By-Products of Sustainable Business Strategies

Blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Company
Dec 16, 2010 9:56 AM ET

Taiga Company blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Compa…

What is a by-product?  According to this entry in Wikipedia, a by-product is a secondary or incidental product deriving from a manufacturing process, a chemical reaction or a biochemical pathway, and is not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable, or it can be considered waste.  Traditionally, waste has been accepted as a natural by-product of our manufacturing processes and as part of our culture.  However, with the increase of eco awareness and sustainable business strategies, approaching waste differently is yielding surprising results. 

Proactive organizations harnessing the power of sustainable business strategies are taking the opportunity to rework traditional business practices and models to position themselves in a more favorable position for the future.  These businesses are now including environmental and social impacts in the profitability equation.  Zero waste is one such strategy.    Zero waste is a philosophy and a design principle for the 21st Century. It includes recycling but goes beyond recycling by taking a 'whole system' approach to the vast flow of resources and waste through human society.   It shifts the responsibility for materials entering the waste stream on the front-end with the manufacturer, not on the consumer at the back-end of the product's life. The end result is that manufacturers redesign products to reduce material consumption and facilitate reuse, recycling and recovery.    But what if you aren't a manufacturing facility?  What are the by-products of a sustainable business model?  Click here to continue reading.  

Home to one third of the earth's trees, the Taiga is the largest land-based biosphere and encircles the globe. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the planet. It is this continuous renewal that has shaped Taiga Company's vision to drive similar change in the business world. Taiga Company seeks to be the "oxygen for your business".

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