When SC Johnson adopted its corporate maxim, “a family company,” many generations ago, few could have foreseen how far-reaching that commitment to family would extend.
Honoring the family not only inspires goodwill among the employees and shoppers who safely use the company’s products, but also protects the larger global family of planet Earth, including animal and plant life as well as natural resources. SC Johnson’s holistic approach to caring for people and the environment focuses on five key areas.
Greener Products: Don’t be fooled by the blue color of WindexTM found on ShopRite store shelves. The glass cleaner, which is manufactured by SC Johnson, is actually quite “green.” The GreenlistTM logo on the Windex bottle tells you that the new cleaning agents used today won’t harm the environment. Similar product reformulations enabled SC Johnson to remove 61 million pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the atmosphere -- that’s the amount of VOCs put out by 656,000 cars in a year.
Conservation: SC Johnson obtains nearly 40 percent of its electricity from renewable energy like wind and methane gas, which has resulted in a 15 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions since 2000.
Disease Prevention: Through research, educational outreach and pest control products, the company fights preventable diseases such as malaria, which accounts for as many as one in five childhood deaths in Africa.
Community Building: With its emphasis on volunteerism and a commitment to philanthropy, SC Johnson’s heritage of “giving back” is well documented. In the past 10 years, the company has given more than $160 million for community development, as well as for health, welfare and cultural enrichment.
Environmental Leadership: Innovation has long been a part of the SC Johnson company philosophy. The company has been greening its facilities and household products for many years, and sometimes before everyone else. One example was its introduction of water-based aerosols with reduced environmental impact and increased performance. This move was made in 1955, well before everyone understood that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) damage the stratospheric ozone layer. Like many other U.S. companies, SC Johnson voluntarily and unilaterally eliminated CFCs a few years before the 1978 U.S. government mandate.
More recently, SC Johnson has been involved in a “holistic greening” of the company. This effort has included promoting steel can recycling (5,600 communities are recycling aerosol cans), cutting more than 420 million pounds of manufacturing waste, becoming the first consumer packaged goods manufacturer to join EPA’s Climate Leaders Program, and phasing out chlorine-based packaging materials worldwide.
In 2001, SC Johnson developed a first-of-its-kind GreenlistTM process used in developing new products and reformulating others. GreenlistTM is a scoring process for rating raw materials according to their environmental and health impact, so the company can choose the best product ingredients and improved packaging options.
SC Johnson recognized that some consumers want cleaning products made from natural ingredients, but still work and are affordable. To meet those needs, they applied the GreenlistTM process to a new line of household cleaning products called Nature’s Source™. The line includes all-purpose toilet-bowl, bathroom, glass and surface cleaners. These products have a light scent and are made with plant-based, biodegradable ingredients such as palm and coconut oils.
SC Johnson’s legacy of environmental and social leadership can be traced back to founder Samuel Curtis Johnson and his son Herbert, who said, “The goodwill of the people is the only enduring thing in any business. It is the sole substance… the rest is shadow.”
That was in 1927. Today, more than 80 years later, SC Johnson Chairman and CEO H. Fisk Johnson speaks the same language: “I believe that companies must take the lead. We can’t leave it to watchdog groups or federal regulators. The government can’t test everything or monitor everyone,” said the fifth-generation Johnson. “Companies should understand the science and have the sincerity to do what is right. We all must be responsible.”
What's Cooler Than Ice Cream and Lights Up Like a Firefly? CFL Light Bulbs
Ice cream is always fun to think about -- even when changing a light bulb. Those bulbs that swirl like a soft-serve ice cream cone save lots of energy.
Called compact fluorescent bulbs or CFLs, those funky corkscrew bulbs use 75 percent less energy, last 10 times as long and save $30 in energy costs over their life span compared to a regular light bulb. Sounds like a sweet deal!
CFLs come in lots of different brightness levels, shapes, sizes and tints of light, and are available for most types of lights, even ceiling fans. They are easily found on ShopRite’s shelves, and there will soon be a ShopRite brand of CFL bulbs.
Today’s CFLs are a big improvement over the incandescent light bulb, which has worked in about the same way since Thomas Edison invented it in 1879.
