Introduction
Green business also termed as sustainable business, is considered to be an enterprise which is formed with basic purpose of minimal negative impacts on local or global environment, society, community or in economy (Caprotti, 2012). Green business is one that strives to meet triple bottom line. It is observed that green businesses often have human rights and progressive environmental policies in their strategic frameworks.
In general, green businesses are those businesses which fulfill the following four criteria (Cooney, 2009).
1. The business is comprised of principles of sustainability and each business decision follows that principle.
2. The business has the vision of supplying environmental friendly products and services that are used as substitutes demand for non-green products or services.
3. The business is usually regarded as greener than traditional competition.
4. The business has made a continuing commitment to environmental principles in its business strategies and operations as well.
The green business or sustainable business in any company has great participation in environmentally friendly green activities in order to ensure that all products, services and manufacturing activities address adequately current environmental issues while revealing profits in their financial reports (Anderson & Anderson, 2009).
In other words, it is a business that addresses the requirements of the present world without being compromised the capacity of future
In order to save the environment from pollution, businesses should consider having an environmentally-friendly operation. Protecting the environment is a key factor in going green that is beneficial to businesses and the environment. This topic is discussed in Ava Mohsenin’s article, “Can Businesses Be Environmentally Sustainable And Still Make Money?” Businesses stepping forward to lead a change in sustainability signifies there is profit and other benefits to being environmentally friendly. Additionally, Dupont is committed to “65% reduction and was saving $2.2B a year” through energy efficiency (Mohsenin). Kate L. Harrison, a communications marketing expert, explains in the article “10 Ways to Green Your Business and Save Money” that although some methods will not show profit immediately, business owners that use public transportation or have a fleet of hybrid vehicles can see an increase in profits over time. Furthermore, Mohsenin suggests that companies give their employees Prius’ in order to save money on gas and not pollute the air as much, similar to a brewing company that follows these
One point of view says that we should invest in the environment because it will increase our reputation among other things resulting in increased sales. Another point of view is to not invest in sustainability and since consumers gravitate towards the best products and the best prices, which a team could develop, then sustainability is just an unneeded expense. As a team we feel that there should a balance of both investing in sustainable business practices and turning a profit. This strategy can be seen when we turned a $4,600,257 profit in quarter six while investing in seven conscious
As we have seen an increase in awareness around sustainability and climate change, with the help of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth documentary in 2006, we see organizations moving towards mitigating the effects of climate change in various ways (Al Gore, n.d). As this corporate social responsibility has become more prevalent, organizations are now pushing their green agenda by publishing sustainability reports, doing mass marketing and implementing sustainable business practices to portray the image that they too are working towards protecting the earth’s natural environment all the while focusing on their underlying goal of selling their products and
To a regular person, the global concern about ‘going green’ might appear as a result of speculation from nervous politicians and alarmed citizens. But the reality is totally different. In recent years, businesses have gained much knowledge about the impact of their activities on environment and in turns their customers. Businesses are successively venturing to earn greater revenues. In this process, they are trying out every best possibility to entice their contributors- from customers to investors. Regardless to say, stakeholders these days are more socially responsible than ever. So to keep up to their expectations, businesses are also trying to expand or limit their activities to save the environment- from doing relentless research on lowering waste to lean management and even trying out various eco-friendly activities. Despite of all these, the ultimate question remains unanswered if it is financially beneficial to adapt those initiatives that is going to serve the
The idea of sustainability has become an increasingly common term in the rhetoric surrounding business ethics, as corporates are gaining broader acknowledgement of this pro-active method which guarantees business long-term viability and integrity by focusing on the triple bottom line. In business, the three aspects of sustainability include social, economic and environment.
Greening is the act of saving energy and creating products that is eco-friendlier. Businesses that owns air dryers in their public restrooms, using reusable bags when shopping, buying cars and trucks that are fuel efficient or hybrids, and having solar panels built on the roof of a house to use energy given directly from the sun are just four examples of greening. Three businesses that are going green are: Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and Bank of America. Wal-Mart is putting its plan to power each and every one its stores using 100% renewable energy sources in the works; one of the many examples of Starbucks going green is now they sell customers a semi-permanent cup which only costs $1 and it lasts for about a month, instead of them giving away
Sustainability has achieved a more ecological tone in the past few decades in terms of a business model, but it originally derives from the concept that a business is successful due to the interconnected areas of economics, culture and ecology. Sustainability is now becoming a somewhat fad and thus it is understandable that it could be misconstrued by some as a form of “greenwashing”. Greenwashing is the idea that a company markets their “green” or environmentally friendly changes in policy and values, despite no actual concrete changes in these areas, for example some argue that Fiji Water greenwasher in terms of their marketing as an environmentally friendly water company despite their little effort to actually go carbon-neutral. Many companies are seeing the
The competitive environment in today’s business world poses many dangers to the sustainability of the biosphere, which is so vital to life. Business organizations have a responsibility to help sustain and preserve the environment for future generations. Corporations must take initiative in developing business plans that incorporate sustainable business practices into the strategic direction of the organization. Successful achievement of a sustainable business plan also requires identification of barriers to implementation and development of strategies to overcome such barriers. In addition, to
They are also focused on building sustainable worth in an environmentally friendly manner. Their focus on community is shown through improving environmental performance through reasonable,
As we can see , environmental challenges in recent years have increased the trend of “going green” in businesses like never before. There are two main factors that are currently pushing toward environmental-friendly business practices, harsher international and local regulations, and the high fluctuations of fossil-fuel prices.
In today’s business world, sustainability can make all the difference in the world. According to Tomson (2015), “sustainability has become an economic and strategic imperative with the potential to create opportunities and risks for businesses by creating new customer relationships, and inspiring new products and business models that drive growth. Consequently, companies that are, or aspire to be, leaders in sustainability are often challenged by rising public expectations, increasing technological innovation, continuous quality improvement, effective governance measures, high standards of ethics and integrity, and heightened social and environmental challenges” (p.1).
Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of
Businesses who participate in environmentally friendly practices will become more profitable. There are difficulties and costs that a business will face and profit takes time but is proven to positively impact a business. “The reluctance to address the forces that are polluting the planet always comes down to money (Smith, “6 Reasons Nations Don't Go Green.”). Implementing environmentally friendly practices within a company “will win them customers, and increase profits” (McDonald, “Why Do (or Don’t) Companies Go Green?”). Many global companies today carry out environmental management tools to adapt to environmentally friendly practices, which helps gain customers, and in turn becomes more profitable. In this paper, I will go into further detail explaining why businesses should be more environmentally friendly, the benefits to be gained, costs that come with being environmentally friendly, and management ways that help a company become environmentally friendly.
Business sustainability, which originally was viewed as a question of corporate governance, has now emerged as a central, multifaceted theme of the twenty- first century. It is now the responsibility of corporate boards and managers to focus on business sustainability by creating enduring value for shareholders and managing the interests of other stakeholders, including creditors, employers, suppliers, government, and society at large.
Stakeholder Engagement can factor this into a company in a number of ways. For example, if the company needs a new product supplied, rather than looking at the regular supplier the company can look at more environmentally friendly options. A ‘green’ company is normally well supported by the community as well as by shareholders as an environmentally friendly company is often seen as a good investment opportunity.