Sustainability has become a buzzword among major brands and manufacturers. As a result, it is easy to be skeptical and assume that a given company's sustainability efforts are either just marketing or beneficial to the bottom line. Sometimes they are, perhaps too often. From a consumer point-of-view, It's okay to want more from such companies.

We started Paleblue Earth for a number of reasons, among them a desire to contribute to the world's collective sustainability goals. We are firm in our belief that alkaline disposable batteries are the complete antithesis of a sustainable solution.  

One of our primary goals is to work to eliminate disposable alkaline batteries from the market. Embedded in our business model are a number of partnerships with other organizations who share our sustainability goals. It is a good start, but we want more. Hopefully, you do too.

Companies Listen to Consumers

Let us assume for just a minute that most of the companies that claim to practice sustainability only do so because they don't want to alienate customers. The fact is that they listen to what their customers say. The idea of wanting more is pretty simple: we don't want companies to just say they believe in sustainability, we want them to demonstrate they are practicing it and make it a priority across their organizations.

This is not to say that profit cannot be a motive. In the long run, profit is what allows for progress in an economy dominated by free markets. would be no Paleblue Earth if it were a money losing proposition and the alkaline battery would continue to dominate unencumbered. 

Wanting more from companies in terms of sustainability is about wanting them to go the extra mile to not only practice sustainable manufacturing, but to lead the way in figuring out ways to make it ever more sustainable.

A Good Start for Samsung

Android Central recently published a fascinating piece discussing corporate sustainability in light of Samsung's recent commitment to increasing its own efforts. Apparently, Samsung brought up the point at the 2022 Galaxy Unpacked event.

Writer Jerry Hildenbrand congratulated Samsung on their efforts to reduce wasteful packaging, do more to recycle paper and plastic, and use parts made from recycled materials in their phones. But Hildenbrand says he wants more from Samsung. He went on to cite the example of a virtually unknown phone manufacturer that makes its products almost entirely from recycled or responsibly sourced materials.

Hildenbrand makes a very strong case that sustainability needs to go further than recycling. Again, he congratulated Samsung for planting more than two million trees in Madagascar. The company is going beyond recycling in its pursuit of sustainability. But still, there is the likelihood that Samsung's bread-and-butter – its consumer-electronics – do not yet meet sustainable manufacturing goals (of course, we’re all just starting to prioritize sustainability and there’s a lot to learn, develop, and apply.

Batteries Are One Small Part

Some folks look at sustainability and can only see a huge forest. They cannot see the individual trees, so they are overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge. We don’t see it that way. We can see the trees. We want to be part of the forest and an inspiration for other trees as well.

Our USB-C rechargeable batteries are just one small part of that much larger ecosystem. Every customer we can convince to use rechargeables instead of disposable alkalines represents another consumer contributing to that ecosystem.

As a consumer, it's okay to want more from the companies you do business with. Let them know what you hope for and what you expect. Then do what you can to make your own lifestyle more sustainable. Everybody contributing their bit is the only way we all make progress together.