Think of a regular bulb as a hot wire in a clear glass globe. Electricity heats a thin metal wire sealed in the globe until it’s super-hot, about 4,000 degrees fahrenheit. The hot wire glows, creating the light and making the glass too hot to touch, about 300 degrees.
The problem is that most of that energy is wasted. Only 10 percent of it creates light, and the other 90 percent is wasted heat.
A CFL, on the other hand, works by borrowing a trick from fireflies, which use chemicals in their bodies to glow without making heat.
A CFL bulb is a skinny, smaller version of the long fluorescent tubes you probably see in your school or office, just swirled into that corkscrew shape. Electrodes at both ends of the tube convert electricity into a stream of tiny particles. Inside the tube is a gas with a small amount of mercury. The particles excite the mercury, causing it to give off invisible ultraviolet light.
To make the invisible light visible, white-colored chemicals called phosphors coat the insides of the glass tube. When the ultraviolet light excites the phosphors, they also jump up and down and release visible, white light.
CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury -- an average of 4 milligrams in each bulb, so if a CFL breaks, it must be carefully cleaned up. It is important to remember that like paint, batteries, thermostats, and other household items, you should dispose of CFLs properly. Make sure you check with local or state government about CFL disposal and recycling options for your community.
Switching to CFLs is about the brightest energy-saving step. If every U.S. household replaced just one regular bulb with a CFL, the energy saved would power 2.5 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to those of 800,000 cars. That makes CFLs even cooler than ice cream.
Margaret O'Gorman — Speaking Up for N.J.'s Wildlife
A bog turtle won’t tell you his story — he’s too busy hiding. Stretching a mere 3 to 3.9 inches long when all grown up, the tiny bog turtle is not much longer than a playing card. His job is to survive in wet, grassy places.
But Margaret O’Gorman, the executive director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), will gladly tell you all about bog turtles, as well as many other fascinating stories about New Jersey’s wild animals.
She’ll explain how the bog turtle lost its home over time as wetlands were drained for farming. Eventually, the tiny amphibian became endangered here, which means there are so few the species could disappear entirely. Now, farmers at 12 locations are setting aside land to restore wetlands. Sheep and goats graze and walk the soggy ground, making little depressions and hills that are great homes for bog turtles.
To find and count the hiding turtles, biologists use a specially trained dog named Bear, who also sniffs out other tough-to-spot creatures such as bobcats and rattlesnakes. O’Gorman and CWF are working to help declining populations of wild animals. Seventy species are considered by U.S. or New Jersey law as either endangered or threatened. Hundreds more need help so they don’t reach threatened status: certain butterflies and dragonflies, birds, snakes, bobcats and frogs.
“Any type of animal, if it’s rare, even if it is unpopular -- like the snake -- will be protected. We do not discriminate,” says O’Gorman. Her group helps count the animals, often with the help of volunteers like those who monitor or “watch over” bald eagle nests. In 1989, only one breeding pair of bald eagles was left in New Jersey. Now there are 80.
As a guide for its work, the foundation uses New Jersey’s Wildlife Action Plan, a master blueprint to help declining and protected species (the plan is available online at www.njfishandwildlife.com/ensp/waphome.htm). The plan explains how sand dunes around Barnegat Bay provide habitat for sea birds like the endangered piping plover and how raking the beaches with big machines can disturb nests.
To help tell the animals’ stories, the foundation holds Species on the Edge, an annual fifth-grade art and essay contest focused on rare, New Jersey species. One winner is chosen from each of the 21 counties in the state. The winners receive awards and a $50 ShopRite gift card. Winners also spend a day clamming, kayaking, bird-watching and fishing on Sedge Island in Barnegat Bay. This spring, an exhibit featuring the winning artwork will travel around the state.
“One of our goals is that kids and grown ups understand the wildlife stories that exist in their own backyards,” says O’Gorman. “At the end of the day, what we want people to do is get out, look around and listen. There’s so much out there for people to see.”
Learn more about CWF at www.conservewildlifenj.org, and read about the Species on the Edge contest under the Education tab at that site. You can also call them at 609-984-6012.
Go a Bit Wild in the Backyard!
