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Disney World Makes Progress But Still Has Room For Improvement
What happens when your child comes home with an incomplete on their report card? You discuss the problems, find solutions, and then do everything you can to encourage them to do better. That is just what employees, guests, and Disney lovers all over the country are doing right now.
Disney World just released its first Corporate Responsibility Report but leaves us wondering -- “Where is the plan to reduce the use of hazardous cleaning chemicals"? The report does make strong commitments towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water conservation, which we feel is extremely important for all businesses. Without a comprehensive plan to reduce the use of hazardous cleaning chemicals and by continuing to use over 80 toxic chemicals in their cleaning product inventory, Disney World continues to put the health and safety of guests and employees at risk.
Top 5 Ways Disney World Can Do Better
- Discuss eliminating toxic chemicals holistically and embrace the precautionary principle in its over arching goals;
- Guests and potential guests should be able to easily access cleaning product information online and through written materials within Disney’s property;
- List and set goals to eliminate hazardous chemicals of concern such as reproductive toxins and endocrine disruptors;
- Provide concrete timelines, regular chemical assessments, and benchmarks that will lead to safer parks and resorts; and
- Show preference to independent third party certified products.
Quick Fact Sheet on CHEJ’s Recommendations to Disney
Read CHEJ’s full recommendations
Read Disney World’s Healthy Cleaning Policy
Learn more about green purchasing policies
Now is the time to encourage Disney World to cross the finish line!
Here's how you can help:
March 30, 2009 Campaign Update:
Disney World’s Race to the Greenwashing Finish?
Greenwash is a recently coined colloquialism that refers to companies concealing environmentally damaging activities through false or misleading environmental disguises. Disney World released a Healthy Cleaning Policy on March 10, the day of the company’s annual shareholder meeting. March 10 was also the day activists demonstrated outside the annual meeting in an effort to bring attention to the company’s continued lack of a comprehensive plan to eliminate hazardous cleaning chemicals in Disney World parks and resorts. After reading the new policy, many of us are quite confused as to what Disney World is really trying to accomplish. No goals, no chemicals of concern listed, no plan for disclosure of products. This policy is starting to sound like greenwashing to us.
We are happy to see the company make any step forward, but we along with guests and environmentalists see lots of room for improvement at Disney World. Being a leader means surpassing all those in the race and Disney just isn’t moving fast enough to call itself a leader.
We all know that Disney World understands the life of a child better than any other company and has shown progress in protecting the health and safety of employees and guests, but without a written, comprehensive, and transparent green cleaning policy we are left wondering where this industry leader really stands.
Facts You Should Know:
- It is commonly known that exposure to certain toxic cleaning chemicals and poor indoor air quality have been linked to the prevalence of asthma, exacerbation of asthma symptoms and other respiratory ailments.
- According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2003 alone, with 22 million people suffering from asthma nationwide, 12.8 million school days and 10.1 million workdays were missed due to asthma.
- According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the annual expenditures for health and lost productivity due to asthma are estimated at nearly $20 billion.
- In the article, The Health and Finances of Better Cleaning published in Building Services and Management in 2002, Steve Ashkin explained that recent research has shown that through better indoor air quality businesses can expect to see between a 0.5% to 0.7% improvement in worker productivity, which could lead to significant cost savings at Disney World.
- Across the spectrum of industry, governments, and households, decision makers are seeing the direct substantial financial benefits associated with implementing green cleaning policies.
Learn More About Green Purchasing Policies:
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