Nestle Nespresso has committed to sourcing 80% of its coffee from sustainable farms by the year 2013. This is a great announcement. Nespresso is the premium coffee capsule division of Nestle. This commitment means they will double the present percentage of 40%. Nestle has instituted the AAA Sustainable Quality Program. The focus is on quality while balancing economic, social and environmental factors. Over 4500 Central American farmers benefit from this program.

The amazing part is that the Nespresso system has not penetrated the American market significantly. The over all benefits of the program will expand as the volume of sales increases. This is a program that can benefit all. The farmers, the workers, the consumer and the company. The next time we hear that the economy can’t bear the costs of going green we can use this as a shining example of green economic success.

I just read an interesting fact. Livestock accounts for 18% of the world’s carbon emissions. I have cut  back on eating red meat for my health. I have high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It only makes sense to eat more fruits and vegetables in order to prevent a heart attack or stroke.  So selfishly I have made changes to my diet.

Now in my reading about eco friendly issues I am finding that eating right is better for the environment. When all the effort to keep livestock as a food source is taken into account the environmental cost is extremely high. Just think about the clearing of the land for grazing, cultivating the feed and animal waste the e-costs are high.

So now when I’m eating my salad for lunch instead of the cheeseburger (one of my favorite foods) I will consider the positive enviromental impact. So now I can leave smaller carbon footprint.

This week we had a get together at our house. Our daughter graduated from high school and we had about 100 people come to the open house celebration. My wife worked tirelessly preparing food and getting the house ready. So it is fitting that we are working to have as little impact on the environment as we can. Our daughter has been the catalyst of change in our house. She is the one that has opened our eyes to issues like organic food, global warming and fair trade.

So some of the things we did for the party are we combined it with another family. So instead of two parties there was one. We have been friends with the other family for 10 years and it was really fun to work together. We are being very conscience of the waste. We are making sure that we recycle as much of the refuse as possible. I have literally been going through all the trash and moving as much as possible in the recycle bins.  The end of result is that we will recycle at least 75% of our waste.

Our daughter is the one that showed us the light. We have shared a car since she was 16 instead of us adding another vehicle to the family. I now take public transportation when I go to the airport. We eat better. We recycle more. We also have consolidated trips and buy organic food and use local markets. We understand that we can get “greener” every day. So I do this work, digging through the trash, with a smile on my face. What a pleasure.