Sustainable business, or green business, is an enterprise that has no negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies. In general, business is described as green if it matches the following four criteria:
A sustainable business is any organization that participates in environmentally friendly or green activities to ensure that all processes, products, and manufacturing activities adequately address current environmental concerns while maintaining a profit. In other words, it is a business that “meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.”[2][3] It is the process of assessing how to design products that will take advantage of the current environmental situation and how well a company’s products perform with renewable resources.[4]
The Brundtland Report emphasized that sustainability is a three-legged stool of people, planet, and profit.[2] Sustainable businesses with the supply chain try to balance all three through the triple-bottom-line concept—using sustainable development and sustainable distribution to impact the environment, business growth, and the society.[5][6]
Everyone affects the sustainability of the marketplace and the planet in some way. Sustainable development within a business can create value for customers, investors, and the environment. A sustainable business must meet customer needs while, at the same time, treating the environment well.[7]
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A major initiative of sustainable businesses is to eliminate or decrease the impact made on the environment by harmful chemicals, materials, and waste generated by processes to manufacture products and services.[8] The impact of such human activities in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced can be measured in units of carbon dioxide and is referred to as the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint concept branched off from ecological footprint analysis, which examines the ecological capacity required to support the consumption of products.[9]
The Gort Cloud written by Richard Seireeni, (2009), documents the experiences of sustainable businesses in America and their reliance on the vast but invisible green community, referred to as the gort cloud, for support and a market.
One of the most common examples of sustainable business initiatives is the act of going paperless.[7] On a higher level, sustainable business practices can include reviewing processes in order to eliminate or recycle waste, making all products recyclable, and eliminating the use of nonrenewable resources via alternatives energies.
Sustainable businesses also look at inputs to determine what products are harmful to the environment and try to find green alternatives that can function at the same or a better level and, preferably, at a lower cost. Company leaders also take into account the life cycle costs for inputs of items purchased. Inputs costs must be considered in regards to regulations, energy use, storage, and disposal.[10]
A business’s green initiatives can include conserving materials through remanufacturing, converting harmful gases into clean energy, generating greener power, and improving fuel economy.[4] Designing for the environment (DFE) is also an element of sustainable business. This process enables users to consider the potential environmental impacts of a product and the process used to make that product.[10]
Henry Ford was a pioneer in the sustainable business realm, experimenting with soy-based materials and ethanol during the days of the Model T.[7] Ford Motor Company also shipped the Model A truck in crates that later became the vehicle’s floorboard upon reaching its destination. This was a form of upcycling, a key element to DFE. Upcycling is the process of retaining high quality in a closed-loop industrial cycle.[10]
Ford currently uses green fabrics and materials in the next generation of their vehicles—seat fabric made from 100 percent post-industrial materials, renewable soy foam seat bases, and the like. Ford executives recently appointed the company’s first senior vice president of sustainability, environment, and safety engineering. This position is responsible for establishing a long-range sustainability strategy and environmental policy. The person in this position will also help develop the products and processes necessary to satisfy both customers and society as a whole, while working toward energy independence.[4]
Smaller companies such as Nature's Path, a cereal and snack making business, have also made significant sustainability gains in the twenty first century. CEO Arran Stephens and his family members and other coworkers have made the quickly growing company's products all organic which removes many toxic chemicals from the farming process. Furthermore, employees are constantly encouraged to find ways to use less plastic and other packaging materials and sustainability is an essential part of all company discussions.[11]
In Korea, rice husks are used as a nontoxic packaging for stereo components and other electronics. The concept of waste is diminished because of inclusive shipping in freight costs the goods would already incur. The same material is later used to make bricks.[10]
The green and sustainability trend has manifested in pressure from consumers, shareholders, employees, partners and governments (regulations) put upon companies to embrace more sustainable and green practices. Many companies resorted to greenwashing instead of actually creating green innovations by marketing their product in a way that suggests green practices. However, there are many companies that have taken the sustainability trend seriously and are doing so profitably.
Organizations that give back to the community, whether through employees volunteering their time or through charitable donations are often considered to be socially sustainable. Organizations also can encourage education in their communities by training their employees and offering internships to younger members of the community. Practices such as these increase the education level and quality of life in the community.
In order for a business to be truly sustainable, it must sustain not only the necessary environmental resources, but also its social resources, including employees, customers (the community), and its reputation.[12]
The European community’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive restricts the use of certain hazardous materials in the production of various electronic and electrical products. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives provide collection, recycling, and recovery practices for electrical goods.[7] The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute are two organizations working together to set a standard for reporting on corporate carbon footprints.[7] Lester Brown’s Plan B 2.0 and Hunter Lovins’s Natural Capitalism provide information on sustainability initiatives.[13]
Not all eco-strategies can be incorporated into a company's Eco-portfolio immediately. The widely practiced strategies include: Innovation,Collaboration,Process Improvement and Sustainability reporting.
