1.
Environmentally-centric philosophies persist throughout
American history dating back to Thoreau and Emerson who lived and wrote
regarding man’s altruistic responsibility towards conserving nature. The present
“green movement” today however, owes, in part, its origins to the awakening
experienced by many after reading Rachel Caron’s seminal work Silent Spring, published in 1962. Beyond
the individual philosophy and communal attempts at proselyting, there also came
a recognition that everyone, including government and business had a social and
moral responsibility to the environment.
In 1970, Pres. Richard Nixon created the Environmental
Protection Agency thereby establishing a regulatory body aimed at correcting a
history of poor environmental stewardship. Push back against progressive
programs is inevitable and industry, in general, will always resist imposed
regulatory efforts, typically deeming such efforts to be unnecessary and reactionary.
Yet, some businesses have chosen a proactive course and, in such a manner,
creative their own regulatory policy beyond the dictates and capabilities of inefficient
bureaucrats. International Business
Machines (IBM) stands prominently as such an example.
IBM’s current policy of environmental sustainability
encompasses four areas comprised by environmental strategies, green branding,
compliance management, and cost-efficient sustainability (Butner &
Gregor, 2009) .
Such a current course of action stems
from IBM’s embracing of the fledgling “green movement” under the helm of Thomas
J. Watson Jr in the late 1960s. One of their first enterprises established a
hazardous waste management program, not just for themselves but also as a
condition of business for its contractors (Stair & Reynolds, 2014) . This foresight
facilitated IBM to not just remain in regulatory compliance to but place
themselves ahead of the politically-reactive wave of legislation that endured
throughout the 1970 and 1980s.
In 1998, IBM suggested its supply chain contributors
should implement international green initiatives. This suggestion has evolved
from a suggested point of consideration to a mandate for those choosing to do
business with IBM. In fact, IBM now requires their supply chain providers to “define
and deploy an environmental management system (EMS), measure existing
environmental impacts and establish goals to improve performance, publicly
disclose their metrics and results, and “cascade” these requirements to any
suppliers that are material to IBM’s products” (Winston, 2012)
Baring the fact that “the end goal is to protect and
enrich the brand” (Butner & Gregor, 2009) , IBM’s actions
ripple well beyond the point of impact. From contractual mandates with
supporting operations where IBM leverages compliances down the supply chain to
their ongoing focused efforts to “reduce energy use, conserve water
resources…and combat climate change”, other major tech players, such as HP and
Dell, have followed suit, introducing product return and recycling programs,
remanufacturing used goods, and pursuing their own energy efficient operations.
IBM’s impact beyond their doors continued in 2004 with the launching of the
Electronics Industry Code of Conduct, a policy whose very defining was
predicted upon IBM’s Supplier Conduct Principles policy (Winston,
2012) .
IBM early adopted a fiscally dangerous position of
putting profits second. According to Thomas J. Watson Jr., “Corporations prosper
only to the extent that they satisfy human needs. Profit is only the scoring
system. The end is better living for us all.” His forward-thinking
ideology illuminated responsibility beyond the board room and factories. In
addition to Thomas J. Watson Sr.’s Basic Belief, Watson Jr. established a
mission statement that purported corporate success was endemic of corporate
responsibility. Over five decades later, IBM’s campaign of responsibility and
stewardship remains the “tip of the spear” behind which others follow.
Reference List
Butner, K., & Gregor, J. J. (2009). Green and
Beyond: Getting Smarter About the Environment. Somers: IBM Global
Services. Retrieved from
http://www.iaap-aggregates.org/sustainability/IBM-Environment.pdf
Stair, R. M., & Reynolds, G. W. (2014). Fundamentals
of Information Systems (8th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.
Winston, A. (2012). IBM's Green Supply Chain. Harvard
Business Review. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2010/07/ibms-green-supply-chain.html
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