Sustainability is becoming an integral part of any organization’s success. The business environment and industry trends are changing more and more rapidly. Industries are getting more volatile, complex and unpredictable. The business environment has had to evolve in order to deal with these complexities and rapidity of change. The North American market in particular is moving towards environmentally friendly or green activities to appeal to the more informed customer base. However, this trend is not only noticeable here in North America but has spread out to other regions around the world such as Europe, Japan and Australia. The subject of the environment and our global ecosystem has been a topic of hot debate for a few decades and the green initiative is a result of these ongoing concerns that are yet to be regulated and or corrected. This article looks at the advantages of using a green model for upcoming and established businesses and the associated political and economic issues.
The green initiative therefore has taken off but interestingly the most successful businesses adopting this green model have not found success through simply advertising themselves as a greener alternative to existing products. Rather these businesses have come up with innovative solutions to be either cheaper, more efficient or produce better quality products while at the same time being more environmentally friendly. Only a small percentage of consumers are likely to pay a higher price for a product that is better for the environment than one which is not. However, a larger proportion of consumers are likely to purchase a product that provides them with greater performance while being of comparable value and at the same time have positive environmental factors associated with it.
There are several advantages for companies adopting a green model for their business practices, a trend that has been increasingly growing in recent years. There are several legal and tax advantages for using equipment that produce low emissions especially in states such as California. Businesses using renewable forms of energy generation are given subsidiary grants as well as tax credits which help reduce overall cost of operations. Adopting a green model can lead to greater efficiency and less waste of resources. It also helps improve the work environment as only using organic and scent free products help employees who suffer from respiratory and other health related conditions. A company associating itself with green practices also generally has a much better public response which adds to the sustainability and credibility of the business.
The introduction of the triple bottom line to public sector full cost accounting has also brought about a different outlook to whether businesses are indeed socially beneficial. A business may be profitable but if it is causing considerable social and environmental damage it would reflect a different bottom line. Profitability is no longer the only measure of a business’s success. Most investors and business owners realize the importance of having a positive public image. Manufacturing and selling products that are less harmful to the environment shows that a business cares about more than just profitability. This is a growing market trend and many stakeholders today agree that the value of a business lies in three core factors; profitability, society and environment. Thus, a true measure of a business’s success depends upon a positive profitable outlook along with positive social and environmental benefits.
The economy and market trends in North America are currently leading towards sustainable business. This is encouraging as knowledge becomes more readily available such ideologies can be studied and implemented in other countries around the world. With depleting resources and an even increasing population it is important that we conserve our planet’s resources and ecosystem for our future generations. Without sustainable business this cannot be achieved. The North American economy is on the right track but still a lot of work is to be done to repair the damage that has already been caused to the environment due to humanities negligence. The term “going green” is already becoming saturated because of so many companies claiming to be more environmentally proactive in different areas of business. However, this is a good trend but needs to be regulated to ensure that these corrective practices are in fact taking place and the positive measurable outcome is favorable to all stakeholders.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing services to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks file, critical financial documents and back office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of US based accounting professionals are certified QuickBooks™️ ProAdvisor’s providing bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay services. With flat rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost effective expert accounting solution for business, family office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.