The Walt Disney Company is telling the world it plans to be greener. It’s recently released an environmental plan; one of the highlights is a goal of halving the company’s carbon emissions from fuels by 2012. Eventually, the organization hopes to have all its offices, retail complexes, theme parks and cruise lines functioning with zero direct greenhouse emissions.

Other goals released include reducing waste and reducing water usage. Presently, much of the 300,000 tons of waste created annually ends up being sent to landfill. Plans are now in the making to ensure that this is reduced by becoming more compost and recycle center savvy and also by buying more post-consumer recycled materials.

Electricity consumption is also being targeted with a goal of using 10% less by 2013.

It’s ambitious, but the Walt Disney Company does have a history of considering eco-friendly options. Over the years, they have made a conscious effort to pursue a philosophy of what they call environmentality.

Back in the 1960s,  the company set aside almost a  one-third of The Walt Disney World Resort property in Florida as a dedicated wildlife conservation area in perpetuity. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, set up in 1995, has provided  $12.8 million to support more than 750 conservation projects in 110 countries.

The Disney theme parks also reflect this concept of “environmentality” with the trains at Disneyland running on biodiesel made with cooking oil from the resorts restaurants and hotels. And all the Disney Florida resorts have Florida Green Lodging certification.

These large scale goals show Disney still has a long, long way to go, however – let’s hope they will achieve them.

Image: peasap

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