Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Green

The only green America has ever really cared about is cold hard cash. If we look at the history of the United States it was a country that started out with little more than rural land that people would seek to protect to ensure a happy life. After a century of independence there began an exposition where “machinery was the focus” (Divine, Breen and Fredrickson) setting off the United States into a feverous need for industrial development and economic growth. We added a railroad as the nations first big business and industrial empires were built on steel and oil and soon Henry Ford joined the picture with the mass production of cars in factories. What the world had begun creating was what they believed to the foundation of a more leisure filled

Preston (2001) cited early on of HP’s recognition of the need to combine environmental sustainable practices into its core business strategy and its commitment to becoming an ecological leader in the 21st century. The company’s leading sustainable efforts are illustrated through its installation of an EcoPOD next-generation data centre in Georgia, USA earlier this year which is ‘currently the most efficient data centre in existence and can decrease energy consumption by 95% in contrast to traditional services’ (Interbrand, 2012). Furthermore, according to the Hewlett Packard company website, the enterprise has also delivered on its environmental goals which included reducing the energy use of HP products and associated greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 2005 levels by the end of 2011- the company reduced it to 50% and accomplished it nine months

53% of consumers expressed desire to switch to eco-friendly products as of 2007. In today’s more environmentally conscious culture, that number has probably increased.

In order to save the environment from pollution, businesses should consider having an environmentally-friendly operation. Protecting the environment is a key factor in going green that is beneficial to businesses and the environment. This topic is discussed in Ava Mohsenin’s article, “Can Businesses Be Environmentally Sustainable And Still Make Money?” Businesses stepping forward to lead a change in sustainability signifies there is profit and other benefits to being environmentally friendly. Additionally, Dupont is committed to “65% reduction and was saving $2.2B a year” through energy efficiency (Mohsenin). Kate L. Harrison, a communications marketing expert, explains in the article “10 Ways to Green Your Business and Save Money” that although some methods will not show profit immediately, business owners that use public transportation or have a fleet of hybrid vehicles can see an increase in profits over time. Furthermore, Mohsenin suggests that companies give their employees Prius’ in order to save money on gas and not pollute the air as much, similar to a brewing company that follows these

If you believe a company should “go green”, should a company spend more money communicating their

The sole reason for starting a company for most people is to make profit and lots of it. This is what companies like Walmart, target and more have all done. The article Are We Being GreenWashed takes a deeper look behind the true cost of going green. The system is the consumer purchases A shirt that says organic

As we have seen an increase in awareness around sustainability and climate change, with the help of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth documentary in 2006, we see organizations moving towards mitigating the effects of climate change in various ways (Al Gore, n.d). As this corporate social responsibility has become more prevalent, organizations are now pushing their green agenda by publishing sustainability reports, doing mass marketing and implementing sustainable business practices to portray the image that they too are working towards protecting the earth’s natural environment all the while focusing on their underlying goal of selling their products and

Additionally, on a socio-cultural level, many consumers feel that restaurants partaking in green initiatives and operations are doing their part to not only help sustain the earth but also to conserving natural resources (Hu, Parsa & Self, 2010). “Going green” is not simply a trend in the food service industry but around the world and in all forms of business. Corporate companies consider “going green” as a sensible business strategy in building recognition for corporate social responsibility among consumers concerned with environmental conservation efforts. Lastly, technological initiatives such as Energy Star appliances (dishwashers, refrigerators, ice machines, etc.) and faucets that use less water must also be analyzed in their ecological conservation capability and weighed against their financial costs (University of Notre Dame, 2014).

When making an analysis on why more companies are going green and to what are the benefits, the first argument that comes to mind are the government requirements that are now being required. Corporations are made to pass certain certifications to ensure that they are being environmentally responsible. A key industry that has been hit hard by such requirements is the automotive industry. The government in an effort to reduce the exhaust and evaporative gases that automobiles emit, have handed down regulations that must be implemented within a certain time frame. One program that the government came out with is called Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards Program. This program gave new standards for vehicles that are manufactured

As technology increases through massive changes it becomes apparent that the individual user must also make changes that are environmentally safe. Green IT, also known as Green Computing, is the movement towards a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective use of power and production in technology. The crux of Green IT is to double or triple the bottom line investment costs by converting existing structures and systems to this more conservative mode of operation in green computing (eweek.com, 2012). The greening of information technology (IT) offers numerous ways for companies to

Not everything they do it green and they need to make sure that if they want their customers to go green they can prove they can too. They have started to change the operations and bringing in new items that are green.

One major problem as far as companies using green marketing and why it isn’t working is that the relatively vague definition of green marketing leaves a lot of room for loopholes. Green marketing, by simply being defined as “the marketing of products that are assumed to be environmentally safe,” allows companies to take advantage of this idea even if their products are not the best example of green ones (McClendon 1). Most companies also don’t practice what they preach in such

Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of

Going “Green” is a trendy topic and is growing around the world. There are many proven facts showing that reducing emissions, waste, and gas help the environment, but the question remains to companies if they should take action to help the environment within their company. Will this help organizations with their overall success or will the cost of implementing environmentally friendly policies outweigh the organizations profits?

assuage any guilt they might feel about consuming mass quantities of unnecessary, disposable goods by dutifully tossing these items into their recycling bins and hauling them out to the curb each week”. (Westervelt, Amy. "Can Recycling Be Bad for the Environment?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2015). So why is the reason that companies are starting to “Go Green”? Its clearly obvious that the change in America from an industrial country to a environmental country has taught big business how to market environmentalism in mass quantities of their product. The strategy of the consumption-environment mindset are increasing rapidly. If this trend of buying without thinking does not slow down, with problems like not shifting priority from consumption to being environmentally aware, things will certainly worsen. On the topic of green marketing, people often see that green marketing refers to the advertising of objects or products with environmental characteristics to them (Like the Nestle bottle, for example). Terms like “Environmentally Friendly”, “Refillable”, and “Recyclable”, are some of the things people associate with green marketing. In reality