Promoting the Go Green Policy - Research Paper Example

Promoting the Go Green Policy Introduction The aim of this work is to examine the effectiveness of the go green policy and the true picture of the promotion of green products by the business organizations in an order to promote policy measures. Environment pollution is the most dangerous hazard of the present century, and it results in the depletion of the ozone layer. This in turn, results in global warming. Moreover, many dangers like water pollution and food value degradation are caused by the use of inorganic products. The latter also cause severe damage to the health of the populace and the environment. There are many more losses, such as the destruction of natural resources, due to the utilization of non eco- friendly products. In order to overcome these problems, and save mankind and the environment, the go green policy is indispensable. II Overview of the Problem The go green policy was implemented with the objective of saving the environment, by restricting the use of inorganic products. Some scholars have attempted to clear this confusion by defining green or environmental – friendly products as goods that attempt to improve or protect the natural environment. Such preservation or protection is to be achieved by conserving resources and energy, while mitigating or eliminating the utilization of pollution, toxic agents and waste (Dangelico & Pujari, 2010, p. 472). The recent natural calamities that afflicted the American continent compelled governments to focus on environmental issues. One of the most important outcomes of environmental damage is climate change. Scholars like Glave have contended that governments and people should act immediately to save the environment for the benefit of future generations (McRae, 2007, p. 133). In the absence of such measures, the future generations will inherit a planet that is beset with deforestation, water and air pollution, and unpredictable weather patterns. Going green or making decisions that are friendly towards the environment require the government and the people to play an active part in protecting the earth from degradation, due to human activities (McRae, 2007, p. 133). In order to promote the go green policy, the US government has enacted the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Under the provisions of this act, the Internal Revenue Service provides a number of tax benefits to people who purchase energy – efficient appliances (McRae, 2007, p. 133). Environmental damage results in climate change. In order to mitigate climate change, a number of treaties and legislation have emerged at the national and international levels. National governments incorporate environmental provisions in their legislation, which have to be implemented by local bodies and agencies. This requires micro level planning, and such micro level initiatives have to conform to the macro level policies (Amram & Kulatilaka, 2009, p. 194). The correspondence between the macro and micro levels provides private decision makers with the best opportunity to promote measures to reduce climate change. Although, public policies and regulations are influential at the local level, true change occurs, only when individual decisions favor the elimination of emissions from consumption and purchases (Amram & Kulatilaka, 2009, p. 194). Moreover, a judicious combination of national and local policies can definitely achieve a green environment (Amram & Kulatilaka, 2009, p. 195). Modern markets, business models, and innovative financial instruments are to be introduced, if engendering speedy and substantive change. The dismal lack of efficiency in reducing damage to the environment can be attributed to weak price signals, inadequate information, dearth of capital, misrepresentations through legislative or financial policies, and neglect of carbon reduction (Amram & Kulatilaka, 2009, p. 197). Furthermore, children must be taught about environmental issues, and this can be achieved through children’s literature. Educators and parents have to ensure that adequate time and resources are provided, in this regard, to children. This allows them to discover, experiment, observe and solve problems, via social interaction (Napoli, 2011, p. 77). Since children will be taught about these issues from an early age, they can participate in achieving the objectives of the go green policy, at an earlier stage. In addition, environmental awareness plays an important role in the overall development of students. The extant research on the cognitive development of students has indicated that increased environmental awareness results in the promotion of certain skills; such as problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking among students. Moreover, it was also found that environmental awareness promotes a sense of commitment and stewardship towards the environment. However, the general finding is that the majority of the children do not play outside their homes for adequate time (Napoli, 2011, p. 76). This prevents them from experiencing nature to a sufficient extent. Hence, they should be allowed to freely interact with the environment and improve their awareness. Governments should come forward to promote green projects, and implement new policies and systems to this end. At present, there is no difference in the treatment accorded to green projects, in comparison to the traditional construction projects (Kennedy, 2010, p. 14). As a result, green projects encounter various impediments; such as permits, zoning requirements, and other bureaucratic constraints. These obstacles may also include clearance from the planning commissions and government agencies; reduction in funding; limited communication between the members of the construction teams; and the absence of a follow up mechanism. Moreover, there is no system to assess whether the anticipated benefits of green projects have been realized, after their completion (Kennedy, 2010, p. 14). The government should take initiatives that accord priority to green projects, while giving permissions and tax