Corporations are contributing to the “going green” epidemic. Going green means to pursue knowledge and practices that lead to more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles (Middletown Thrall Library, 2008). There are several pros and cons that organizations experience when deciding to develop “green” strategies, therefore the choice must be made carefully to decide whether or not it would be advantageous to their basis. One of the most obvious of reasons to become a “green” company is the cost benefit. The operating and material costs that are required for businesses are constantly increasing, therefore in order to become more cost efficient, and businesses are recycling more thus reducing productivity costs. With business being able to reduce waste and recycle more of their used goods, they can eliminate the costs it takes to eliminate those resources or to even store them. Eco-friendly policies also help to attract new talent. According to Lindsey Pollak, author of "Getting From College to Career, "students are looking to work for companies that care about the environment (Roff, 2007). Organizations can benefit from going green by reducing their energy bills as well. Energy bill reduction can come from utilizing high-efficiency bulbs in lighting. By installing lighting sensors, dimmers and a reflective roof, semiconductor maker Texas Instruments Inc. cut lighting energy at its office building in Richardson, Texas, by 80% (Roff, 2007). On the other hand, there are other disadvantages related to costs when a business decides to go green. For example, sometimes the costs to install and maintain “green” materials may not offset the savings in the long or short run. In the event that th... ... middle of paper ... ...same point: when environmentally friendly practices complement the goal of achieving fiscal soundness and greater profits, companies are more than willing to go green (Gorbett, Salvaterra & Skiba, p.2 2005).” In my opinion, the factor that would have the greatest bearing on the company’s decision to go green is the cost savings because all other rationales would follow based on if the company felt that the savings would be costs effective in the long run. The organization would not attract any investors or many investors if they feel as thought their investments would be wasted on trying to incorporate a “green” working environment, then the company would experience a low consumer market as a result. They would be spending more of the investors money on trying to remain “green” and losing out on the innovative ideas that competitors would have the advantage over.
John Dallas Costa, Ethical Imperative wrote: "Not long ago the concerns of ecologists were as irrelevant to business planners as those of ethicists are today. “Green” has gone from being a disparagement to becoming a badge that no smart company would risk being without. Ethics are similarly en route to becoming a strategic imperative."
...onetary value, but in the end would make them fully sustainable. Third and finally, by continuing to offer financing and capital for new green energy sources and other companies to improve sustainability would not only help them reach their own green goals, but provide others with the ability to be fully sustainable.
For example, Cornell University saved 417,00 gallons of fuel and cut cost by $36million over the last twelve year by changing its parking and transit system to carpooling, biking, and walking (“Call for Climate Leadership). Another example, the University of Central Missouri saved 31percent energy cost by replacing its old power plant with a geothermal pump system (Trane). These examples are used to show the reader one of the positive outcomes if colleges switched to green resources. These examples may also convince other college campuses to go green due to a large amount of money they could be
With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global scale. The Green Revolution which already sprouted in the early part of the century only need to add a bit more momentum and we will see a bright future for the human race, a future without hunger and starvation ¡V hopefully.It is becoming increasingly difficult for the planet to support its overwhelming population. And since the amount of arable land available is becoming scarce, we must seek ways to dramatically improve crop yields of existing cropland.
How Diamond appealed to the logic of his readers was that, before he even begins to discuss about how Walmart, Coca-Cola and Chevron can be environmentally friendly, he first tries to provide his argument in ways that can be understood by both businessmen and environmentalists alike. Whereas environmentalists know fully that excessive consumption of both renewable and non-renewable resources can generate waste and thus damage to the environment, corporate executives are also aware that such waste willy only yield fewer profits. Similarly, environmental disasters such as oil spills can also be bad for businesses, because it can damage their reputation as a business and their standing with consumers and investors. By writing his argument in ways that are best
Protecting the environment has become an important issue in today’s society. There is no longer any doubt that businesses should consider their social responsibility and the impact of their activities on their stakeholders. In addition, firms are beginning to realize that corporate sustainability can prove to be a win win. There are multiple benefits of sustainability linked to costs, revenues, community relations, and more. The decision to strive for sustainability is obvious, but this process is easier said than done. Developing a sustainability strategy is difficult in itself, but the most challenging factor is the actual implementation. Marc J. Esptein, the author of Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environments, and Economic Impacts, provides companies with tactical methods and approaches, as well as real life examples and personal advice in order to assist in helping companies with achieving corporate sustainability.
Kats, G., Alevantis, L., Berman A., Perlman J., & Mills, E. (2003, October). The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: A Report to California’s Sustainable Building Task Force. Retrieved from http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/News477.pdf
In conclusion, going green in the workplace is catchy new trend. Choosing to go verdant can be a grueling task and one that is confronted with some unique pros and cons. Although making green choices come at a slightly higher price, the rewards that are earned more than cover these costs. When a company chooses wisely going green can not only help the environment, and reduce the carbon foot-print the company makes but it can also prove to be a very smart business decision that can be financially gratifying.
The use of green materials is better for the environment because they have a positive impact on the planet. Looking at our environment today we see a place that has been facing a massive climate change. Scientists have been concerned over global warming for decades. The ongoing increase of the earth’s temperature is believed to be caused by the greenhouse effect (“Global Warming” 27). Building with green materials produces significantly lower greenhouse gas emission. Specifically, wood as a material for building products, requires considerably less energy than other building products such as steel and concrete. Wood product manufacture results in fewer greenhouse gas and other air-polluting emissions (“Green Building Benefits”). Green building also results in waste reduction. In the United States, construction and demolition creates a huge amount of solid waste. Green building limits the waste prod...
When every IT professional starts their journey into the IT Sector, they are bound to come across social issues which will have to be dealt with professionally. One important Issue is being green in Information Technology. The earth’s resources are continuously becoming scarce whilst the demand for them increases sharply. Every IT professional should understand that power consumption does not cover the whole green IT spectrum. Recycling dangerous electronic waste, optimising/virtualising servers to distribute workloads, having a long term green policy, reducing your workplace carbon foot print such as the paperless desk and an efficient data centre-business continuity model; these are a few examples of issues that professional must consider as these issues all occur in the green IT world.
...he industry in adopting green policies because they highlight simple options to reduce environmental impact, which in turn saves money through energy conservation.
57). During recruitment, younger candidates are likely to show higher interest in a company with a successful sustainability program (SHRM, 2011, p. 33). Employers should seek those who seek to include environmental stewardship and social responsibility in their core values (Liebowitz, 2010, p. 52). Employers should also identify those individuals who are willing to work as team, adapt quickly to change, and inclined to take risk while finding creative solutions to problems. Success with new employees depends on early introduction of company sustainability goals; by including sustainability in the onboarding process, employees can relate the sustainability efforts to their job
"Why to Go Green: Getting Techie, Why to Go Green, Why to Go Green? Top Ten Tips, Why to Go Green: By the Numbers"
In addition to these two, there are other long term benefits associated with going green such as
There is a very solid reason for selecting green technology as compared to the other technologies available because there is a very limited amount of natural resources like coal, petroleum available to man kind and these are getting depleted at an alarming rate. Moreover, green technology is turning out to be a good business these days as the market for greener products is increasing day by day. Consumers know that green products reduce their energy bills and these are always safer and healthier products to use, explains [1].