Quote Originally Posted by GlenBroomfield View Post
It's my understanding that this law has been voted on and it has unanimously been passed. I work for one of the third party registrars that can certify organizations to R2 and eStewards and we've already seen a large increase in registration requests here in Texas. Auminer, to a degree, you're correct that there are politics involved in some of the decision making, but let's hope that this particular mandate is for the best for our communities (and economy). You may work in a great organization that is doing all the right things, but you would be shocked by how many companies there are that operate with no regard for the environment or their stake holders. This mandate is intended to make life much more difficult for these types of organizations. Companies that are being responsible will also be effected by having to pay for a certification without making any major changes to their business, but it's a similar situation to healthcare coverage (the masses paying for the few). All companies have room to improve operations and their environmental footprint, regardless of how well they operate presently.

These types of federal or state mandates occur across lots of industries more often than one might think. Their intent is to improve the standard of living for the individuals effected by it.



I've read through all of the posts on this particular topic and there seems to be some confusion around the R2 and eStewards standards. These standards are a set of requirements that can be met in various ways (there's no cut and dry right, or wrong). Please feel free to contact me to discuss the standards and I also have access to various free tools to help you to implement a system that conforms to the requirements of eStewards and/or R2 to keep you in compliance. It doesn't have to be a painful experience and from the feedback I've received from my R2 clients, they've found they're able to win new business more easily with the certification and it's actually helped them to cut their operating costs by examining their procedures, and improving them.
Not to use this as an excuse to do the wrong thing, but wouldn't it be great if our government held our foreign trade partners to the same standards they hold our citizens? We send millions/billions/trillions of $$ of aid to countries that contribute more harm to the ecology than we do here at home. If it is so important for us here, why not make it as painless as possible? Why not do free training, free licensing, and free continuing education for corporations who get the certification? If the rewards are greater than the cost, shouldn't our government fund it? Make it mandatory with regular inspections to catch the "evildoers" who don't comply and fine them for not passing, but stop putting an undue financial burden on those in compliance.