The Corporate Spring: How Companies are Re-thinking the Way They Make Things

Lessons Learned: Proven Leaders Speak on Leadership - Dr. Douglas A. Wilson

Springtime and renewal are synonymous. We are in the midst of a corporate Spring in America. Companies are stepping up to their shared sense of responsibility for the positive impact they can make in the world. Enlightened leaders are re-thinking how they can make life better for all stakeholders and believe the long term impact is greater profitability.

The products a company either makes, consumes, or uses are a part of the corporate Spring. For example, Larry Page from Google, is committed to insuring no harmful products are inside any Google office building. He personally has a spectrometer to measure VOC off-gassing in a Google office. VOC stands for a volatile organic compound. The new car smell that seems so fresh is actually the smell of VOC off-gassing. That new carpet smell is VOC gas coming both from the carpet fibers and the glue used to put down the carpet. These gasses are made up of particulates that lodge in your lungs and your brain - often permanently. Not good for any person's health! Larry Page is actually protecting himself and his employees with that little spectrometer. In one case, he was assured a room was free of VOC’s. He did a check and his meter registered all clear. The contractor then did a final coat of plaster to finish off the room. Larry checked again and sure enough the spectrometer went nuts. It turned out there was lead in the plaster and the plaster contractor missed it. Lead, as we all know, is not good for the brain! Thank goodness Larry checked.

In the podcast attached to this blog - which I am confident you will find both inspiring and informative - Bridgett Luther, co-founder of the Cradle to Cradle Institute, takes us through example after example of how companies are rethinking the way they make and use things. From not "bad to less bad", but from "bad to good", you will learn about new, healthy, innovative products both in your home and office.

Bridgett tells us why you don’t send home a new born baby in bright colors (think dyes with high VOC’s), why we need to challenge Mattel with the Barbies they make, plaster that actually cleanses the air, paint that doesn’t give you a headache. She tells us how we all can contribute, no matter what role we have, to a new circular economy, a new Spring, that breeds abundance.

Trust me, listen to this podcast and you will walk about with an inspired mindset to make life better for yourself and the people you love.