Recently, I was pleased to read the results of The Green Effect: How Community Involvement is Embracing Environmentalism, a research study of the environmental practices of 51 major companies and the perspectives of 9 environmental non-profit organizations. WHC participated in the survey, and it is interesting to note that 9 survey participants are WHC members, representing 84 certified Wildlife at Work sites and 19 Corporate Lands for Learning sites.

The survey concludes that being “green” in business practices and operations is now a necessity for a company’s long term survival. The majority of the survey participants (65%) are green in many of their operations, 21% are highly active, and 14% are just beginning to go green. Most companies (58%) say they are focused on sustainability than just environmental impact.

While being green to many survey participants applies primarily to their business practices and operations, many of the companies engaged in these activities are also engaged in community involvement (CI): 51% are engaged in CI in many of their operations, 18% are highly active, and 31% are just beginning to get engage in green community involvement.

The survey also concludes that companies are not only responsive to their leadership for green community involvement, but are also greatly influenced by their employees’ desire to volunteer for community greening projects. The vast majority (94%) of the companies surveyed say their employee volunteerism includes environmental activities.

What does this survey indicate for WHC and the future role of corporations in biodiversity and conservation education? I believe it reinforces what WHC has developed over the last 20 years: a successful model of voluntary action, employee volunteerism, and community engagement for biodiversity and conservation education. It also indicates that WHC’s approach resonates with current best business sustainability strategies and practices. We should continue to build on the success of our model, further integrating it into corporate strategy, expanding WHC activity within our member companies and extending the model to areas of the world where our member companies operate. 

As we know, this is currently a tough economic operating environment. At the same time, WHC activities continue to be very cost effective and yield a high rate of return for our member companies in terms of benefits to wildlife, the company, employees, and the communities in which they operate. 

WHC continues to be a great investment and we appreciate your commitment to biodiversity and conservation and the opportunity to partner with you.