COMMUNICATIONS | BUSINESS GREENING

Greening is set to be a big part of the future economy

by | Jul 15, 2013 | Blog

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The impact of the industrial economy on the natural ecosystems which sustain us and all life on Earth, has been immense. Reducing this impact is not only an ethical issue, it is in our long-term interest as a species.

The realisation of how destructive the pursuit of profit can be without sufficient regard for the planet is however spreading.  People are recognising that they can do good business while minimising or preventing the damage that might otherwise be caused.

Far-sighted businesses have thus responded with an increasing interest in aligning company objectives and operations with a lower environmental footprint.

This is being backed by changing values and preferences in the marketplace, resource cost savings, stricter corporate governance to manage risk and responsibility, and stronger legislation to set policy, limits and incentives, among other things.

Greening is set to be a big part of the future, yet there is a long way to go with many barriers to overcome.

One of the larger ones is how we get over the ‘short-termism’ that pervades economic planning, to see the inclusion of environmental sustainability principles and practice less as a short term cost and more as a long term investment in company resilience.

Budgeting, accounting and reporting methods for example would have to make allowance for items whose benefits will be realized later rather than sooner.

Return on investment periods might have to be lengthened on the basis of future security.

There are many old ways of doing business that need to be reviewed and where necessary, overturned. Relying on the past is no longer going to work. It’s now a matter of taking off the blinkers,  lifting up your head and looking to the upcoming horizon, the better to be prepared for uncertainty and probable turbulence ahead.

We may never return to the heights of quick profits reached before the Great Recession of the late 2000s changed the game. The economists and bankers who had set the rules for themselves have been discredited and side-lined.

This is making way for rethinking and new visions of how we do business. It is also opening up vast opportunities as a green economy takes hold.

–     Hugh Tyrrell . First published as an opinion piece in the  BDLive Greening your Business pages (http://www.bdlive.co.za/indepth/greeningyourbusiness/

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