concessions. This will promote such policy to a greater extent. Moreover, legislators, educators, administrators, and designers are thus required to address these challenges in order to find solutions. However, these efforts should not compromise the environmental benefits proposed during the planning. The forces of green consumerism, government policies and producer innovations permit one to assume that the environmental and economic objectives of society can coexist. There are some products that prove to be detrimental to the environment (Andrews & DeVault, 2009, p. 327). It is the task of the regulatory agencies to promote products that have a smaller impact on the environment, in comparison to the existing products. Furthermore, the consumers have to purchase products, in the absence of all the pertinent details. In most of the cases, a viable market for green products depends on the support of consumers who depict a preference for such goods (Andrews & DeVault, 2009, p. 327). As such, these consumers display a willingness to pay more for green products. The governments should be knowledgeable in assessing the viability of green markets. Some researchers have developed simulation models to understand green markets. These could prove to be of considerable help in designing policies and regulations (Andrews & DeVault, 2009, p. 344). One such model is that of multi – agent simulation, which deals with the effects of public policies on the emergence of successful green niche markets. It is also helpful in understanding the different requirements for creating green niche markets. Research using this model indicates that the characteristics of consumers and manufacturers, and the impact of public policies on the markets affect the success of green niche markets (Andrews & DeVault, 2009, p. 344). Market networks play an important role in the development of niche markets. The important feature of the multi – agent simulation model is that it can be applied to a wide range of products, such as buildings, appliances, and paper products. Moreover, it can be employed in the ecological research of industries (Andrews & DeVault, 2009, p. 344). The researchers Adam Jaffe and Robert Stavins examined the features of investment and consumer adoption behavior that could be responsible for an energy – efficiency gap. According to them, technology is introduced with many qualities and that some of their prominent features could prove to be unattractive to consumers (Amram & Kulatilaka, 2009, p. 197). For instance, very few consumers prefer compact fluorescent bulbs, even though they are aware of the fact that such bulbs save energy. The reason behind this behavior is that these people dislike the color of the light produced by these bulbs (Amram & Kulatilaka, 2009, p. 197). Adaptation to new technologies takes considerable time, and this detracts from their popularity. The delay in the rational adjustment response to new technologies can be attributed to the transaction costs that the existing organizations have to incur. Such costs can be reduced by correlating new organizations with the new markets (Amram & Kulatilaka, 2009, p. 197). This initiative will hasten the process of adoption of clean energy technologies. In order to avoid food toxins, consumers in the US are increasingly resorting to organic food. This has proved to be very lucrative for unethical food producers. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established national standards for regulating the production of organic food. This was achieved, via the National Organic Program (NOP). However, the government failed in recruiting and training certifying agents in sufficient numbers. This scarcity has resulted in several incidents of fraudulent labeling by food producers (Barker, Reinstein, Rodriguez, & Tarr, 2011, p. 99). In addition, suitable punishment was not imposed on producers indulging in such fraudulent activities. Furthermore, prosecution was very slow. In one instance, an orange grower failed to prove that his oranges were produced organically. All the same, he was able to sell it as organic produce. It had been suggested by some scholars that the CPA’s were to be entrusted with the task of attesting to the presentation of organic certification. This initiative can be reasonably expected to improve the confidence of consumers in organic products (Barker, Reinstein, Rodriguez, & Tarr, 2011, p. 100). The Organic Food Production Act of 1990 was the pioneer, with regard to governmental regulation of organic food products in the US (Kruse, 2006, p. 503). It established the National Organic Program (NOP), which is aimed at developing national organic standards, regulating the production of organic food and supervising the certification of organic food (Duram, 2010, p. 368). The NOP is regulated by a board of 15 members, consisting of farmers, handlers and processors, retailers, consumers, environmentalists, scientists, and certification agents (Barker, Reinstein, Rodriguez, & Tarr, 2011, p. 100). The NOP establishes national organic standards and enforces these standards to regulate production, handling, and labeling of imported and domestic organic foods. Moreover, the NOP accredits foreign and domestic certifying agents, in the inspection and certification of organic production and handling operations within the US (Barker, Reinstein, Rodriguez, & Tarr, 2011, p. 100). The organic food market is undergoing a phase of instability, and there is a rapid change in norms, practices and consumers. Organic food is depicting substantial increase, and this is in conjunction with a marked decrease in consumer faith regarding organic labeling and certification (Chrzan, 2010, p. 91). New green products have been launched by companies from different industries. In addition, several companies are in the process of introducing green products to the market. This information has been forthcoming from the innumerable trade magazines and media reports of the past few years. Moreover, the academic community has evinced considerable interest in the innovation of green products, during