Can business ever be trul environmentally sustainable?

Can businesses ever be truly environmentally sustainable

The process of globalization and the coming of the internet have changed the way people think about the environment . There are many problems regarding the environment such as global warming , pollution , water scarcity , and vanishing species among plants and animals . Along with these environmental concerns , the fact that people are now more aware of these problems and there are government regulations to save the environment have changed the way businesses are being run around the world . Sustainable development ' is a new word in the world

of business and economics . The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987 ) defines the concept of sustainable development as a `development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Environment 2006 . Sustainable development includes development of the environmental , social and economic aspects of business . Environmental protection is one of the ways to achieve sustainable development Through regulations and environmental risk management it is possible to create a healthy environment with clean air , unpolluted water and soil But to have sustainable development , just a healthy environment is not enough . There should be a healthy environment along with a healthy society and a healthy economy . Sustainable development can be achieved only through long-term strategies based on environmental training and education

According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development all businesses follow three stages in achieving sustainable environment environmental compliance , environmental risk management and finally long-term sustainable development strategies (IISD , 2006 . The first step on the journey is compliance with regulatory measures . When environmental regulations are not followed , companies are likely to undergo unnecessary expenses in the form of fines for not following the law or having to clean the environment or getting help from lawyers Because of these expenses , many companies consider following environmental regulations as a burden . They feel that the company is likely to get a bad name because of these government rules . To overcome the burden of regulations , some businesses try to have their own plans and environmental programs . They undertake many risk management procedures through the company by conducting environmental health and safety (EHS ) assessments , develop environmental policies , and implement environmental management systems (EMSs . They may even adopt pollution prevention methods or recycling methods to convert policies into practice . The approach helps the company to save money by avoiding probable expenses due to environmental damages and lawsuits . Moreover the company also benefits through reduction of operating costs by adopting procedures such as waste minimization , pollution prevention and the elimination of health safety hazards (IISD , 2006

All businesses seek to have profits . They also need to have good business prospects in the competitive market . Along with these objectives , there must also be environmental quality . In his study titled "Green and Competitive : Ending the Stalemate , Michael E . Porter and Class van der Linde have found that tougher environmental standards can actually improve competitiveness by pushing the companies to uses resources more productively (Porter and van der Linde...