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Many of us are aware of the altruistic reasons for reducing our environmental impact, but
did you know that “going green” also makes good business sense as well? Fifteen years
ago Robert Bringer, 3M’s staff vice-president, stated in an address to Yale University that,
“Business interests have now merged with environmental interests. Forward-looking
companies are now building the environmental issue into their strategies. Forward-
looking companies are starting now to make investments in research and development
that will make their facilities and products more environmentally sound. Many of the
research objectives necessary to achieve this goal will also lead to lower costs, higher
quality, more marketable products, fewer liabilities, better employee morale, and enhanced
corporate reputation. Companies who do not include the environmental issue in their
strategy risk losing their competitive position in the long run.”
Discussions of exponential population growth and resource depletion are seeping into
boardrooms, in part because CEO’s are recognizing that there’s a finite amount of raw
resources on this planet that can be converted into tennis shoes, drinking water, lumber
and fax machines, (a.k.a. profit). There’s also a shrinking amount of land upon which we
can pile manufacturing and product waste, as well as tightening regulations about what
can be put in landfills and the atmosphere. Fines for disposal and emissions will increase
and someday shoppers will come to expect, as a simple matter of course, products that
(as in nature) don’t generate any waste or pollution. Increased “producer responsibility”
and “true cost accounting” (which take into consideration the process and “price” of
environmental damage and health issues associated with a product’s entire life-cycle) will
soon level the playing field and make green products more affordable and desirable for
manufacturer and customer alike.
When we spew toxic chemicals into the air and water that also jeopardizes the “natural
capital” upon which our lives and businesses depend. Some of the irreplaceable
environmental services we rely upon are also in an endangered state, as the mysterious
drop in the number of honeybees in the U.S. has illustrated. According to Zac Browning,
vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, every third bite of food we eat is
dependent upon pollination, which is an unintended consequence far beyond economics.
Until now we’ve been guided by outdated principles of business that boast as much
forethought as burning the furniture in our living rooms to heat our houses. Change in this
area is inevitable and with some insight managers can transform these challenges into
revenues.
By embracing corporate social and environmental responsibility companies can also
become magnets for loyal employees, members and customers who share and
appreciate those values. Making (and keeping) those public commitments and providing a
non-toxic workplace endears businesses to their community, not to mention the fact that a
happy employee is a productive employee. As Bennett, Freirerman & George point out in
Corporate Realities & Environmental Truths, “With environmental issues, everyone who
breathes your air or does business with you is a customer. Treat them right, and your
company has its best chances of gaining a competitive edge and prospering under any
economic conditions” (p. 29). As awareness grows about the relationship between
industry behavior and issues such as climate change, more and more customers in both
national and international marketplaces will be “voting with their dollars” and choosing
companies that are setting themselves apart.
These practical strategies also anticipate the inevitable shift in legislation and regulations
and help avoid time-pressed, costly adjustments down the road. We are already seeing
increases in these mandates including one in various stages that will ban the traditional
incandescent bulb in California, Australia, Chile and the European Union. Cities and
business around the world are also setting clear examples. Boulder recently became the
first municipality in the nation to tax its own energy use to pay for GHG emissions
reductions programs and Whole Foods has offset the energy used in every one of its 160
stores with windpower. Earlier this year Citigroup, Inc. announced that it will allocate $50
billion over the next 10 years to address climate change through investing in the growth of
alternative energy and clean technology, and scores of others have already incorporated
environmental sustainability into their strategic plans.
The other economic reality is that as a business takes simple steps to conserve
resources, improve efficiency and invest in renewable energy it saves money, period. The
initial investments for these new operational systems have shown an impressive payback
period and return on investment that clearly justifies their implementation. Using the
leverage inherent in the business community in a socially, environmentally and
economically responsible way is a means to greater profits AND a highly feasible and
powerful way to change the world for the better. Stepping up and doing the “right thing” can
increase company revenues while simultaneously making it easier to sleep at night and
look our children in the eye as we tuck them in. No matter what your motivations,
opportunities abound for creating a sustainable future and only time will tell who emerges
as the visionary leaders in this burgeoning field.
