Secret of Green Businesses Popularity - Literature review Example

Running Head: GREEN BUSINESSES Name Course Institution Tutor Date Introduction In the contemporary world, the issue of green businesses has gained a lot of momentum and popularity. Green businesses basically entail ensuring that all activities carried out in conduct of business are in line with environmental policies and regulations. Green businesses are meant to enhance sustainable growth where their objectivity in achievement of goals does not jeopardize the future of coming generations. The issue of green businesses has been necessitated by the realization that human beings are responsible for widespread destruction and degradation of the environment. Environmental pollution and other statistics are alarming and have called for immediate action by authorities all over the world. With current rates of environmental degradation, human life as we know it is on the brink of extinction in the next few generations. Humanity has become so ambitious and competitive in a capitalistic world that the detriments of their actions are ignored. Extreme weather has nowadays become a common issue. Rising global temperatures have seen the ice caps in the glaciers melt, causing sea levels to rise significantly (Climatewire, 2013). The world populations are rising fast as well. This means that the demand for basic commodities such as food, shelter and clothing have been on the rise. This has led to overexploitation of natural resources in order to maintain this population. However, the rate of utilization is highly unsustainable and ineffective (Greening Business, 2013). This is the reason why world bodies like Habitat and the United Nations have been pushing for businesses and organizations to go green in the endeavors in order to reduce the level of emissions and engage in environmentally friendly activities. In this essay, various efforts by different stakeholders aimed at achieving green businesses through reduced emissions and environmental friendly endeavors will be discussed. Regulations, incentives and thresholds set by authorities to ensure green business will be evaluated Green business initiatives Authorities all over the world have been vocal about the need for strict environmental policies and regulations to govern the conduct of business. The production and manufacturing industries have been identified as the major polluters of the environment. Since the industrial revolution, the issue of environmental degradation became a menace. The effects are already being seen in terms of inconsistent weather patterns and the disappearance of some species of flora and fauna. Europe, America and Asia have been identified as the largest polluters and contributors of emissions (Van Asselt & Biermann, 2007) In terms of effects, for instance, recent heat waves have claimed several lives and have been recorded to have the highest temperatures ever. The effects are being felt even in countries where pollution is at minimal levels like in Africa. In order to reduce the pollution levels, different approaches are being applied by different authorities in different counties. First, most of these measures are authoritative in nature and hence companies or businesses have to follow the guidelines as directed by relevant authorities. According to (Dangelico,& Pujari, 2010), organizations are also engaging in their own conservation efforts through ethical and corporate social responsibility initiatives. The conservation war cannot be won by individual organizations or countries. Efforts have to be seen from all sides of thee world in order for substantial results to be realized. Government authorities in Europe and America are giving incentives to organizations that reduce their level of emissions. The incentives are meant to cover the costs of shifting form polluting methods of production to methods that are more environmental friendly. Further, products fro such business organizations are branded ‘green’. This ensures that the conscious consumer has the option of choosing ‘green’ products. This way their sales are promoted and hence they can cover costs of changing their systems (Jordan, 2005) .This is the reason why government authorities have come up with emission tax regimes where organizations are charged for polluting the environment. The more the pollution, the more the tax paid by these organizations. The logic behind emission taxes is that such polluting organizations should meet the costs of rehabilitation from their own activities. Though it is a workable solution, some of the damage done by these organizations is irreparable. This means that even monetary compensation cannot undo the damage already done. For instance, the damage done by greenhouse gases on the ozone layer is irreversible. This aspect also gives big multinational organizations an advantage due to their immense resources. Authorities that are concerned with the environment are also setting maximum threshold levels that organizations should pollute. These thresholds are regarded as acceptable levels of pollution but opponents of this argue that the best level of pollution is no pollution at all. In determining the level of pollution that is acceptable, authorities look at several issues for consideration. First the nature of production or business and the impact that it has on the people and the environment as well. If alternatives cannot be easily found, then compromising levels of pollution can be set. Exceeding these levels of pollution is met by penalties or even law suits (Gunningham, Kagan, & Thornton, 2003). Therefore it is in the best interest of organizations to operate within the set limits. Acceptable limits can be controlled and the effects can be termed as negligible or manageable as well. Though environmental protection is a priority, a majority of organizations find it hard to comply with new regulations due to costs and resource implications (Färe, Grosskopf, & Pasurka Jr, 2001). Though they would like to see change, they cannot be completely emissions free. Achieving an emissions free world is practically impossible but efforts to reduce effects and the rate of emissions should be enhanced. Conclusion Achieving green business organizations is necessary if environmental sustainability is to be guaranteed. Authorities in major countries have been using regulation polices, incentives and setting of thresholds to ensure businesses go green. Such endeavors include tax regulations, on emissions, monetary and support incentives on businesses that reduce pollution and final, setting pollution thresholds that are achievable and sustainable. The stake of future generations lies within the endeavors that organizations engage in today. Government authorities and regulatory bodies have attempted to come up with regulatory measures to lower the effects of environmental degradation. Collective action is necessary if tangible results are to be seen. The efforts of single organizations or nations are not enough to bring meaningful change. It is, therefore, a collective endeavor that all stakeholders should have an active role in. References Climatewire. (2013, October 16). Climate change will hit everyhewre with massive impacts on societies. Dangelico, R. M., & Pujari, D. (2010). Mainstreaming green product innovation: why and how companies integrate environmental sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(3), 471-486. Färe, R., Grosskopf, S., & Pasurka Jr, C. A. (2001). Accounting for air pollution emissions in measures of state manufacturing productivity growth. Journal of Regional Science, 41(3), 381-409. Greening Business. (2013). Greening Business. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.earthshare.org/greening-business.html Gunningham, N. A., Kagan, R. A., & Thornton, D. (2003). Shades of green: business, regulation, and environment. Stanford University Press. Jordan, A. (Ed.). (2005). Environmental Policy in the European Union: Actors, Institutions, and Processes. Earthscan. Van Asselt, H., & Biermann, F. (2007). European emissions trading and the international competitiveness of energy-intensive industries: a legal and political evaluation of possible supporting measures. Energy Policy, 35(1), 497-506. Read More