the recent past (Dangelico & Pujari, 2010, p. 471). A survey was conducted, recently, by McKinsey and Company, with regard to the attitude of companies towards climate change. It was discovered in this survey that most of the executives who had responded to the survey believed climate change to have strategic importance. Moreover, around 60% of these executives considered these issues, while developing and marketing new products (Dangelico & Pujari, 2010, p. 471). There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of green products launched by companies. Thus, Datamonitor disclosed that some 500 products had been launched by companies, which were being promoted as ecofriendly, environmentally friendly or sustainable. This number was expected to reach 1570 by the end of the reporting year (Dangelico & Pujari, 2010, p. 471). One of these innovative products is soy – based foam that is to be used in seat cushions. This was developed by Ford. Another example is the use of a green list procedure to segregate restricted ingredients, by SC Johnson. In addition, Lipton Tea made public their plan to expand their sustainability program and promised to procure all of their tea from estates that had been certified as being sustainable (Dangelico & Pujari, 2010, p. 471). This is a novel development on the part of companies, which indicates a change in their attitude towards the environment. Furthermore, product innovation and new technologies that results from market forces generate considerable social good, and the outcomes are far superior to mere regulation. It is indispensable to bear in mind that no consumer product is free of impact on the environment. A large number of companies are producing goods that can be termed as friendly towards the environment. III Policy Recommendations Consumers have to be provided with information regarding the obligation to ensure environmental safety. Moreover, measures have to be initiated to encourage consumers to choose green products. It is to be clearly understood that consumer behavior has considerable influence in creating a successful green market in the country. It is essential for governments to focus on this reality and promote research in the area of environmental safety. This will enable the enactment of the required environment legislation. Moreover, there is an urgent need for consumers to become aware to a much greater extent, about the national organic standards and certification processes. Organic product standards should be strictly adhered to by manufacturers, while manufacturing products. Moreover, the government should adopt measures that compel the market forces to strictly adhere to the organic standards stipulated by it. Specifically, during the production of organic food products, certification procedures are not followed strictly, due to a dearth of adequate number of certification professionals. This lacuna can be addressed, by appointing certification professionals in sufficient numbers. The government should accord priority to green products and permit tax concessions. Certification of products and labeling of the food items should be implemented strictly. This makes the consumer confident of new products and the credibility of the market. As a consequence, there will be an enhancement in the sale of green products. This will ensure the safety of the environment. IV Justification A review of literature shows that there are several lacunae in the measures taken by the government, with respect to the green policy. The fact that companies bestow their attention upon the protection of the environment is bound to promote green products. Some of the policies of the government, relating to the establishment of markets for green products are replete with inadequate or defective information. However, governments are obliged to enact laws, despite the availability of scant environmental knowledge. Moreover, companies have to market and sell their products, despite the uncertain regulatory environment. There is an absence of certification professionals to the required extent. People are unaware of the benefits provided by green products. Suitable punishments have not been imposed on the violators of the manufacturing standards relating to organic products. The government should enhance its awareness, with regard to green markets. Environmental legislation made by the national governments should be implemented by the local bodies. It creates problems in implementation. This problem can be addressed by co – operation among all the stakeholders. List of References Amram , M., & Kulatilaka , N. (2009). The Invisible Green Hand: How Individual Decisions and Markets can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. California Management Review, 51(2), 194 – 218. Andrews , C., & DeVault , D. (2009). Green Niche Market Development. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 13(2), 326 – 345. Barker, K., Reinstein, A., Rodriguez, M., & Tarr, S. (2011). Adding Assurance to the Term "Organic" . Review of Business, 31(2), 99 – 109. Chrzan, J. (2010). The American Omnivore's Dilemma: Who Constructs “Organic” Food? Food & Foodways: History & Culture of Human Nourishment, 18(1/2), 81 – 95. Dangelico , R., & Pujari, D. (2010). Mainstreaming Green Product Innovation: Why and How Companies Integrate Environmental Sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(3), 471 – 486. Duram, L. A. (2010). Encyclopedia of Organic, Sustainable, and Local Food. ABC-CLIO. Energy Policy Act . (2005). United States of America. Kennedy, M. (2010). Overcoming Obstacles to Going Green . American School & University, 82(6), 14 – 19. Kruse, C. M. (2006). The Not-So-Organic Dairy Regulations of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 . Southern lllinois University Law Journal , 30, 501 – 531. McRae , S. (2007). GO GREEN. Black Enterprise, 38(1), 133. Napoli , M. (2011). GOING GREEN Empowering Readers to Change the Environment. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 47(2), 76 – 79. Organic Foods Production Act . (1990). United States of America. Read More