This introverted method of sustainable corporate practices focuses on a company's ability to change its products and services towards less waste production and sustainable best practices.
The formation of networks with similar or partner companies facilitates knowledge sharing and propels innovation.
Continuous process surveying and improvement is essential to reduction in waste. Employee awareness of company-wide sustainability plan further aids the integration of new and improved processes.
Periodic reporting of company performance in relation to goals. This goals is often incorporated in to the corporate mission (as in the case of Ford Motor Co.). Page text.[14]
Enormous economic and population growth worldwide in the second half of the twentieth century drove the impacts that threaten health and the world — ozone depletion, climate change, depletion, fouling of natural resources, and extensive loss of biodiversity and habitat. In the past, the standard approaches to environmental problems generated by business and industry have been regulatory-driven "end-of-the-pipe" remediation efforts. In the 1990s, efforts by governments, NGOs, corporations, and investors began to grow substantially to develop awareness and plans for investment in business sustainability.
One critical milestone was the establishment of the ISO 14000 standards whose development came as a result of the Rio Summit on the Environment held in 1992. ISO 14001 is the cornerstone standard of the ISO 14000 series. It specifies a framework of control for an Environmental Management System against which an organization can be certified by a third party. Other ISO 14000 Series Standards are actually guidelines, many to help you achieve registration to ISO 14001. They include the following:
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards were developed by the US Green Building Council in an effort to propel green building design in the United States. LEED certification is very prestigious title and can be attained through "compliance with all environmental laws and regulations, occupancy scenarios, building permanence and pre-rating completion, site boundaries and area-to-site ratios, and obligatory five-year sharing of whole building energy and water use data from the start of occupancy (for new construction) or date of certification (for existing buildings)".[15].[15]
Dr. Tueth proposes that a mature and authentic sustainable business contains these six essentials. These essentials are rooted in many sustainability principals and are very dynamic. There is no reason in the future for essentials not to shift or adjust as we evolve our understanding of a sustainable business.
1. Triple top-line value production
"The TTL Establishes three simultaneous requirements of sustainable business activities - financial benefits for the company, natural world betterment, and social advantages for employees and members of the local community—with each of these three components recognized as equal in status." Though this is sometimes called the triple bottom line, triple top line stresses the importance of initial value rather than after the fact effects.
2. Nature-based knowledge and technology
"This biomimicry-based principal involves the conscious emulation of natural-world genius in terms of growing our food, harnessing our energy, constructing things, conducting business healing ourselves, processing information and designing our communities"
3. Products of service to products of consumption
"Products of service are durable goods routinely leased by the customer that are made of technical materials and are returned to the manufacturer and re-processed into a new generation of products when they are worn out.(These products are mostly non-toxic to human and environmental health but toxic materials that are used will be kept within a closed loop type system and not be able to escape into the environment). Products of consumption are shorter lived items made only of biodegradable materials. They are broken down by the detritus organisms after the products lose their usefulness.(These are also non-hazardous to human or environmental health). This principal requires that we manufacture only these two types of products and necessitates the gradual but continual reductions of products of service and their replacement with products of consumption as technological advancements allow." See Cradle to Cradle for other thoughts on Technical(Products of Service) and Biological(Products of consumption) nutrients.
4. Solar, wind, geothermal and ocean energy
"This principal advocates employing only sustainable energy technology—solar,wind,ocean and geothermal—that can meet our energy needs indefinitely without negative effects for life on earth."
5. Local-based organizations and economies
"This ingredient includes durable, beautiful and healthy communities with locally owned and operated businesses and locally managed non-profit organizations, along with regional corporations and shareholders working together in a dense web of partnerships and collaborations."
6. Continuous improvement process
"Operational processes inside successful organizations include provisions for constant advancements and upgrade as the company does its business. The continuous process of monitoring, analyzing, redesigning and implementing is used to intensify TTL value production as conditions change and new opportunities emerge."[16]
Implementing sustainable business practices will have an effect on profits and 'bottom line'. This challenge makes the thought of many corporate executives cringe. Apart from the normal contextual issues, the change in identity and potential success should also be observed. During a time where environmental awareness is popular, the reception of possibly implementing green strategies is more likely to be embraced by employees and stakeholders. A negative correlation is drawn between environmental performance and economic performance. To circumvent this issue, policies in the United States such as ISO certification (see: LEED Certification) quell some of those worries.
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