Business and Sustainability (6,531 characters / 1230 words)
I. INTRODUCTION
1 Are human beings harming their world? There are increasing concerns that we are damaging our environment. People are using up natural resources such as water, land, fossil fuels (for example, oil and gas), wood, and minerals. Humans are also polluting the water and air. However, the biggest concern about the environment today is climate change. Many scientists believe that the world is getting warmer and that human activity is the cause of this change. This global warming may lead to all kinds of problems, such as floods, droughts, and change in the weather and in plant and animal life. The consequences could be very serious. Many businesses are beginning to respond to consumers’ environmental concerns. They are thinking about how they can make their products and do business in ways that will not damage the environment so much.
II. SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
1 Consumers want products and services that encourage sustainability, and business are starting to provide them. Sustainability is our ability to meet the needs of people today without decreasing our ability to meet the needs of people in the future. When a process is sustainable, it can occur again and again without negative consequences. For example, using gasoline in a car is not sustainable process. It has three negative consequences. First, it pollutes the air. Second, it uses oil. The supply of oil will eventually run out because it is a nonrenewable resource. Finally cars also emit carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the main causes of global warming. Our use of fossil fuels, such as gasoline, will cause the level of CO2 to go even higher in the future.
2 In contrast, using energy from the sun to heat our home is an example of sustainable process because it does not pollute or increase CO2 levels. In addition, solar energy in renewable it will not run out. The use of this form of energy is growing in popularity. The use gray water is another example of a sustainable process. Usually, after we wash our hands or dishes, or take a shower, the dirty gray water is lost. However, that water from sinks and showers can be used again in factories or to water plants. Many consumers like these ideas for sustainable use of resources. They want businesses to be environmentally responsible, that is, to reduce their use of energy and other nonrenewable resources, and to decrease their negative impact on the environment.
3 Businesses are responding to these environmental concerns in several ways. There is an increasing demand for green products and services, which will not harm the environment. Businesses are starting to meet this demand with new products. One of the best-known green products is the hybrid car. Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda were the first to produce large numbers of these cars, which use both gasoline and electricity for power. Electricity is a cleaner source of power than gasoline. Hybrid cars are quieter and use less energy than traditional cars. They also emit less CO2 than traditional cars. The public also wants more alternative for energy, especially from renewable sources. Global companies are responding to this new demand. They sell alternative energy solutions, such as wind and solar power, to governments and communities all over the world.
4 Concern for the environment has created many new products. However, consumers are also demanding that companies make familiar products more sustainable. For example, furniture has traditionally used wood from trees that take a long time to grow. Many of these trees come from tropical forest in Brazil, Malaysia, and Myanmar. Using these woods can destroy the forests and the animals that live in them. These forests are also significant because they help decrease the levels of CO2 all over the world. Some large international companies, like Sweden-based Ikea, use other, more sustainable woods in their furniture. They use a lot of bamboo, which is a type of wood that grows very quickly and is a more renewable resource than other tropical woods. There are other ways businesses can help the environment. The Japanese electronics company, Sony, is eliminating poisonous elements, such as lead and mercury, from products. Today’s electronics, like video cameras and television, use 20- 50 percent less energy than earlier models.
5 Environmental concerns have also made consumers more careful about the food they eat. Many people want to be sure their food is grown without chemicals that can harm the environment and their health. As a result of these concerns, they choose organic foods. Global sales of organic food and drink have increased by about 15 percent every year for the past ten years, and demand is rising more quickly than the supply. In 2006, global sales of organic food products were almost $40 billion. Many farmers have started to sell organic products.
III. BUSINESS PRACTICES THAT PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
1 Businesses are starting to make more sustainable products. However, they are also making other changes in order to decrease their impact on the environment. Volvo, the Swedish car manufacturer, builds hybrid cars, but it also has built factories that use only renewable energy. These factories do not pollute or contribute to global warming. Businesses that cannot make these big change can make small one. For example, they can plant gardens on the roofs of their office buildings and factories. These gardens help keep the buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer, so they need less energy. The plants in these gardens also lower CO2 levels. Some businesses are even replanting large forest areas to balance the CO2 they emit into the air.
2 Recycling is another way that businesses can help protect the environment. Dell Computer helps consumers to do this by accepting donations of old computers that are still usable. If the computer is too old for donation, Dell will take out the usable part and use them in another machine. Recycling of all kinds of products has become an important business because the price of new materials is rising. Paper has become more expensive. This makes paper recycling profitable, especially in countries with growing economies. China has only 5 percent of the world’s forests, but it has a rising demand for paper. Today, it is the largest importer of recycled paper in the world.
3 Why are businesses making all of these changes? They are paying more attention to their responsibility in protecting the environment for two main reasons. First, this can save money. One snack company in the United States, Frito-Lay, is building new factories that do not use fossil fuels. Instead, the factories use only solar energy, which can cut the company’s energy costs. The second reason to be environmentally responsible is that it can improve a company’s image Frito-Lay can advertise its snacks as green products. Sometimes consumers will pay more for a product if they think is good for the environment.
4 The idea of sustainability is very popular with today’s consumers. However, sustainability works best if it is also profitable. Businesses are more willing to do something good for the environment if it also good for them. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest company, has been more famous for low prices than for sustainability. In 2006, the company decided to show the world it was serious about helping the environment. It began to sell a type of light bulb that lasts longer but uses much less energy than traditional bulbs. The goal was to sell one bulb to each of the company’s 100 million customers. Then Wal-Mart started using these bulbs in its own stores and instantly save $6 million in electricity costs. This convinced Wal-Mart and many other companies that sustainability in business can be both popular and profitable.