Even if they didn’t make the cup holder big enough to fit my Nalgene, I have loved our outback through and through…

Check out this killer case study by the WSJ- Greener & Cheaper…

Since 2000, the company says, it has reduced the amount of waste it generates per vehicle by about 47%. Of the solid waste that the factory still generates, 99.9% is recycled or used by other companies as manufacturing inputs or as raw materials that they process to resell. The remaining 0.1% is hazardous waste that must by law be incinerated by a licensed facility.

LEVEL 1: Compliance
Management’s focus is on compliance with environmental rules and regulations. Green is considered a cost.

LEVEL 2: Opportunistic and Ad Hoc
Some environmental awareness. Management opportunistically takes advantage of low-cost, money-saving green projects.

LEVEL 3: Analytical and Systematic
Environmental impact is systematically measured, and the information used by management to select improvement projects. The company is building its understanding of the relationships between environmental impact, cost and risk in its business.

LEVEL 4: Integrated Into Daily Operations
Everyone in the company is expected to be involved in improving the company’s green performance, and most ideas come from the bottom up. Green becomes an integral part of what makes the company profitable.

LEVEL 5: Pioneering
The organization is developing approaches on the leading edge of current environmental practice and thinking.