Going Green

Going Green

Kendall Poole

Kaplan University

CS204: Professional Presence

03/04/2014

Many companies have gone green for many different reasons. I like to think that a lot of companies are doing this to help protect the environment for future generations, but in the world of business making the dollar is usually the bottom line. Of course not all business looks at it as a black and white situation. You can be environmentally conscious and be able to save on costs at the same time. “Being green today encompasses more than just recycling waste or monitoring pollutants. It is a mindset that merges lean manufacturing principals with less energy usage and common sense operating-but environmentally pro-active –procedures”(Pacyniak,(2012)p 27).

The article I had chosen to reference is called “From Lean to Green” by Bernard Pacyniak. In the article Pacyniak references several different candy companies from all over the world and how they have gone green. They are all success stories on how Kim’s Chocolates N.V. in Tienen, Belgium, the Annabelle Candy Co. in Hayward, California, and Marich Confectionary Co. of Hollister, California have went green. Kim’s Chocolates N.V. seems to be the one that stands out the most when it comes to being green and saving money in the article. It seems that everything that went into the design of the factory had something to do with being green. No detail was left out as the building itself is made from one hundred percent recoverable materials, the walls were highly insulated to regulate the temperature, and even an array of solar panels (two thousand nine hundred and eighty seven solar panels to be exact) cover the roof of the factory to create extra energy for the factory. All light bulbs in the building were “energy-saving light bulbs” and the building uses automatic lighting throughout the building to keep from using the lights when no one is around. Water conservation was also kept in mind and all systems that use...