Don’t Wait to Be Told In 1975, S.C. Johnson & Son?maker of familiar household products such as Shout, Windex, Ziploc and Edge?took a radical step and eliminated chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from its aerosol cans. It did that three years before CFCs were outlawed in the United States. Such forward thinking saved the company money because it didn’t have to scramble to meet regulatory mandates. Since 1990, S.C. Johnson has reduced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in its U.S.-produced products by 33 percent. When the company moved from a VOC-based to water-based Raid in 1994, the switch accounted for a 7,500-ton reduction in VOC use?and an annual cost savings of more than $1 million. "We save money when we are reducing bad materials and increasing the use of good ones," says Cynthia Georgeson, director of worldwide corporate public affairs.

Look for Fresh Answers In 1991, Patagonia?the Ventura, Calif.-based maker of outdoor clothing and climbing equipment?studied its four main fibers (polyester, nylon, cotton and wool) to determine their environmental effects. What it learned about cotton was disturbing: Its production relied heavily on pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and defoliants. "Cotton has a huge negative environmental impact," says Jil Zilligen, vice president of environmental initiatives. When faced with the study’s results in 1994, the Patagonia board promised that by 1996 it would transition to 100 percent organic cotton. The company’s fabric development and production teams were charged with figuring out whether organic cotton could provide the same quality products as conventionally grown cotton. If not, Patagonia would stop making cotton products altogether?quite a statement for a company heavily dependent on its apparel sales. "That gave everyone the motivation to figure it out. It affected every single person," says Zilligen. Once Patagonia made the commitment, it had to convince its fabric suppliers to change to organic cotton. Some suppliers made the switch, others didn’t and lost Patagonia’s business.

Continually Question In 1999, Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx replaced its packaging with an envelope made from 100 percent recycled material (35 percent of which is postconsumer). That effort alone, the company says, has kept 7.9 million pounds of solid waste from going into landfills and decreased total environmental effects from production by an average of 30 percent. FedEx worked environmental concerns into its mission statement over time. "A lot of companies do this because they had some hiccup or issue where there was a violation," says Mitch Jackson, managing director of corporate and international environmental programs. "We didn’t have that." In 1998, United Parcel Service (UPS) went after a reusable next-day-air envelope and incorporated increased levels of recycled material into its other packaging?and estimates say that those moves save more than 2,200 tons of trees every year. "We’ve never assumed that the way things are is the way they have to be," says Linda DiSantis, corporate compliance manger for UPS.