Going green might mean making more green for some corporate entities.

Corporate initiatives to increase environmental awareness were explored Friday during the 21st annual Red Clay Conference.

The conference, hosted by the University’s School of Law’s Environmental Law Association, examined interactions between environmental, business and corporate law.

Sustainability was the centerpiece of each panel and speech. Corporate representatives from Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines explained the significance of the merger between corporate and the environment.

“We’ve made a commitment to the health of our community,” said Ben Jordan, Coca-Cola environmental manager.

Progressing concerns stemmed from the company’s supply chain. Water use and packaging topped the list as concerns. With thousands of separate operating and franchise units, Coca-Cola holds the world’s largest bottle-to-bottle facilities. Consequentially, production costs are linked to water stress.

“We have a goal of 20 percent improvement in water use by 2012,” Jordan said. Using a cross-functional approach, Coca-Cola incorporates strict wastewater standards with national recycling efforts.

“We have over 200 projects in 60 countries,” said Vail Thorne, Coca-Cola senior environmental counsel. According to Thorne, the benefits of these projects include cost and risk reduction, but the main incentive stems from consumers and customers. Corporations tend to look to the European Union for growing trends in regulations.

“There’s recognition that regulation is coming down the pipe,” Thorne said. “If you’re not on the table, you’re on the menu.”

A confluence of factors that reflect on current environment law regulations and possible changes influence the dialogue between business and law. According to Thorne, law is essential for ensuring sustainable development. Business leaders pursue efforts to reduce emissions and waste to level the playing field that much more.

“The environmental can take really good business sense,” said Michael Morgan, Delta Airlines environmental sustainability manager. Extensive research in 2005 and 2006 prompted partnership with Coca-Cola and their recycling efforts. Delta Airlines sought 15 percent cost reduction and actually received 55 percent reduction.

“We cut almost 200 million gallons of water per year,” Morgan said.

With positive numbers and outlooks the business of green initiatives finds hope in the law. Businesses hope to stay ahead of the growing sustainability trend with the support of regulations and strict standards. Cost might be a large factor, but some representatives argue past that point.

“The ultimate goal is do no harm,” Morgan said.

The panel reflected a larger theme of the conference – interaction between often separated entities. The conference yielded conversation surrounding environmental issues and the business behind green initiatives. One prospective law school student left the conference relieved.

“This is different from the normal [conference],” said Thomas Whitley, a senior international affairs major from Alpharetta. “You normally hear from environmentalists – but this [is from] the corporate.”