I sympathize with the dilemma you describe - initiative overload is one of the real effectiveness killers in industry, and can often keep companies from focusing on the most important things they should pursue. Start by setting some clear objectives that lay out what you want to achieve in short, medium and long timeframes in terms of improving your environmental performance. Just doing that will help get you aligned with any corporate goals your company may have or allow you to lead in defining priorities for your area of responsibility.

Once you've done that, you can have much more control over the conversations, since you will have a framework of priorities and the criteria by which you will choose what initiatives to take on. In terms of cost - Deming said that defining a quality level in the absence of any understanding of the cost required to achieve it was a meaningless exercise; I believe strongly this applies directly to 'green' initiatives.

The concept of the "triple bottom line' is useful here, and you should direct early energies to concepts that not only have measurable positive environmental impact, but for which you can clearly see how success will lead to improvements in your operations that improve cost, quality, customer perception, etc that have a real payback. This will also be a valuable tool for getting others in your organization on board.

This is a difficult process to get started; clarity, simplicity and clear articulation of benefits are key to getting buy-in and resources.

I agree with Timothy.
Probably all those "Green Initiatives" you are talking about are relevant on particular and different point of views ... but those "point of views" may be not relevant for your needs and your strategy.
So the best start point is to clarify
what you need,
what you have with Today system to fulfill your needs, how much does it "cost" you today in
Tocicity potentials, Energy, Materials, Process efficiency & Scaps (T.E.M.P.S)
and to measure
your Today environemental impacts compared
with the ones of the Alternatives proposed
to you as "Green Initiative".
Then you may be able to analyze if one of the "Green Initiatives" is given you improved or new
stategical, economical and ecological advantages
for your products.
If those "Green Initiatives" have really "added value" for environemental issues:
you should be able to sell it as well :-)
Hope this well
Gerald ECOscore6

I mention in my blog, what comes first, the sustainable chicken or sustainable egg? Prioritize your projects, determine time lines to implement these various projects and then determine a course of action. You may find some that are not a high priority but can be implemented fairly quickly and efficiently. Take the low hanging fruit, build a bit of momentum and move forward. Challenge those that try to increase your costs. I refuse to accept increases as they are short sided. Find organizations that are ready to partner with you, one's that see the bigger picture and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Cost is the first concern that I hear from my clients. Green materials can be more expensive and less available than traditional materials. We help them focus on what can be done within their budget and their green strategy. Don't forget that simply using less of your current packaging materials via smart structural design can be a solution. Packaging that uses less of your materials, saves all the way around: less weight to deliver and it saves fossil fuels, too. Smart structural design seems overlooked when everyone is so focused on trying to use the latest green materials.

How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Now that we have established some breathing room let’s focus on the entrepreneurial spirit within Sargento Foods. Judging from the number of leading accreditation's linked to innovation & marketing there is evidence of an early adoption culture. Being recognized in your markets as the innovative product leader indicates that your R&D is rather effective as well.

Based on my experience of companies established in the early 50’s the know how is retained in the heads of key personnel and has not yet been mapped into processes. For instance someone must be scouting new technologies, market trends and evaluating emerging technologies. Life becomes much less complicated when the process is transparent and available to those that want to build a business case for a new product or marketing campaign, as you are implying.

Going GREEN is not unlike implementing a new food process, packaging format or CIP system (Cleaning in Place). Public opinion towards environmental issues however has accelerated early deployment of solutions that perhaps require further validation. As is the case when public opinion drives development. Consider green technologies as emerging technologies and complete the due diligence before committing to an investment.

Don’t lose sight of the business objectives and bear in mind that solutions are application dependent, not one size for all.

We do a lot for all our clients as part of our ongoing design work. Many of these greener programs are really CTOs disguised as green. We would be happy to help anyone that needs a guide through Green Land. Recently we changed a client from a 2 pc carton to one with no visible on shelf change. If this is the type of expertise you are looking for, contact me directly.