Secret sustainability: Why many businesses hide their green credentials

You would imagine any company that figures out how to do something more sustainably than other businesses would make it known to the public. That, however, is far from the truth. Cassandra Coburn unveils the unseen world of secret sustainability, whereby innovations are silently enacted and kept from the rest of the industry. 

Take, for instance, two well-known wineries in Portugal that have quietly switched from conventional to organic practices. They ditched all unnatural pesticides and fertilizers, investing heavily in technology that keeps the soil strong without anything artificial. The result is healthier soil and vines and an 18 percent harvest increase per hectare – with a significantly reduced environmental footprint. And they haven’t told their retail customers. Why? 

According to one professor, the answer might stem from a perception that there must be some downside to the introduction of sustainable practices, either a reduction in product quality or an…
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