Last week Chipotle launched a promotion of its “Sofritas,” a tofu-based vegan option. Customers who added Sofritas to their meal on Jan. 26 could return with in the next month and get a free burrito, bowl or salad of any protein option as long as they had their receipt to prove the Sofritas purchase. The negative environmental impact of the meat and dairy industries has been widely documented, making the nature of this promotion environmentally exciting itself.

The promotion was a tremendous success. A Jan. 27 blog from Slate.com detailed how the only downfall of the promotion was that it was so popular many locations ran out of the Sofritas. From personal experience, some locations where this occurred still awarded the signed receipt if it was conveyed that the original intent was to try Sofritas.

Chipotle exemplified how businesses can further its environmental sustainability, both in image and in practice, while increasing sales. More businesses should follow suit.

“When we created Sofritas, our goal was to create a delicious vegetarian option, but we quickly learned that it also appeals to many of our non-vegetarian customers,” explained Chipotle’s chief marketing and development officer Mark Crumpacker in a release about the promotion.

Another company having success is Beyond Meat, a food company that produces 100 percent plant-based meat substitutes. According to its website, Beyond Meat’s “vision is 25 percent reduced meat consumption by 2020.” Beyond Meat is leading the way into the profitable new field of meat substitutes.

If you think this is an industry for free loving hippies exclusively, you could not be more mistaken. Randy Komisar, a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield Breyers has backed Facebook, Google and now Beyond Meat.

“Frankly, we’ve never been interested in food. What we’re interested in is big problems needing solutions, because they represent big potential markets and strong opportunities for building great returns,” Komisar said in April 2014 The New York Times article.

Living sustainably is undoubtedly positive, and it can be a strong motivator that companies should, ethically, tap into. Still, much responsibility falls on the consumer to determine if these tactics are genuine. Many people are familiar with the term “greenwashing,” the idea that companies will brand their products as being “green” or “sustainable” simply to make a profit, when in reality their practices are in no way environmentally beneficial.

For example, as reported by a 2013 International Business Times article, uninformed consumers might see Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle advertisement, promoting new 30 percent plant-based packaging coupled with stereotypical eco-friendly imagery and believe that indeed Coca-Cola was helping the environment. They might even buy the product. However, if those people were to read to fine print, they would see that this bottle did in no way benefit the environment.

Most companies do a better job covering their ugly secrets but, if there is one thing to take away, it is that eventually they will be exposed. It is in the best interest of companies to operate with transparency. It is much better to be honest about the environmentally positive practices that do exist than to exaggerate the magnitude of those that don’t.

But, back to Chipotle. This a business that is thriving, one that has carved out success in the “better for you than McDonalds, Burger King and so on,” fast food niche and one whose customers are willing to pay more for food that is both healthier and better for the planet.

It will be imperative for our generation to understand that adopting sustainable practices, if marketed correctly, can and will drive business. We’ve all heard of corporate social responsibility. Let’s call this corporate environmental responsibility, and let’s make it the norm.

Azor Cole is a junior public relations major and geography minor. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at azcole@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @azor_cole.

Published on February 5, 2015 at 12:20 am