By Mark Rawlinson
October 29, 2009
My View: Companies need to lead the green movement by example
Business success and environmental concerns are always at odds. What is good for the environment is bad for business. What is good for business is bad for the environment. In public debate after debate, we hear that taking the necessary steps to protect the environment devastates the bottom line.
At least those are the prevailing arguments.
Surveys bear this out. An Associated Press/Stanford University poll found that 65 percent of Americans felt that U.S. businesses harmed the environment at least “moderately.” Some 44 percent of respondents said they disapproved of the way businesses handled issues involving the environment. Only 7 percent said business helped the environment “a lot” or “greatly.” Sixty-two percent characterized this support as little to none.
It is time these perceptions change. Doing right by the environment can be a sound economic strategy. Every executive I know wants to reduce energy and water usage costs so those dollars can be used to grow the business. From a personal perspective, people who run companies want to live and work in clean, safe communities.
Local businesses recognize they are the economic engine that provides our employment base. They have a vested interest in environmental stewardship because they want to attract talented workers. They can only accomplish this if they do their part for the environment where they work and live.
Every company needs to become more efficient in its use of water and energy. It makes business sense: cut these operating costs and invest those dollars in new opportunities to increase competitiveness. Executives have long recognized this. But only recently have they heavily promoted the variety of “green” benefits of their production processes and products.
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