The backyard is one place where it’s OK, and even better for the environment, to be a little messy. We’re all used to neatly manicured lawns and orderly gardens, but all of that chemical weeding and feeding isn’t wildlife friendly, says Margaret O’Gorman, executive director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
It doesn’t take much to make your backyard more beautiful and friendlier to birds, butterflies and bats. “The benefit is you can watch wildlife from your window, just sitting in your kitchen or dining room and watching the birds,” says O’Gorman.
The best news of all? Saving time on weekly yard chores. Often, creating a backyard habitat means less work. Leaving a few brush piles around, for example, gives wildlife, particularly birds, safe cover.
How about less mowing? Consider a smaller lawn to help reduce use of fertilizers and pesticides or use the increasingly available organic products. Pesticides can kill the bugs that birds and bats count on for food. Nitrogen and phosphorous in fertilizers and chemicals in pesticides run off from lawns into the groundwater, making their way into streams, ponds and rivers. Both can harm fish, insects and frogs -- and the animals that eat them.
When planting in your backyard, seek out native plants whenever possible to help attract and provide food for birds, butterflies and bees. Native plants are present in your region, state or ecosystem without human assistance and have adapted over thousands of years in ecological balance with the other animals and plants, so they’ll generally require less water and are more disease resistant.
Nonnative or invasive plants can quickly spread and take over, elbowing out the natives. Most states have native plant societies, and one website (www.plantsocieties.org) lists many of them.
Another way to make your back yard more wildlife friendly is to roll out a welcome mat for birds by providing water, and hanging a birdhouse or a feeder. A birdhouse lets kids watch the birds move in and raise their young.
To keep the birds safe from predators and disease, place the feeders near shrubs and trees, periodically clean them and keep housecats inside (ideally) or attach a bell to their collars and leash dogs. For bird-related citizen science activities in your region, visit the National Audubon Society at www.audubon.org.
Bat boxes are great to have in your backyard because they attract fascinating bats, providing a convenient, family-friendly way to help the environment. Building a bat box is also easy. Go to the National Wildlife Federation’s website (www.nwf.org/backyard/bathouse.cfm) to learn how to build one. At least twice during the summer, gather the family at twilight to count emerging bats. Successful bat houses require certain features and colors. The foundation can help with either kits or plans.
Once you start counting critters, you’ve become a “citizen scientist,” another great way to help wildlife. These volunteers collect ecological information, like the number and type of bats or birds, helping scientists understand and manage wildlife populations and learn about the effects of climate change on wildlife.
Portions of article courtesy of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Strength in Numbers Communities Come Together to Improve Our Environment
What do plastic bags, cigarette butts and fun in the sun have in common? They can all be found at Clean Ocean Action’s (COA) annual Beach Sweeps. Founded in 1985, COA is a leading national voice working exclusively for a clean ocean. The Beach Sweeps take place every year on designated dates from April through October along the beautiful New Jersey coastline.
COA is a coalition of 125 community groups, including boaters, divers, fishermen, garden clubs, educators, students, surfers and beachgoers, as well as 150 businesses and thousands of citizens! According to COA Executive Director Cindy Zipf, “It is the actions of citizens and committed companies like ShopRite that have contributed to our success and who can help to further improve and protect the ocean.”
Clean Ocean Action’s Beach Sweeps are an example of community groups and business working together in support of an environmental initiative. And taking part in an environmental project like this is not just for adults. Take 10-year-old Peter John Donnelly, for example. He attended his very first Beach Sweep with his “Gram” at the ripe age of three years! According to Peter, “I was young then, and I couldn’t understand why people left such a mess. I saw a dead bird all tangled in fishing string, and I was going to try to make sure it didn’t happen again.”
ShopRite established a community partnership of its own when it created the ShopRite Earth Day Challenge. “Each year we invite our customers and communities to clean up a park or other special place in their town with work gloves and trash bags provided by ShopRite,” said Karen Meleta, spokeswoman for ShopRite. “This litter-removal program has been in place for 11 years, and we have groups participating throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Organizations and community groups may contact ShopRite’s Customer Care Team at 1-800-ShopRite to participate.
