability in product development, but now the entire chain is under watch for its role in the environment, from sourcing, producing, processing, packaging, transporting and marketing foods. Waste reduction, recycling, water and energy conservation, sourcing sustainable materials—these are just a start for the development of business practices that are earth-friendly. Indeed, the green movement oftentimes aims beyond the environmental impact, and directs itself at our way of living and doing business. Our impact on the community, on the people we employ, on the foods we serve, and our overall positive social influence.

It’s a new shift in the way we are expected to treat the world. Not just our neighbor, but our planet, and this expectation is penetrating the corporate level. “Think globally, act locally” has new meaning in the business world, and transparency is at its core. Greenwashing our business practices with office recycling bins or catchy marketing phrases simply won’t do, as our savvy media and consumers recognize the superficial efforts. They are counting on us to do the right thing, even if it’s not the easy thing to do—even if it’s a major challenge for our business.

With the pressure to rethink our business practices certainly comes some sense of anxiety, and perhaps an unwelcome urgency to change. I encourage you to spend time exploring what green practices can offer us as R&D professionals—namely, opportunity. When you think green, think progress, think advancement, think improvement. Think outside the box. Think innovation.

Can we tune into going green and saving green? Can we protect the planet’s resources while growing our businesses? It’s new, uncharted territory for most of us, but collectively I believe we can charge our imaginations, get creative and explore a fresh approach to going green.