Businesses can potentially cause damage to all areas of the environment. Some of the common environmental concerns include:
damaging rainforests and woodlands through logging and agricultural clearing
polluting and over-fishing of oceans, rivers and lakes
polluting the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels
damaging prime agricultural and cultivated land through the use of unsustainable farming practices
For much of the past, most businesses have acted with little regard or concern for the negative impact they have on the environment. Many large and small organisations are guilty of significantly polluting the environment and engaging in practices that are simply not sustainable. However, there are now an increasing number of businesses that are committed to reducing their damaging impact and even working towards having a positive influence on environmental sustainability.
Environmental sustainability forces businesses to look beyond making short term gains and look at the long term impact they are having on the natural world. You need to consider not only the immediate impact your actions have on the environment, but the long term implications as well. For example, when manufacturing a product, you need to look at the environmental impact of the products entire lifecycle, from development to disposal before finalising your designs