The rising environmental crisis is not a new update for the humankind. One of the most important challenges faced by the human race is the successful identification and management of environmental risks. Adding to the challenges is the global nature of environmental risks that make the assumption and practice of environmental responsibility difficult. The ecological duty is often recognized to have many sides and negotiated between social actors as numerous other, challenging responsibilities. However, environmental responsibility is often handled negligently.
The environmental crisis has been ignored for too long, but now we all are pressed to radically change the way of living and also the way business is done. Businesses have largely contributed to the crisis and have ignored the environment or social costs to pursue profit. To reverse the effects the business will have to move the markets towards more sustainable practices.
By implementing a range of strategies, organizations can address environmental issues. The environmental footprint can be reduced by implementing the right changes. For instance, an accountant can be part of the solution, where they can help nature and also manage the costs. Through harnessing corporate power, one can make the necessary shift towards a sustainable economy.
The History of Environmental Responsibility
A concept of “earth jurisprudence” was introduced, which was a theory underlying the law’s ability to protect the environment to regulate businesses that pollute. This could be defined as a much older concept, dating back in 1600 during the creation of British East India Company. Although, since the 1970s awareness of this environmental crisis has grown, due to the prominence given to major environmental disasters like Sahelian droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. Correspondingly, the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986 affected immensely on the environment. All this drew attention to the fact that the human ecosystem is threatened by crucial imbalances in productivity and in the distribution of goods and services. The accelerating progress did not benefit the environment and affected environmental stewardship.
Over the past few decades, the environmental aspect of Corporate Environment Responsibility (CER) has been in talks, as the stakeholders increasingly oblige companies to become more environmentally aware and socially responsible. The traditional business model portrayed environmental protection as a mere “public interest”, however, these unconcerned actions have led to severe damage. Major steps towards the prevention and alleviation of the environmental damage have been taken up by the private sector, and have adopted an approach of co-responsibility. Government and organizations have started suggesting strategies for the protection of the environment and alongside economic growth.
Going Green and Growing Fast
The challenges cultivating from the growing population and changing climate have become a more concerning issue. However, the key to it is the innovative entrepreneur who might bring a solution with their drive and imagination in the industry. The job rate in the solar and wind industry is growing at 20 percent per year, which is 12 times quicker than the general economy. In addition, the clean energy industry is introducing new opportunities for entrepreneurs. However, the big industries are ignoring green energy as it may lead to lower oil profits in the end. These energy efficiency job accounts of 2.2 million American workers, amongst which 70% are employed by companies with ten or fewer employees. Although with rising awareness, falling prices and more interest, the times are promising for the entrants entering the industry or introducing something innovative that would disrupt the whole industry.
The rapid expansion is not just promoting clean energy but also other innovative ways, which are contributing immensely to the good environment. For example, in the U.S. around 35% of solid waste is being recycled or composited. The one country that excels in this green energy transformation is Sweden, it has been successful to recycle or incinerated about 99% of household waste. This is known as the Sweden Recycling Revolution and this initiative was so successful that the country has worn out of the trash for their recycling plants and has begun to import trash from other countries. Plastics have always been a hazardous thing. People assume that America has the biggest share of plastic consumers, but China claims the throne here with greater than 50% market share. To control its ill effects plastic-recycling companies are estimated to top $56 billion by 2024. Companies are striving every day to accumulate and reproduce electronics, scrap cars, metals, and more. The recycling industry is on the go to do the damage control caused by humans in all these years.
Corporate Environmentalism Is Evolving
The 1980s witnessed the voluntary participation of corporations towards environmental initiatives, which therefore was named as corporate environmentalism. To curb the greenhouse gases and prepare countries and communities from the inevitable effects of climate change the leading business leaders hashed out a deal. Some reputed companies have stepped into the game like Apple, Panasonic, and Walmart.
Apple is known for its cutting-edge design and tech, however, it holds the same reputation when it comes to going green initiative. The company’s $848 million energy deal with a solar farm in California enabled Apple to power all its operations with renewable energy. Later, the company also made a commitment to get 100% of its paper packaging from sustainable sources to protect the world’s remaining forests.
Panasonic has invested in ways to help employees reduce commute emissions, where the employees use the company’s transit subsidy and 2,700 carpooling in commuter buses. The mega-retailer Walmart is not far behind in the race, the company has made some major sustainable choices, which have huge ripple effects on the market due to its large market share. Walmart has come up with a chemical policy that provides a strong incentive for suppliers, which abide by stricter standards or they can risk losing Walmart’s customer base. This bold standpoint from the globally renowned companies has helped to strengthen support for climate action and sustainable business practices.
To conclude, we don’t want to debate climate change, we want to stop it. In order to extend the survivability and increase the profit rates companies have to adapt the environmental duty. Due to the greater awareness of this topic in both social and business markets have taken environmental responsibility seriously. The customers have responded satisfactorily to companies with better CER. Studies are trying to find a balance between economic growth and cleaner environments, which might help to reduce the carbon footprint. With joint efforts towards the environment, humans could thwart their pollution and carbon footprint on the natural resources.
