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Green business is inevitable. Right?

post #1 of 9
4/16/10 at 3:51am
Thread Starter 
 Hi AmaChristian  and a student of Business Management. To most, business activity exists with the main aim of making profit.That has been the view of many businesses  for many years.But now that view has to change. In the 21st century the role of business is not only to make profit. Due to growing environmental concerns, the survival of most if not all businesses will depend  on how they can contribute positively to societal and environmental needs in a sustainable manner.
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post #2 of 9
4/16/10 at 10:39am
Well, studies show that people are drawn to companies with eco-ethics but I very much doubt company survival depends on going green.

While people say they like these companies, green products and services still make up a very small % of business sales overall when compared to conventional products and services.
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post #3 of 9
4/22/10 at 5:10am
Thread Starter 
 According to Puma's CEO and chairman Jochen Zeitz, "Sustainability in business is no longer negotiable, it is absolutely necessary, and we companies are overdue in taking responsibility". Puma plans to introduce "green" shoe bags that are bio-degradable and can be recycled. Production of the bags will save about 8500 tonnes of paper and 60% of water and energy (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8619165.stm ). I'm sure the company will also save a lot of cash in the long term as a result of that move.
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post #4 of 9
4/22/10 at 9:03am
That's one company though. If green business was really that essential to the lively hood of the marketplace then explain...

  • How come green toys sell at only 1% of the toy marketplace and conventional toys make up the other 99%? 
  • How come the two major organic dairy farms in the country (the ones that make up like 68% of the organic dairy market) use factory farming methods? 
  • How come the most well-known green cleaners are made by Clorox, a company who also makes a slew of bleach-ridden, toxic products that still outsell the green cleaners? 

And most importantly how come more consumers don't call these problems out? 

IF green was really so flipping important to companies we'd see less greenwashing, more green products and most importantly consumers would not buy the other products - but they do, in hordes.

Green ethics are important to some consumers but not anywhere near enough to make it an essential tactic required by companies to sell products. At least not currently. Greenwashing and conventional products continue to outsell actual green products and likely will for a long time which means survival in spite of not being anywhere near green-minded.
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post #5 of 9
4/27/10 at 4:42am
Thread Starter 
You are absolutely right. Most companies do not care about the environment. But not for long as you suggest. With growing  water and energy demands, market leaders of the future will be those who conserve the environment. Just wait and see.
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post #6 of 9
4/27/10 at 8:23am
I agree that it's inevitable.  The fraction of businesses who seriously consider environmental impacts has been growing and will continue to grow.  Particularly when we finally get a climate bill which places a price on industry carbon emissions - that will basically force companies to evaluate their environmental impacts.  It's really just a matter of time.
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post #7 of 9
4/27/10 at 10:54am
Honestly, I don't agree. I don't think it's inevitable because consumers just don't seem to care enough. Some consumers care a lot, but too many don't appear to care at all.

I hope it's inevitable, but it's hard to imagine when you're constantly encountering greenwashing products, many in the homes of people I know to be very concerned about green issues. It's hard to get ahead of sneaky companies.

Still, all that said, I honestly hope I'm wrong 100% and that you two win this debate :)
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post #8 of 9
4/27/10 at 11:23am
I agree consumers in general don't care enough right now.  I'm just saying that eventually more people will care.  As the environment and climate change, we won't have much choice.  Plus the aforementioned government regulations will require businesses to reduce their environmental impacts.
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post #9 of 9
4/29/10 at 11:13pm
Thread Starter 
Saying that one day the survival of companies will depend on their willingness to save nature is like claiming that the sky is falling. I’ve realized that many years will have to pass for that to happen. If 99% of all companies are not green and each year 1% of the non-green companies fully convert themselves to be environmentally sustainable, 99 years from now all companies will be green. Of course that’s almost impossible due to lack of cash (not willingness) in most firms and constraints in available technology.

 

However, the 99-year period may be shortened by a sharp increase in raw material prices. If the prices of non-renewable raw materials which come from the environment, like water, which companies need,  keep on rising it will become cheaper for companies to adopt facilities and technology which will save the environment. For example, let’s say 1 liter of water costs $1 and a machine which can recycle water therefore saving 50 liters daily costs $2000. It’ll take 40 days to recover the money that was used to pay for the machine. If the price of water goes up to $1.5 per liter it’ll take only 26 days to recover the same $2000. The government may help by offering incentives not by introducing more regulations. The period may also be shortened by advancement in existing technology.

 

Since large firms are the ones which are more likely to conserve the environment- because of the money they earn, their sizes ( and of large amounts of waste they produce- it’ll become more profitable for them to do so compared to small firms. But the small firms will have to conserve the environment in order to save money like the large firms in order to compete with them in other words, the small firms will either have to shape up or else ship out.

 

In the mean time, let’s do everything we can to save our planet because the above scenario is less likely to happen. Let us as individuals and our families do what is within our capacity to save the earth.

 

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