Maybe you’ve heard of sustainable fashion and sustainable food, but how about sustainable Business? With the Doomsday Clock just minutes away from midnight, can running a business with environmentally friendly goals and operation be the next big initiative to save our world?
Business for the modern world
With Tesla outperforming Ford and Amazon buying Whole Foods we’re beginning to see a trend of environmentally conscience businesses soar in popularity. Despite the United States backing out of the Paris Accords, it looks like progressive business owners and CEOs have realized, it's in our hands to stop polluting the world.
Fair working conditions, equal pay, friendly and approachable superiors, and a company that makes an effort to commit to little to 0 emissions or pollution? Sounds like business is about to get a whole lot better for our world.
Eco-friendly trend
Eco-Fashion has begun to dominate by not only using cruelty-free materials or reusable shopping bags but also phasing out the use of sweatshops. Perhaps you're familiar with the tags that say "Made In" on your clothes, telling you that your $4 Forever 21 shirt is 100% cotton and made in China. Very rarely do we see that these items produced in countries overseas are made in factories with safe and ethical working conditions nor do we see items made in America.
Companies are beginning to undergo scrutiny as their use for sweatshops go public, just like Ivanka Trump's company has now been under fire for their Chinese workers being exposed to abusive conditions. In the end, happier workers being paid a fair wage with fair conditions will only boost profits as workers feel the urgency to not only work faster, but take pride in their craftsmanship, and help expand the global market.
However, market systems are complex, but with time and patience, transforming the fashion industry into a sustainable and fair industry will help make the leap into 100% Sustainable Business.
Big oil investing where?
The energy crisis in the 1970s led to big oil companies investing in renewable energy, but they were more or less a marketing campaign to help impress customers and convince them that oil companies are socially aware.
Are companies aware? Absolutely. Will they do anything about it? Not unless it involves lobbying for pro-oil laws and regulations. Russian natural gas group, Gazprom, had their lobbyist contradict a statement made by Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, before the Senate when discussing if Sessions had met with lobbyists. Does this mean the end for big oil? Not necessarily, fracking has made the United States an energy exporter when it comes to natural gas, but the environmental damage has only begun. Risks of radon emitting into soil, high methane, and carbon dioxide emissions, and the destruction of land, big oil still has its grip on America as the current Administration aims to deregulate environmental rules.
Social responsibility
Have no fear, social responsibility on the business' end must be met to be competitive. Look at these seven simple steps businesses can take to be just a bit more green, all while helping their wallet. The large and infamous Millennial Generation voted unbelievably left this election, and have their hearts set on social and environmental progress. Their loud voices, social media, and passionate might just be the pressure we need to move businesses into being more socially responsible for bringing about a sustainable future. Tesla, Amazon, Apple, and other prominent companies have already begun to take large steps in the business world and preserving the integrity of the science world.
