Why corporations should go green
Image Credit: mason bryant
Jay Banner: There are a couple of main reasons why corporations should be interested in sustainability. Number one, if they can use less materials, and that’s making things more sustainable to create the same product, that actually helps their bottom line dramatically.
That’s geologist Jay Banner of the University of Texas at Austin, talking about why corporations should work toward sustainability. Banner is director of UT’s Environmental Science Institute, which brings scientists from across different disciplines together to search for sustainable solutions to 21st century problems.
Jay Banner: The second main reason that corporations ought to be really interested in sustainability is having a source of their products – the resources that their products are made out of – far into the future. If they’re not basically using resources in a sustainable way to make their products, they’ll run out of materials that their products are made out of. And that’s not going to be good for business.
According to Banner, sustainability is now necessary for the long-term survival of large businesses.
Jay Banner: Corporations need to be visionary and not look at what’s best for bottom line in the next quarter or the next year, but look at what’s best for their bottom line 10 years from now. And I think if they do that, everyone wins.
Banner also spoke of ‘natural capital.’
Jay Banner: Every natural system actually provides something of use to us. Another way of considering it is called ‘ecosystem services.’ An ecosystem provides a number of services for us. a watershed provides a number of goods for us. A watershed provides water for us. An ecosystem provides services, for example filtration of water. So the natural soil and vegetation on the landscape provides natural capital for us. The capital is it filters the water into that’s getting into our water supply. For example, New York City’s water supply.
He said the public can help.
Jay Banner: I think the public can do a number of things. They can educate themselves about sustainability and its importance. They can demand that corporations that they buy products and services from conduct themselves in a sustainable way, and that the universities they’re sending their children to offer curriculum in sustainability. The public shouldn’t feel that they’re passive parts in watching the sustainability ship sail over the horizon. The public could do things to conduct their lifestyles in a more sustainable way, that’s great. But I think they also have to recognize that they play a big role in how corporations and universities, particularly public serving institutions, conduct themselves.
I think it’s important to distinguish between “going green” and greenwashing.
Here’s a story: Home Depot supposedly has environmentally and community-friendly initiatives. When my friend went there the other day and saw some employees getting rid of display wood (because this Home Depot is moving to a newer big box, how “green” is that?), she asked if she could have the wood for use in her community garden. She was sent to the manager, who informed her that Home Depot was required to throw out the wood in order to get credit or something from the manufacturer. So perfectly good wood was had to go in a dumpster rather than to good use in a truly green environment. Also, this is after Home Depot has held up her application for their community program for over a month.
So what really is corporate social responsibility, if it’s not benefiting the individual consumer or community?
Corporations being visionary about sustainability and not look at what’s best for the bottom line is a nice concept but it overlooks most business models and market economy. Corporations are always going to look at the bottom line first and push resource and sustainability issues off to the supply chain. To be competitive, the supply chain must produce the raw goods and services as inexpensively as possible. If there is any additional cost to sustainability, they’ll loose competitively.
With the above said the real key to corporations adopting sustainable methods will be in developing manufacturing processes that offer sustainable raw materials at a lower cost and educating the consumer to buy from companies that embrace sustainability. Do this and every corporation in America would get with the program. Until then, supply chain vendors who offer sustainable goods will need to adopt a business plan that focuses on a niche buyer for the time being, create a significant value add proposition, and set their standards high in product quality and customer support.
How visionary corporations become will be very much market and supply chain driven. So, it makes sense that efforts in developing sustainability need to be focused in these areas.
home depot should go green and stick to their sayings not just walk it off to get more customers i will never walk foot into or on to their property again this is ubserved
Why are people mad at corporations? Everything we buy is from corporations. Just don’t buy anything if you think they’re so bad!
Rubylikeaflame,
Actually, I am pro-corporation. There are many people who feel that corporations are evil for sorted reasons. What they forget is corporations = jobs. They also forget that corporation officers have a fiduciary responsibility to make decisions which favor profits for the shareholders and investors. Herein is the challenge – balancing business objectives with responsible environmental policies.
If a corporation does not maximize profit they loose not only customers but also shareholders and investors. It is a triple hit that ultimately leads to loss of jobs. This is why I make the case that focus needs to be on the market and supply chain. Sustainable raw materials need to be competitively priced and consumers need to be educated in purchasing from companies which offer products built with sustainable technologies. Focusing on consumer education and competitive sustainable technologies for the supply chain will make the transition for corporations more successful. Without focus in these areas, corporations will be slow in making the transition.