Can businesses ever be truly environmentally sustainable

The process of globalization and the coming of the internet have changed the way people think about the environment. There are many problems regarding the environment such as global warming, pollution, water scarcity, and vanishing species among plants and animals. Along with these environmental concerns, the fact that people are now more aware of these problems and there are government regulations to save the environment have changed the way businesses are being run around the world.

“Sustainable development” is a new word in the world of business and economics.The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) defines the concept of sustainable development as a ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (Environment, 2006). Sustainable development includes development of the environmental, social and economic aspects of business. Environmental protection is one of the ways to achieve sustainable development. Through regulations and environmental risk management it is possible to create a healthy environment with clean air, unpolluted water and soil.

But to have sustainable development, just a healthy environment is not enough. There should be a healthy environment along with a healthy society and a healthy economy. Sustainable development can be achieved only through long-term strategies based on environmental training and education. According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, all businesses follow three stages in achieving sustainable environment: environmental compliance, environmental risk management and finally, long-term sustainable development strategies (IISD, 2006).

The first step on the journey is compliance with regulatory measures. When environmental regulations are not followed, companies are likely to undergo unnecessary expenses in the form of fines for not following the law or having to clean the environment or getting help from lawyers. Because of these expenses, many companies consider following environmental regulations as a burden. They feel that the company is likely to get a bad name because of these government rules.

To overcome the burden of regulations, some businesses try to have their own plans and environmental programs.They undertake many risk management procedures through the company by conducting environmental health and safety (EHS) assessments, develop environmental policies, and implement environmental management systems (EMSs). They may even adopt pollution prevention methods or recycling methods to convert policies into practice. The approach helps the company to save money by avoiding probable expenses due to environmental damages and lawsuits.

Moreover, the company also benefits through reduction of operating costs by adopting procedures such as waste minimization, pollution prevention and the elimination of health & safety hazards (IISD, 2006).All businesses seek to have profits. They also need to have good business prospects in the competitive market. Along with these objectives, there must also be environmental quality. In his study titled "Green and Competitive: Ending the Stalemate", Michael E. Porter and Class van der Linde have found that tougher environmental standards can actually improve competitiveness by pushing the companies to uses resources more productively (Porter and van der Linde, 1995).

This is supported by Tachi Kiuchi of Mitsubishi Electric who says: “Saving the environment is a “business opportunity”.This is also supported by the Aspen Institute, “By learning to ‘value the environment,’ companies and financial institutions are discovering another methods of making profits. (Shaw and Stroup, 2007). These sustainable development strategies are just new developments on existing environment policies. They are aimed at producing business methods that cause less damage to the environment, give good profit, and also create a good image among the general public and the shareholders of the company.

For any business enterprise, “sustainable development means adopting strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and improving the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future” (IISD, 2006). Literature Review: Bjorn Stigson in his research article titled “Pillars of change: business is finally learning that taking care of the environment and meeting social responsibilities makes good business sense” (2002) defines sustainable development as a lifestyle in which people live in such a way so that the future generations can have a good life.He compares sustainable development to a Greek temple with three pillars – the three pillars being - economic growth, ecological balance and social progress. Companies today are being put under pressure by many people such as government officials, customers, shareholders, board members and employees who demand that organizations act in a socially responsible manner and are environment friendly (Hart, 1995).

The reasons why companies have to be environment friendly is because of government rules, business law, obligations of a company towards the environment, the company’s public image, and to expand the customer base and gain competitive advantages (e. g. , Hart, 1995). According to a study by Cathy A. Rusinko (2005) there is more and more pressure on organizations to use environmentally sustainable practices in their production, packing, transporting and marketing activities. However, the article points out, there are some easily available tools that can help in important decision making for the managers of these companies.

Rusinko’s finding is that well-known quality management practices can be applied in order to acquire environmentally sustainable practices. For example, by repetitively applying the steps of the Demin Cycle of plan – viz. – plan, do, study and act, it is possible for managers to get guidance in decision making (Rusinko, 2005). The research article titled “The Future of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: A Rapidly Growing Assurance Opportunity” by Brian Ballou , Dan L. Heitger and Charles E. Landes (2006) says that there is a need for measuring and reporting on social and environmental performances by organizations to all the people involved with the company.

Such reports called as “Corporate sustainability reporting (CSR)” should include both financial and non-financial information regarding the company’s “operational, social and environmental activities’ and the report should also talk about the risks involved in the business. The authors say that there is an opportunity for CPA’s to audit the information presented in CSR. However, they do not say exactly how to measure and what to measure. (Ballou et al, 2006).The research paper titled "Environmental Sustainability and Analysis" By Michael K.

Ewert (2006), Johnson Space center discusses efforts that can be taken by companies to promote environmental sustainability. According to Ewert, natural resources such as air, water and food are becoming in short supply and there is a lot of waste being produced by businesses. The fact that public now know more about the dangers to biodiversity, damage to the ozone layer and global warming has raised a high alert indicating that there are only finite natural resources.Ewert defines sustainability “as development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The researcher chose three sustainability indicators for measuring environmental factors at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Overall, 15 indicators were selected and grouped and these included air pollution, waste/resource use, and energy.

