Defining the Reuse Movement - the Environmental, Social and Economic Gains for Businesses and Individuals
by Ira Baseman
"2015 will be the year of sustainability", said the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon last month. The term “sustainability” keeps gaining new meaning and importance as more organizations adopt pro-environmental stances in their strategic plans. In his report to the World Economic Forum, Ban Ki-Moon added, “The private sector has an essential role in achieving a sustainable future.
Many of the recent successes in development and climate change have been achieved through public-private partnerships with the power to mobilize finance, expertise and knowledge. A sustainable approach to business can also help create decent jobs, improve public health, empower women and protect the environment. It is heartening to see many companies already reaping the benefits of climate action, for instance, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by using energy cleanly and efficiently. More and more businesses are seeing that sustainability is not just in the common good but that sustainability is common sense.
Many business leaders still think sustainability concepts are reserved to the politicians, academics and bright green zealots. The term’s limited personal relevance makes it difficult to appreciate the impact that our individual efforts contribute to a global community.
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Inspired by the mission of doing well and doing good in business, entrepreneur Ira Baseman founded Community Recycling, a socially and environmentally conscious, for-profit recycling company, in 2001. Baseman advances his company’s mission, People Recycling for People, through the “Reuse Movement,” where sustainability and economic development go hand-in-hand and reuse does not end with just clothing being reworn by others. As a result, Community Recycling engages more than 5,000 partner organizations in the U.S. and more than 50 countries in the Reuse Movement by recycling or repurposing materials, helping to grow local economies and provide jobs for people in the U.S. and around the world.
