UPDATED: Boeing named to "The Toxic Ten" list
Published 2:56 pm Tuesday, February 26, 2008
When you’ve got a fast-selling, fuel-efficient jet like the 787 Dreamliner, the last thing you want is to wind up on the naughty list of the green movement.
But that’s just where the Boeing Co. finds itself following the recent release of Condé Nast Portfolio’s “The Toxic Ten.”
Green is the new black (I don’t care what Tina Fey said last week on “Saturday Night Life”), especially in business. In the aviation industry, airlines, cargo companies and ultimately jet manufacturers strive to cut fuel consumption, which ultimately reduces emissions. Just this last weekend, Boeing, Virgin Atlantic and GE teamed up on a flight of a 747 powered by the oils of coconuts and Babassu nuts.
Despite Boeing’s efforts, the company has been included with the likes of American Electric Power, Alcoa and Cargill as an American corporation that “should be doing better” in its environmental practices.
Condé Nast Portfolio says it put Boeing on the list for several reasons, including overstating the fuel-efficiency of the Dreamliner-inspired 747-8. Boeing also received $500,000 in fines from the Environmental Protection Agency for water pollution at its lab in California.
One ill that the publication mentions – increasing airplane greenhouse gas emissions – is sure to enrage Boeing’s Scott Carson. The president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Carson has said that jet emissions are largely misunderstood partly because aircraft manufacturers like Boeing haven’t been vocal enough about their eco-friendly efforts. For more on the green aspects of the 787, visit Boeing’s new airplane site.
Noteworthy: Ford Motor, the home of Carson’s predecessor, Alan Mullaly, also made the Toxic Ten. Oil company Chevron already has responded to its inclusion on the list. Additionally, the publication offers “The Green 11” — some of America’s most “eco-savvy” companies. Making the list: Wal-Mart, Starbucks and Dupont.
UPDATED: Boeing introduced in January a set of “green” goals the company will focus on over the next five years. Included in those targets is a 25 percent reduction in hazardous waste produced in each unit of the company. You can read more about Boeing’s eco-friendly goals in the February edition of the company’s Frontiers magazine.
Boeing also sent over this note:
Boeing’s biggest contribution to improving our environment is to continue pioneering environmentally progressive technologies to improve our products and services and relentlessly reduce our own environmental footprint.
In addition to consistently improving fuel efficiency in our commercial airplanes — by 70 percent since the first generation of jet airliners
— we have also cut energy use — by 37 percent since 1998 at our operations.
We also have aggressive 25% energy efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions intensity and recycling rate targets for our facilities over the next five years. A new organization was stood up last May to hone our focus on environmental performance and we are extending certification of the ISO 14001 global environmental management standards from our Everett and Portland facilities across all our major manufacturing sites this year.
ALSO: If you’re looking for tips on going green at home, check out the Herald’s Eco Geek blog, written by reporter Sarah Jackson. She’s got the latest on biofuels, non-toxic toys and recycling old electronics.
