How Countries are Going Green in Terms of Businesses - Research Paper Example

How Countries are Going Green in Terms of Businesses Introduction In last couple of decades the environmental concerns have been on a constant rise. Countries are wary of the effects that it may have in the coming eras. Business communities worldwide are looking for ways to counter this dilemma effectively and efficiently. Many seminars and workshops are observed to be taking place so that new ideas can come up for dealing with this situation. Governments have been constantly demanding the business entities to invent and promote environment friendly business practices. So, going green means finding ways to eradicate practices which causes harm to the environment and effective waste management are termed as “going green” (Albright). The name “going green” can be heard in every corner of the world now. The problem however, is very few understand its correct meaning. A survey result, conducted by National chamber of Commerce showed that 80% of the population were aware of the term “going green”, but 70% of them didn’t know the exact meaning of going green (Albright). Still, we hear the term many times in a single day. Most of us would know that the climate is changing; green house gases are affecting our environment, the concept of global warming, etc, but what we don’t know is its true value. Reluctance in “Going Green” Many business entities are still feeling reluctant to go green as far as their business practices are concerned. Although they will be front runners in promoting the concept, but the situation would be entirely different if their business practices are scrutinized. Businesses may suggest ideas but when the execution stage arises, they may show reluctance in implementing the concept. The main reason for their reluctance is the cost associated with the technology that would help them in going green. For profit making businesses, the element of cost is a major concern for them and all strategies are implemented to make the business a cost effective organization. The lack of vision prompted this perception. A good percentage of business entities do not realize that going green will be the most profitable step they would take. The step may not seem a profitable one in the short run, but it is definitely fruitful one in the longer run. Davis S, CEO of UPS is of the opinion that green house gases are definitely affecting the environment and it is the biggest challenge in protecting the environment which would then definitely impact the global economy. So, it is the responsibility of every business entity to ensure the implementation of operations that may reduce the release of carbon in the atmosphere (Dietrich). Why Go Green? The simple answer to the question “what is the need to go green for business?” is, “it creates value for the business”. The next argument might very well be that how it can create value when it so costly to implement? The answer to this question however is comprehensive. A brief but comprehensive answer is as under. How Going Green Creates Value? A limited understanding or perception to the concept has made it difficult for most to understand the answer to the above mentioned question. Any business operation which would implement go green practices will avail the benefits including low production cost, reduced waste material, maximum use of resources, optimized supply chain, etc. These benefits may be observed by the organization after some time rather than on an immediate basis and in the long term scenario, this method would prove to be highly cost effective for the businesses. All these benefits will be possible because going green will allow firms to recycle the used material, usage of wasted material and reduced workstation spaces. All these factors will help firms to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. They would be able to produce maximum output with minimum level of resources. Also implementing going green strategy will help firms promote their business with a resounding impact on their customers. This can result in increasing their customer base and ultimately their revenue. Customers would develop a positive image of the organizations that are practicing the go green concept as this reflects that the organization is concerned about the environment and the community where it is conducting its business operations. Steps of Going Green Every business is characterized by its five different processes. These include, inputs, processes, outputs, marketing and externalities of the environment (Titley). The road to successful implementation of going green strategy does not only mean to introduce the unpolluted practices. It goes way beyond it and includes creating strong relationships with customers and grabbing the market share of the industry. This will aid the firm to not only focus on productivity, but also examine the life-cycle of any product or service. Critical Factors of Green Business The green business trend started to get more prominent due to the recent changes in the business world. The two major changes include the introduction of regulatory bodies and increasing customer demand. A recent research by Clean Tech Venture showed that public awareness and public policies are two major factors in the increasing trend of business adapting green practices (Kabiraj, Topkar, and Walke). The increasing competition and increasing cost of production are other major factors that have compelled businesses to switch over to green practices from traditional business practices. This trend of switching over to green practices is a win-win situation for both business and consumers. The businesses enjoy the state of efficiency while consumers enjoy low prices and more importantly a cleaner environment. Consequences of not “Going Green” Ever since the evolution of technology and business world, climate has been affected tremendously. The recent changes in the environment caused by the demolition of forests and mismanagement of waste have caused our planet to go warmer and warmer. The amount of carbon dioxide and methane is on a constant rise in the atmosphere. Different authorities on environment have indicated that the temperature of the earth has increased by 1.5°F since the initiation of industrial age. Furthermore, the ice of Greenland is lessening by 24 cubic miles per year (Kenney). If the businesses do not implement the going green strategy now, there are greater chances of disastrous effect on the global economy. These damaging effects will most probably cease the fertility of most land. The time may not be that far when food supply of nations might not be sufficient. These problems may gradually lead to other major problems such as of inflation and unemployment. So, not realizing the importance of going green may not only effect the environment, but the economy and life on earth as well. Examples of Organizations With time, many organizations have started implementing strategies to become environment friendly and work upon the concept of going green. The bank of America made efforts to become environment friendly and it managed to have a reduction in the receipts of the ATM by 5 pounds. This allowed it to save paper as well as transportation costs ("Greening Business"). Other costs that were saved were the storing costs of the bank and the handling costs of the bank. The approximate savings that the bank was able to do per year was around $500,000. Coca- Cola worked on reducing its costs of packaging and it was able to save approximately $100 million. Marks and Spencer was able to save up approximately around 50 million pounds in its revenue via practicing ethical guidelines of business as well as environmental guidelines ("Greening Business"). Conclusion The above discussion elaborated what is meant by going green, its importance, steps for going green, and the consequences we may have if we did not adapt green practices at the individual and business level. Organizations have gradually started to realize the importance of going green and hence are implementing strategies in their firm to become environment friendly and reduce costs as much as possible. The cost of going green might be higher in the short run but can be extremely profitable for everyone in the longer run. The profitability will not only be in financial terms, but in the goodwill terms as well. Moreover, the cost of implementing going green strategy can never be higher than the value of our future generation. Works Cited Albright, Evan. The Book on Going Green. 1st. Malibu CA: Kings Hill Publishing, 2008. Print. Dietrich, David. "Why Going Green Creates Business Value." The Business Forum Journal (n.d.): 1-2. Print. "Greening Business". Earth Share. 2012. Web. 5th March 2013. Kabiraj, Sajal, Vinay Topkar and R.C. Walke. "Going Green: A Holistic Approach to Transform Business." International Journal of Managing Information Technology 2.3 (2010): 24-27. Print. Kenney, Ian. The Effects of Not Going Green. 15 June 2011. Web. 1 March 2013 Titley, Briyan. Competitive advantages and Green business. London: Ernst and Young, 2008. Print. Read More