“There is definitely strength in numbers,” said Meleta, noting that when communities come together to solve a problem or improve their neighborhood they can make a difference and accomplish what an individual could not do alone. In keeping with the Earth Day 2009 Green Generation theme, here are some ideas for getting involved:
New Jersey Clean Communities Council is New Jersey’s only statewide litter-abatement program; visit it at www.njclean.org. The organization is managed in part by the New Jersey Clean Communities Council, a nonprofit corporation whose goal is to change the attitudes, through education, that cause littering and irresponsible handling of solid waste. The NJCCC offers children and adults many opportunities to get involved with litter cleanups. Contact Sandra Huber, executive director, 479 West State Street, Trenton, N.J. 08618, 609-989-5900.
The Connecticut River is New England’s largest river ecosystem. The surrounding watershed consists of more than 11,000 square miles! The Connecticut River Watershed Council is involved in a number of conservation projects in this watershed, and its annual Source to Sea Cleanup takes place each fall. Last year more than 50 tons of trash were removed by 2,000 volunteers in 60 locations in several New England states. Visit www.ctriver.org to get involved in its 13th annual Source to Sea Cleanup!
Audubon Society‘s network of local chapters includes offices in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The group works to conserve and restore habitats for birds and other wildlife through scientific and educational programs, advocacy and engaging people from all ages and backgrounds. One of Audubon’s best-known events is the Great Backyard Bird Count. This annual four-day event engages bird watchers of all ages to count birds. The count provides scientists with a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. You don’t have to be an expert bird watcher to participate. To find out more about the Great Backyard Bird Count, visit www.birdsource.org/gbbc.
Clearwater of New Jersey is an organization that actively educates children and adults about the importance of clean, clear water. The organization urges citizens to be responsible custodians of all of New Jersey’s rivers, as well as the New Jersey and New York coastlines. This group is best known for its portable environmental classroom and its annual music and environmental festival in Asbury Park, N.J. Contact Ed Dlugosz, vice president, at 732-859-5752 or e-mail info@mcclearwater.org for a number of interesting volunteer opportunities.
The Chesapeake Bay watershed is located in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) works cooperatively with government, business and citizens in partnerships to protect and restore the bay. Created in 1967, CBF completed a landmark study in the 1970s in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency that provided the information needed to begin reducing pollution and educating the public about the importance of clean water. For more information about saving the bay, visit www.cbf.org.
When SC Johnson adopted its corporate maxim, “a family company,” many generations ago, few could have foreseen how far-reaching that commitment to family would extend. 
Ice cream is always fun to think about -- even when changing a light bulb. Those bulbs that swirl like a soft-serve ice cream cone save lots of energy.
CFLs come in lots of different brightness levels, shapes, sizes and tints of light, and are available for most types of lights, even ceiling fans. They are easily found on ShopRite’s shelves, and there will soon be a ShopRite brand of CFL bulbs.
A bog turtle won’t tell you his story — he’s too busy hiding. Stretching a mere 3 to 3.9 inches long when all grown up, the tiny bog turtle is not much longer than a playing card. His job is to survive in wet, grassy places.
As a guide for its work, the foundation uses New Jersey’s Wildlife Action Plan, a master blueprint to help declining and protected species (the plan is available online at 
The backyard is one place where it’s OK, and even better for the environment, to be a little messy. We’re all used to neatly manicured lawns and orderly gardens, but all of that chemical weeding and feeding isn’t wildlife friendly, says Margaret O’Gorman, executive director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
When planting in your backyard, seek out native plants whenever possible to help attract and provide food for birds, butterflies and bees. Native plants are present in your region, state or ecosystem without human assistance and have adapted over thousands of years in ecological balance with the other animals and plants, so they’ll generally require less water and are more disease resistant.
Bat boxes are great to have in your backyard because they attract fascinating bats, providing a convenient, family-friendly way to help the environment. Building a bat box is also easy. Go to the National Wildlife Federation’s website (
What do plastic bags, cigarette butts and fun in the sun have in common? They can all be found at Clean Ocean Action’s (COA) annual Beach Sweeps. Founded in 1985, COA is a leading national voice working exclusively for a clean ocean. The Beach Sweeps take place every year on designated dates from April through October along the beautiful New Jersey coastline.
“Gram” at the ripe age of three years! According to Peter, “I was young then, and I couldn’t understand why people left such a mess. I saw a dead bird all tangled in fishing string, and I was going to try to make sure it didn’t happen again.”