Here is a useful and substantial article on the environmental economics and sustainable, from Environmental News Network: Majority of Executives and Consumers Think Businesses Not Committed to Sustainability:
The majority of executives and consumers polled in a survey in July 2010 do not think the majority of businesses are committed to “going green.” Only 29 percent of executives and 16 percent of consumers polled think that the majority of businesses are committed to “going green.” Almost half (54 percent) of executives and 48 percent of consumers think that only “some” are businesses committed to sustainability.
Harris Interactive polled 2,605 U.S. adults over 18 years old, and 304 Fortune 1000 executives for Gibbs & Soell Public Relations. Gibbs & Soell is the eighth largest independent public relations agency in the U.S.
Ron Loch, Senior Vice-President for Greentech& Sustainability at Gibbs & Soell said, “While surveys consistently show consumers have a preference, and even a willingness to pay a premium, for green products, the question is often asked without the full context of performance and convenience.”
The majority (78 percent) of executives cited an insufficient return on investment as an obstacle to “going green,” and 71 percent cite consumers' unwillingness to pay a premium for green products or services. More than two in five executives (45 percent) cited a difficulty in evaluating sustainability across the entire life cycle of a product as an obstacle.
More than two-thirds of executives (69 percent) said their companies have people responsible for sustainability, but the majority only added responsibilities for green efforts to the primary duties of a team of individuals (35%), or a C-suite or another senior level position (15%). Only about one in 10 (12 percent) said their company has a C-suite or other senior level position dedicated only to sustainability. Over a quarter (31 percent) said there is no one responsible at their company for “going green” initiatives.
So, how about business practices in Malaysia?? In my opinion, the awareness that green is good may not have engulfed Malaysian businesses yet. So far only the plantation and oil and gas sectors are seeking ways to promote sustainability on a formal basis. But for me, there is a lot of “green washing”, the practice of companies spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly when they may not really be so. Or they may assume a veneer of being green by having certain elements of it but the bulk of the project and policies are far from that. Being green takes time, effort, money and resources.
The main question here is, what actually the meaning of sustainable business practices?Sustainability in business is about “ensuring long-term business success while contributing toward economic and social development, a healthy environment and a stable society.” As part of their core principles, companies that are committed to sustainable business adopt high standards in areas that can include environmental protection, gender equity, working conditions, employee benefits, capacity development, community development and a set of transparent relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders that fall under the term ‘corporate governance.
Defining a leader in financial performance is fairly straightforward. Stock performance, cash flow and net income are some of the indicators. Determining who the environmental leaders are is more difficult to measure. There is no structure or tools to measure how green a company wants to be.
But thinking and living green is a way of life. To be really effective and to make a difference, it has to go down to the sinews and veins of a company and the individuals that make up that company. Just as there are shareholders in a company, each living being is a shareholder of a very big and important company called Planet Earth.
For more information, please read further in http://www.sustainablescale.org/AttractiveSolutions/SustainableBusinessPractices.aspx
It is very important for us to assimilate sustainability in business practice because this is how people can going green by using and buying green product. So, companies play important role by introducing green product to meet the consumer requirement and maintain business sustainability.
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