© 2007 JENNIFER H. WHITE, ROOT SYSTEMS INSTITUTE, LLC ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
did you know that “going green” also makes good business sense as well? Fifteen years
ago Robert Bringer, 3M’s staff vice-president, stated in an address to Yale University that,
“Business interests have now merged with environmental interests. Forward-looking
companies are now building the environmental issue into their strategies. Forward-
looking companies are starting now to make investments in research and development
that will make their facilities and products more environmentally sound. Many of the
research objectives necessary to achieve this goal will also lead to lower costs, higher
quality, more marketable products, fewer liabilities, better employee morale, and enhanced
corporate reputation. Companies who do not include the environmental issue in their
strategy risk losing their competitive position in the long run.”
Discussions of exponential population growth and resource depletion are seeping into
boardrooms, in part because CEO’s are recognizing that there’s a finite amount of raw
resources on this planet that can be converted into tennis shoes, drinking water, lumber
and fax machines, (a.k.a. profit). There’s also a shrinking amount of land upon which we
can pile manufacturing and product waste, as well as tightening regulations about what
can be put in landfills and the atmosphere. Fines for disposal and emissions will increase
and someday shoppers will come to expect, as a simple matter of course, products that
(as in nature) don’t generate any waste or pollution. Increased “producer responsibility”
and “true cost accounting” (which take into consideration the process and “price” of
environmental damage and health issues associated with a product’s entire life-cycle) will
soon level the playing field and make green products more affordable and desirable for
manufacturer and customer alike.
When we spew toxic chemicals into the air and water that also jeopardizes the “natural
capital” upon which our lives and businesses depend. Some of the irreplaceable
environmental services we rely upon are also in an endangered state, as the mysterious
drop in the number of honeybees in the U.S. has illustrated. According to Zac Browning,
vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, every third bite of food we eat is
dependent upon pollination, which is an unintended consequence far beyond economics.
Until now we’ve been guided by outdated principles of business that boast as much
forethought as burning the furniture in our living rooms to heat our houses. Change in this
area is inevitable and with some insight managers can transform these challenges into
revenues.
By embracing corporate social and environmental responsibility companies can also
become magnets for loyal employees, members and customers who share and
appreciate those values. Making (and keeping) those public commitments and providing a
non-toxic workplace endears businesses to their community, not to mention the fact that a
happy employee is a productive employee. As Bennett, Freirerman & George point out in
Corporate Realities & Environmental Truths, “With environmental issues, everyone who
breathes your air or does business with you is a customer. Treat them right, and your
company has its best chances of gaining a competitive edge and prospering under any
economic conditions” (p. 29). As awareness grows about the relationship between
industry behavior and issues such as climate change, more and more customers in both
national and international marketplaces will be “voting with their dollars” and choosing
companies that are setting themselves apart.
These practical strategies also anticipate the inevitable shift in legislation and regulations
and help avoid time-pressed, costly adjustments down the road. We are already seeing
increases in these mandates including one in various stages that will ban the traditional
incandescent bulb in California, Australia, Chile and the European Union. Cities and
business around the world are also setting clear examples. Boulder recently became the
first municipality in the nation to tax its own energy use to pay for GHG emissions
reductions programs and Whole Foods has offset the energy used in every one of its 160
stores with windpower. Earlier this year Citigroup, Inc. announced that it will allocate $50
billion over the next 10 years to address climate change through investing in the growth of
alternative energy and clean technology, and scores of others have already incorporated
environmental sustainability into their strategic plans.
The other economic reality is that as a business takes simple steps to conserve
resources, improve efficiency and invest in renewable energy it saves money, period. The
initial investments for these new operational systems have shown an impressive payback
period and return on investment that clearly justifies their implementation. Using the
leverage inherent in the business community in a socially, environmentally and
economically responsible way is a means to greater profits AND a highly feasible and
powerful way to change the world for the better. Stepping up and doing the “right thing” can
increase company revenues while simultaneously making it easier to sleep at night and
look our children in the eye as we tuck them in. No matter what your motivations,
opportunities abound for creating a sustainable future and only time will tell who emerges
as the visionary leaders in this burgeoning field.
© 2007 JENNIFER H. WHITE, ROOT SYSTEMS INSTITUTE, LLC ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Going Green is Good Business
by Jennifer White
by Jennifer White
© 1997-2008 JENNIFER H. WHITE, ROOT SYSTEMS INSTITUTE, LLC ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED HOME | ABOUT | SERVICES | RESOURCES | CONTACT |
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| Building a sustainable business isn't just desirable: it's imperative. ~ Gail Brownell, Environment & Sustainability Manager, Agilent Technologies Voted into the “Global 100: Most Sustainable Corporations in the World” |