Last night’s plenary speaker, Tensie Whelan, former President of the Rainforest Alliance, discussed the issues of sustainability and the natural environment. Currently the Earth’s ecological footprint is 1.6 planets. Whelan and Rainforest Alliance have sought to transform land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior through their use of a frog
Abstract The following report attempts to illustrate the differences between going green and greenwashing and how that affects corporate social responsibility within the City of Vancouver as an organization. Fifteen scholarly journal articles have been used to further support this discussion and provide insight into the world of greenwashing 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
Shaw, J. and Greatrix, L (2015) press release states the foundation of Canadian Tire: Canadian Tire was founded in 1922, providing Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal Categories. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment
Macro-environmental Impact In order to formulate a strong marketing strategy, Skarp Razor needs to analyse their strengths and opportunities in order to downsize their weaknesses and threats on the market. By evaluating the external factors of the company, they will have a better perspective on what will affect the growth of
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
CSR vs. GenerationIM’s Often times the focus is on the immediate profits and bottom line of the financials are driven by profit margins and immediate financial results. This tunnel vision can often times cause an organization to cut corners and not prepare for the long-term goals in sight. Whereas, providing a challenge in obtaining additional buy-in from businesses to support the overall cause, as well as, focusing on the longevity and long-term growth that the sustainable capitalism
Business Models: Walmart vs. Starbucks Introduction Sustainability has become a great topic of interest in many arenas. Particularly, leading organizations are recognizing sustainability needs to be an essential aspect of their long term strategies. With this recognition, better business practices are being sought by investors
The New Sustainable Advantage showcases the importance of how organizations, large and small can identify areas in which their sustainable measures can improve their green thumbprint as well as increase their overall revenues in about 5 years. Bob presents this model in a systematic way pursuing that organizations can improve productivity and become more sustainable over time without sacrificing revenue. This should begin at the CEO Level of every organization as well. Without upper management cooperation and understanding, it will be much harder and near impossible for a company as a
Despite the fact that the firms have been more inclined towards ensuring sustainability using renewable energy and the governments have instilled regulations to ensure that firms comply with the multitude of environmental rules and standards, the carbon footprint of the world has increased. Per a report published by the World Bank, the C02 emissions in 2000 was 4.034 metric tons per capita and in 2015 it increased to 4.996 metric tons per capita (C02 emissions, The World Bank). Even though the C02 emissions are increasing with a decreasing pace, the per year value has still gone up over the last 10 years. This indicates that while green businesses and a sustainable mindset has been the norm in organizations and their cultures, it still has not led to a fall in carbon emissions per year. The right mindset will aid the step in the right direction but the right execution is what will yield sustainable results.
Chris Laszlo and Nadya Zhexembayeva, authors of the book Embedded Sustainability The Next Big Competitive Advantage is an excellent and compelling guide to educate businesses worldwide. The authors cleverly combine sustainability and strategy, now and in the future while maintaining that competitive advantage. They illustrate how to be successful in the 21st-century and that corporations will have the capability to embed sustainability in their everyday agenda. For any business that wants to profit and maintain growth, embedded sustainability is essential. This strategy will help keep a competitive edge on concepts that will help future leaders with the upcoming strategies. These are distinct but interconnected trends that fall
The whole meaning of the book Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive Advantage is to learn about the incorporation of well-being, social importance, and ecological in the essential of business activities with no compromise in price or quality. The book shows readers that embedded sustainability allows companies to have a better turn out for a smarter way of producing products. It also allows companies to maintain a higher return for investors by reacting with new market strategies of lowering resources and raising customer expectations. In part one the authors begin with sustainability at the frontline of business.
Starting with the micro-economic perspective, the sustainable initiatives by the company reduce the company’s operational costs in the short-term, and create a beneficial internal culture in the long-term. In 2014, PepsiCo realized immediate savings from its initiatives, as would be expected from a reduction of necessary inputs. By reducing the water use per unit of production, the company saved approximately $17 million in 2014 alone (PepsiCo Inc., 2015). Efficient use of energy sources provided an estimated cost saving of more than $83 million (PepsiCo Inc., 2015). Additionally, emission-reduction initiatives, reductions in packaging costs, and reduction in landfill waste saved $62 million, $48 million, and $3.5 million respectively (PepsiCo Inc., 2015). Now, by large these initiatives were implemented strategically, it was not simply a
Executives across the world believe that business plays a wider role in society and has responsibility to address issues such as environmental concerns beyond just following the law to minimize pollution. More and more companies now watch the benchmark of how they benefit, not just the profits, but also employees and the environment as a whole. Companies realize they have to take bold steps to minimize their carbon footprint, create environmentally friendly products and manage the company for more than just the next quarter’s profits.
Innovation and entrepreneurship is critical to the success and future success of companies and the economy. As stated by Nathan Rosenburg, “there are only two ways of increasing the output of the economy (1) you can increase the number of inputs that go into the productive process, or (2) if you are clever you can think of new ways in which you can get more output from the same number of inputs.” Sustainability is the drive to increase the output in the economy in more efficient and different ways. It seems that originally, companies were forced to be more sustainable through government rules and regulations. However, it is becoming more and more relevant that companies take charge on their own. For they can use their innovations and eco-friendly decisions as a key marketing point and consumers are beginning to care more and more about a company’s environmental footprint.