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Essay about sustainable design
Sustainable design essay
Essay about sustainable design
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An Exploration of “Green” Business
“An invasion of armies can be resisted,
but not an idea whose time has come.”
- Victor Hugo
The road to the greening of our culture might have begun on the first Earth Day in 1970 to many environmentalists but concerning consumer culture it more likely started with a Michael Peters Group survey in 1989 on US consumers overwhelming interest in the environment and their willingness to markedly change their habits to fall in line with a more eco-friendly world [4]. In fact, in the telephone poll of 1000 consumers, 89% made it known their concern about the environment and that they considered the impact of the products they purchased. 78% then were also agreeable to adding up to 5 percent in price to a product packaged with biodegradable or recyclable materials as compared to its conventional counterpart.
These findings were unpredictable and very surprising at the time to marketing experts. It was then unknown how willing the consumer was to change and how much they were knowledgeable about the effects of their purchasing. The message seemed to be that the market was wide open for a green consumer culture. The 1990 Earth Day celebration was a large one to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event and the organizers as well as numerous third parties from organizations and publishers were all joining the bandwagon. It could be said that 1990 was a big year for the green movement. The culmination of market research, green products, books on the subject and a movement among progressives to embrace recycling and environmentally friendly change had an impact and a significant one. It seemed there was no turning back the tide of the green revolution in consumer culture. So what...
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...rocesses [4]. They have learned to use fewer resources and updated their business models for enhanced productivity. Yet these examples of positive change are not likely to be advertised. Their decisions are made for profitability and not environmental impact.
Works Cited
[1] Arena, Christine. Cause For Success. New World Library: California, 2004.
[2] Faud-Luke, Alastair. Eco Design. Chronicle Books: San Francisco, 2006.
[3] Grytting, Wayne. American Newspeak. New Society: Canada, 2002.
[4] Makower, Joel. Strategies for the Green Economy. McGraw Hill: New York, 2009.
[5] Mintzer, Rich. 101 Ways To Turn Your Business Green. Entrepreneur Press: Canada, 2008.
[6] Riley, Trish and Heather Gadonniex. Greening Your Business. Penguin: New York, 2009.
[7] Vallero, Daniel and Chris Brasier. Sustainable Design. Wiley: New Jersey, 2008.
Graham Hill, an entrepreneur that values environmental sustainability, narrates his negative experiences with consumerism after selling an internet consultant company, for so much money that it made his head spin, in “Living With Less. A Lot Less.” He begins by talking about his current minimalist lifestyle, and then jumps back in time to the late ‘90s, right after he sold his business. He claims that the stuff he bought with his newfound wealth seemed to be controlling his life, and that he became more stressed out as time went on.
Supplying eco-friendly products has been on the Walmart agenda since the early 1990s. After a failed first attempt and much criticism, the company decided to try again. In a speech made in October of 2005, CEO of Walmart, H. Lee Scott Jr., declared Walmart would devise a “business sustainable strategy” to reduce the environmental impact the company had. Walmart could not pull this off alone. If they only focused on the confines of themselves, rather than all that they were involved with, it was estimated that they’d only reduce their impact by about 10%. To reach that goal of 100%, Walmart had to involve stakeholders to make networks which achieve sustainability. These networks proved to be vital in not only Walmart’s goal in minimizing its environmental impact, but recovering their reputation, avoiding criticism, saving money, raising awareness, improving customer satisfaction, and creating incentive for other businesses to work towards sustainability.
Consumers in today’s market are growing increasingly more aware of the need for companies to be socially responsible in order for consumers to show support through loyal business. Baby Boomers, The Silent Generation, Generation Y and Generation X cultures have embraced the megatrend of environmental and social consciousness of organizations, despite their many different generational characteristics (Kotler & Ketler, 2012). Home Depot has become more than just the orange home improvement store by continuing to effectively integrate multiple marketing strategies into its business plan. Home Depot targets a variety of consumers, helping gain a wide customer base to support the company even through economic swings (Home Depot, 2012). By focusing on all of the macro-environmental factors, Home Depot is now known as a company that helps all Americans create a personal sanctuary in their homes, regardless of their income (Home Depot, 2012).
These days, it seems that everyone is talking about “sustainability” or “going green.” However, these terms are somewhat confusing and difficult to classify. Over the past few decades, the concept of sustainable viticulture has emerged and is spreading awareness to grape growers and winemakers across the United States and beyond.
Organic Consumers Organization, 2004. Starbucks continues to Greenwash with Weak Environmental Policy. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from: http://www.organicconsumers.org/starbucks/recycle.cfm
As environmental concerns become more of an issue for consumers, they will be more aware of the impact that a company has on themselves and the environment and therefore be more conscious of who they support with their dollar.
