After learning about different companies’ attempts to be more sustainable, I can see overall shifts in thinking in various industries. These practices are good examples of the shift towards the Third Generation corporation. It’s amazing to see how these companies are thinking creatively to see problems and opportunities for sustainability improvements that other people have missed. However, these cases in sustainability focused on smaller companies whose overall missions and goals include participating in sustainable practices from the beginning. This timing and growth of sustainable practices, while great for smaller companies, is more difficult for larger corporations to catch up with.
As described in the article about Third Generation corporations, their defining attributes include intrinsic motivation, inclusivity, and disruption. All the companies discussed show these traits. What was interesting to me was to see how these traits manifest themselves in different industries. For example, Bird is trying to disrupt the transportation industry in cities by using scooters to get around instead of cars, which reduces carbon emissions into the air. Founding Farmers is rooted in inclusivity with 47,000 farmers sharing ownership of the company. Loop’s goal is to fundamentally change the way we view how we use packaged consumer goods. These are just a few of the growing companies that are making the changes necessary in order to become more environmentally sustainable.
While all of the shifts and changes are extremely important, I believe that we are still at the beginning of the shift towards Third Generation corporations. These companies, while still having a positive impact on the environment, are smaller and are making small improvements. Further, they do not have enough brand recognition to create visible riffs in their respective industries. In order to see a true change in consumer behavior towards more environmentally sustainable practices, larger companies and corporations need to make a stronger effort to show they are changing their practices to improve the environment. While some are already beginning to do so, it is important to realize that change is a gradual process, and it is going to take time to see the Third Generation corporation really come to life.