We’re not simply operating our own business more sustainably. We’re helping our customers protect their customers and their brands while they reduce their costs, improve their profitability, and enhance their public image. And we’re helping businesses see sustainability practices as a competitive advantage, not a burden.

There is no clearer case in point than our commitment to Climate Savers, the internationally acclaimed, rigorous greenhouse gas reduction program of the World Wildlife Fund. We’ve vowed to cut our carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent by 2013. Our commitment to a 25 percent reduction is more than triple what we agreed to just a year earlier when we signed the Climate Savers covenant — and we’ll recoup nearly 130 percent in operational savings compared to what we will invest to reach that commitment.

How is that possible? Simple. CO2 emissions are a powerful indicator of waste: they damage the earth’s environment, cost money to produce in the form of expended energy, and don’t add value to what we offer our customers.