In a Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, “Why Sustainability is now the Key Driver of Innovation”, the contributors argue against the common view: that as businesses become more environmentally friendly they become less competitive and profitable (Nidumolu, Prahalad, & Rangaswami, 2009) The contributors go on to say that companies who initiate environmental sustainability will develop competencies that competitors won’t be able to match and that ultimately, “sustainability will always be an integral part of development” (Nidumolu et al., 2009). In the year 2016, their statements are still valid and applicable to the biggest corporations in America. The largest corporation by revenue in America with over 482 billion dollars is Walmart (“Wal-Mart”).
To help further explain these misleading claims, a well recognized company by the media is called Terrachoice. “The Terrachoice Environment Marketing Consulting practice converts knowledge of markets, science and marketing into winning, client-centered solutions to help sustainability leaders deliver results” (“The "six sins," 2007). Terrachoice has conducted a study of the “Environmental Claims in North American Consumer Markets” and found shocking results that made them want to give warning to potential consumers about the ‘six sins of greenwashing. The Terrachoice Company was designed to improve the communication between the purchasers and consumers, helping to enhance, strengthen, and prove market relationship.
Belz, F., & Peattie, K 2012, Sustainability marketing: a global perspective (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Going green in the workplace is a new trend in business. In choosing to go green in the workplace you may be challenged by an elevated initial start-up costs, however savings earned from this investment will more than pay for those initial costs in the future. Many people see this as a controversial issue, and granted it does have its own unique set of pro and cons, but if a business makes careful choices going green can prove to be very rewarding. Companies are doing this to save money on energy expenses as well as deploying it as a means to help reduce the carbon foot-print they are leaving behind.
The more experience you have putting these tips into practice, the more they will become instinct. And by making informed decisions and ensuring that the product’s claims are accurate, you can feel good about the choices you make and their positive impact on the environment. If more greenwashing means that marketers are increasingly responding to the demand for sustainable products, this could be a positive trend. If left unchecked, greenwashing creates significant risks. Consumers will give up on marketers and manufacturers, and give up on the hope that their spending might be put to good use. Recent developments suggest companies should be prepared for the new wave of measures. Greenwashing has become a buzz word for consumers and the media. Unfortunately, the rules are not always clear when it comes to responsible environmental marketing.
Humans have been destroying the planet since we were able to stand on two legs. As a society, we need to work to reverse these terrible effects that our existence has on the planet. Sustainability is one way to begin reversing these effects, while still living our daily lives. In 2006, Al Gore presented his documentary, “ An Inconvenient Truth”, as a way to show the world the evidence behind global warming, climate change and the destruction of our planet. This documentary shocked the world. It was clear that changes needed to be made, but the destruction was more intense than previously thought. SInce this revelation in 2006, companies have tried to cut down on their greenhouse emissions, as well as offered sustainable products to their customers. Through a debate of morals and
Thesis Statement: Consumerism is destroying our planet through its excess, but with the help of reducing we may be able to slow the negative change happening in our environment.
The single most important environmental issue today is over-consumerism, which leads to excess waste. We buy too much. We think we always need new and better stuff. Will we ever be satisfied? There will always be something better or cooler on the market. Because we live in a capitalistic consumer culture, we have absorbed things like: “Get it while the getting’s good,” “Offer ends soon, buy while it lasts,” “For great deals, come on down…Sunday Sunday Sunday!” We, kids from 1 to 92, have become saturated with commercials like: Obey your thirst. How much of our consumption is compulsive buying, merely obeying our momentary thirst? Do we actually need all that we buy? Could we survive efficiently, even happily, without making so many shopping center runs? Once after I made a Target run with mom, I noticed that most of the bulkiness within my plastic bags with red targets symbols on them was made up of the products’ packaging. I then thought about all the bags that were piled on the floor near us…all of the bags piled on the floors of many homes throughout America daily.
While walking through the park last Sunday, I observed a shocking scene. There were two cans: one for recycling and one for trash. The recycling receptacle had only an empty Dr. Pepper can and a few used Ozarka water bottles. On the other hand, the trash can had a plethora of half eaten meals, wrappers, banana peels and disgustingly even bottles, cans, newspapers and plastics that could have been recycled. Because people do not understand or do not care to understand about conserving our resources, many reusable items are being put in landfills when recycling these items could help save the environment. People should know the negative impact of throwing away a water bottle or newspaper, purchasing meat from the grocery store or consuming gasoline has on the environment, and many do not. By informing society about how their decisions affect the environment, we can help save our planet and change our attitude toward the land we live on, the water we drink and the air we breathe” and truly show respect for the stuff that we depend on.