Green Frontier Blog

At Green Frontier, we are progressive thinkers. Established in 2009 to meet the growing demand of companies seeking to reduce their impact on the environment, we offer sustainability consulting to infuse social responsibility into overall business strategy. Follow our blog to learn more.

Add to technorati favorites

Tom Fitz
Posted by Tom Fitz
Tom Fitz
Tom utilizes over eighteen years of manufacturing experience to help companies c
User is currently offline
on Tuesday, 20 September 2011 in Insights

A Sustainability Double Play

Giving Back to the Community While Educatingcarolina-tiger-rescue

When most companies and individuals speak about sustainability, they typically focus solely on environmental sustainability.  The economic and social aspects of sustainability complete the triad, but some experts also like to include education as a fourth lever.  Having spent twenty years in manufacturing, I typically focus on environmental sustainability as well, but in the past two weeks, I started to incorporate a second dimension – social sustainability.

Volunteer at a NPO

Volunteering at a Non-Profit is a great way to give back to the community in which one operates, and is one of the main objectives of social responsibility.  My NPO of choice is the Carolina Tiger Rescue (www.CarolinaTigerRescue.org ).  Located in Pittsboro, NC, the rescue was founded by Dr. Michael Bleyman in 1981 to preserve the genes of certain threatened and endangered animals in the order Carnivora.  As other animal organizations began actively working to conserve these same carnivores, CTR refocused its mission toward rescuing and providing sanctuary for wild cats to ensure the survival of these important species.

www.CarolinaTigerRescue.org

I first experienced the rescue over a year ago when I signed my family up to take a guided tour, and instantly fell in love.  I’ve never been so close to tigers and lions – literally observing them from only three feet away.  In addition, the Rescue is home to some exotic carnivores I didn’t even know existed: caracals, ocelots, servals, binturongs, kinkajous and a bobcat.  Don’t be mistaken, this is not a zoo.  Educating the public about conservation is an important element of CTR’s overall mission. 

Donations Welcome

The Carolina Tiger Rescue receives no government funding.  The majority of their support comes from individual donations.   Everything needed to run the facility, from the tools, to the vehicles, to the food, is donated either as a material item or purchased via a cash contribution.  If you, or the organization you work for, are interested in making a donation, please   contact me or the rescue directly to see how donations can be made. 

I encourage everyone residing in or visiting the Raleigh-Durham area to schedule a guided tour of the rescue.  You will walk away with a greater appreciation and understanding of these carnivores, and will witness some truly beautiful, exotic animals. 


Tags: sustainability, social responsibility, non-profits, education, conservation
Rate this blog entry

Tom Fitz

Tom utilizes over eighteen years of manufacturing experience to help companies create value and competitive advantage by: conceiving & instituting environmental sustainability programs, re-engineering operations and optimizing processes to reduce operating costs, developing long and short term capital expenditure strategies, and designing world class equipment modules. These skills have been applied in the personal care, cosmetics, food & beverage, household goods and pharmaceutical sectors at companies including Unilever, Clairol, Burt's Bees, Wyeth, Bristol Myers Squibb, and numerous third party contractors.



Prior to founding Green Frontier, Tom worked at Burt's Bees for five years, the last three as Vice President of Sustainable Engineering. In this position, he led the company's environmental sustainability program that reduced non-product water usage by 35%, decreased the amount of solid waste diverted to landfill by 75% and flat-lined electricity usage despite sales growth of 55% and tripling the amount of space being occupied by the company in the three year span. Additionally, he was responsible for developing the company's three year capital expenditure strategy and executing the annual spending plan. Before working at Burt's, Tom worked as a process engineer at various personal care and engineering companies. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.
Trackback URL for this blog entry

Comments

linkedin60twitter60facebook60