The author has researched how the use of technology at JSC can improve environmental sustainability.His findings are: combined heat- and power-generation systems can be used to supply electricity and heat energy to the center and this would reduce waste; more efficient refrigerators and freezers that do not cause damage to the ozone layers could be used in public places such as cafeterias and science buildings and using fuel cells and solar panel can provide more electricity (Ewert, 2006). Alisa Gravitz in her article in “Yes! ” Magazine titled “12-Step Program to Stop Climate Change”(2007) talks about the research work at Princeton University’s Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI).The CMI group suggests that emissions should be kept stabilized at current levels, instead of more than doubling them over the next 50 years as would happen in normal course of business. By using special methods it was found that emission of Carbon-dioxide could be reduced by almost 1.

5 billion tons. Moreover, calculations showed that fuel could be saved for 2 billion cars from an average of 30 mpg to 60 mpg by 2054 - if car travel were to be decreased for 2 billion 30-mpg cars from 10,000 to 5,000 miles per year by 2054.Car travel can be reduced through alternative transportation means such as buses, vans, walking, biking, etc. Alisa Grantz lists a framework to avoid the perils of global warming: new buildings should be built in such a manner that there are zero emissions; There should be no further cutting of forest trees but planting new tree saplings should be doubled; soil erosion should be controlled; conservative farming techniques should be adopted; wind power should be used to provide power; solar power should be used wherever possible; efficiency of coal plants should be increased and there should be no further new coal plants; coal should be replaced with natural gas till new technology can replace natural gas; CO2 should be stored underground; zero-emission vehicles should be developed and supported; biomass should be used instead of fossil fuel. Alisa Grantz concludes if these steps were taken by businesses right now, by the year 2054, there would be sustainable environmental development (Gravitz, 2007).

General discussion:Businesses that are interested in developing long term strategies for sustainable environmental development have a wide range of goals than traditional ones. They are more socially aware and place a high value on the welfare of their employees, their customers and future generations to come. Generally, the top management of these companies are highly principled and are capable of setting a standard for their industry sector. However, the acceptance of sustainable environment practices needs new business tools, practices and relationships. A step by step directive for a business to develop sustainable environment practices is as follows (IISD, 2006):• A mission statement must be prepared which is a declaration of the goals, principles and operating procedures of a company.

• Progress should be measured and reported regarding social, financial and environmental goals.• In-house waste reduction and pollution prevention teams may be set up using personnel from various departments. But they need top-level support, adequate budgets, and ready access to all employees – to be truly effective.• First steps should be easy. To reduce waste, employees may be asked to do all printing and copying on both sides of the paper.

Providing refillable pens and switching off unused lights are all small starting points. Later on, tougher rules may be enforced – for example: the staff may be asked to use biodegradable cleaning products, and also use tissue papers made from recycled paper. Timed thermostats, water-efficient toilets, intelligent lighting systems and plumbing fixtures can be installed. The economic profit gained through these measures should be emphasized to all employees. Employees who bring in new ideas for environmental protection must be rewarded.

• Employees should be educated regarding sustainable environmental development.• An annual report on environmental progress should be prepared and read to the public and stakeholders.The Case of Sustainable Development in Nova Scotia:“Green Plan: progress towards a sustainable environment” was published by the Nova Scotia government and the steps it has taken to protect the natural environment are very practical. The Province of Nova Scotia’s approach to environmental management is based on the following principles (Nova Scotia, 2005):• Environmental protection is vital for the society for many reasons.• The environment can be managed only through a participatory approach and all citizens work together as a team.

• The most effective approach to dealing with environmental issues is to take a holistic view on the environment, the community and the economy of the business. Some of the steps taken that were based on the Green plan of Nova Scotia are as follows:• It was found that the government of Nova Scotia government spends about $1 billion every year on goods and services and new construction. So, a multi-departmental team was set up that hosted a green purchasing workshop for staff. It helped the company purchase environmentally friendly paper.

• Environment and Labor launched a pollution prevention plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, toxic substances, and waste from its operations. This was achieved by installing motion sensors for boardroom lighting, using gas/electric hybrid vehicles, installing water conservation devices, and purchasing fleet bikes for urban transportation.• Transportation and Public Works has improved the energy efficiency of government buildings through government’s House-In- Order program. Potential savings from this program are estimated at around 20 per cent of government’s total energy costs—saving Nova Scotia taxpayers about $3 million a year.

Greenhouse gas emissions will also• Energy Water conservation programs have been installed in housing units. An independent evaluation of the program shows that this program has been a huge success. It has provided a savings of nearly $1. 3 million in annual costs to businesses and there have been significant environmental benefits as well.

This is an example of a successful way of having a sustainable environment strategy. Conclusion: The environmental protection has so far being under the supervision of the government.The government has passed many laws to protect environment in many ways. However, all the regulations have not stopped the world from facing global crises such as inadequate water, impure air, destroyed ozone layer and diminishing fuel resources. Now, the time has come when there needs to be a joint effort to protect the land in such a way that it would be useful to all humans and particularly profitable to businesses.

Hence, it has become the main aim of companies the world over, to develop long term sustainable environmental strategies that can provide them economic profit in the long run, social welfare in the short run and a great public image in the immediate present.