Going green without recognition

Jan. 1, 2020
I have an issue with the whole "green" initiative.

I have an issue with the whole “green” initiative. Now, before I start getting hate mail, let me tell you why. Growing up in the auto repair industry, I guess I have always had a bee in my bonnet with being characterized as a dirty, wasteful industry. The fact is, that from the beginning, the auto industry has been a “Green” industry in many ways.

Henry Ford was big on using what are now called “sustainable” products for many uses. In fact, old Henry was into soy way before Starbuck’s. He made things ranging from interior knobs to body panels out of plastics that contained soy and hemp.

Used parts have been a critical part of the repair industry from its mass production inception. For decades, high-tech parts and otherwise very expensive components are remanufactured and put back into service, saving huge amounts of resources including metals, petroleum and electricity that would cost many times over the expense of repairing and replacing an original.

Now that I mention that evil petroleum, are we not recycling dinosaurs and plants whose energy was so conveniently stored in a liquid form and hidden all over the planet? To take it one step further, many repair shops burn their waste oil leaving almost no waste behind. Some oil companies are recycling engine oil, adding back the packages and selling it again.

Metal, glass and plastic components that are too broken to reuse are aggressively recycled, along with millions of tires.

So why does this whole green business thing rub me in a way that creates static electricity? Because it is businesses asking for a pat on the back or trying to hold themselves out for doing something that is part of a normal business’ responsibility to begin with. Let’s face it — if old Henry figured out that reusing his packing crates to build parts for Model Ts was a financially and environmentally wise way to do business, why do businesses need an award for recycling antifreeze or batteries or the cardboard their parts come in 100 years later? I think I have the answer to that one too, and it goes back to the beginning of this rant. Consumers think that our industry is dirty and wasteful. The second reason is that it is good for business because people believe the first reason.

PAGE 2

As an industry, can we do better? That answer will probably always be yes. Will consumers support shops with names like Green Earth Auto Repair because somehow going there will reduce their impact on the environment? The answer is probably yes, rather than taking the time to learn about a shop’s actual ability to keep their car running clean. Are my father and I going to jump on the green band wagon, change our shop name and join the Sierra Club? No, but we did let our customers know that we take the waste that we generate doing business seriously and we offered to take any oil or coolant that they might have hanging around their homes off their hands. In the big picture, lots of businesses do that and like us, have for many years.

It’s good business and it is our responsibility — no special awards necessary.

I have an issue with the whole “green” initiative. Now, before I start getting hate mail, let me tell you why. Growing up in the auto repair industry, I guess I have always had a bee in my bonnet with being characterized as a dirty, wasteful industry. The fact is, that from the beginning, the auto industry has been a “Green” industry in many ways.

Henry Ford was big on using what are now called “sustainable” products for many uses. In fact, old Henry was into soy way before Starbuck’s. He made things ranging from interior knobs to body panels out of plastics that contained soy and hemp.

Used parts have been a critical part of the repair industry from its mass production inception. For decades, high-tech parts and otherwise very expensive components are remanufactured and put back into service, saving huge amounts of resources including metals, petroleum and electricity that would cost many times over the expense of repairing and replacing an original.

Now that I mention that evil petroleum, are we not recycling dinosaurs and plants whose energy was so conveniently stored in a liquid form and hidden all over the planet? To take it one step further, many repair shops burn their waste oil leaving almost no waste behind. Some oil companies are recycling engine oil, adding back the packages and selling it again.

Metal, glass and plastic components that are too broken to reuse are aggressively recycled, along with millions of tires.

So why does this whole green business thing rub me in a way that creates static electricity? Because it is businesses asking for a pat on the back or trying to hold themselves out for doing something that is part of a normal business’ responsibility to begin with. Let’s face it — if old Henry figured out that reusing his packing crates to build parts for Model Ts was a financially and environmentally wise way to do business, why do businesses need an award for recycling antifreeze or batteries or the cardboard their parts come in 100 years later? I think I have the answer to that one too, and it goes back to the beginning of this rant. Consumers think that our industry is dirty and wasteful. The second reason is that it is good for business because people believe the first reason.

PAGE 2

As an industry, can we do better? That answer will probably always be yes. Will consumers support shops with names like Green Earth Auto Repair because somehow going there will reduce their impact on the environment? The answer is probably yes, rather than taking the time to learn about a shop’s actual ability to keep their car running clean. Are my father and I going to jump on the green band wagon, change our shop name and join the Sierra Club? No, but we did let our customers know that we take the waste that we generate doing business seriously and we offered to take any oil or coolant that they might have hanging around their homes off their hands. In the big picture, lots of businesses do that and like us, have for many years.

It’s good business and it is our responsibility — no special awards necessary.

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