Is it Possible to Save the Environment while Enhancing Business?

People sometimes believe that protecting the environment and enhancing business are separate activities but they are interrelated. Business relies heavily on natural resources and protecting those resources. Whether we are discussing tourism, medical care, farming, logging, or even mining our natural resources are part of our lives and should be a concern of the business community.

Politically they also seems to be on two different worlds but both are seeking the very same things. While one is looking for profit the other is looking for quality of life through the protection of the environment. Quality of life leads to greater productivity and output as workers and business understand that we are limited and products of our environment.

In some cases protecting the environment means we must raise costs on business and this could have an impact on jobs. At other times, they work together because the need to protect the environment forces businesses to adapt and become cleaner. Pushing business to adopt limits waste and long-term costs.

Problems arise when adjustments are too quick for companies to handle and then they begin to lose ground against foreign competition. Government should keep this in mind as they create legislation and restrictions to ensure American companies are changing and maintaining their competitiveness. However, government should maintain its responsibilities to both parties and understand the long-term needs of its people.

Protecting the environment moves beyond corporate citizenship to economics. When the environment becomes polluted and damaged it impacts overall production of other businesses that rely on that environment. Damaging the environment damages businesses that rely on the environment and the people who live in that environment and ultimately the businesses themselves as the cyclical mother nature brings karma. Developing environmental policies that help business and the community should be the ultimate goal.