Benefits of Implementing Environmental Action

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Recommended: Corporate social responsibility to climate change

Since the Bophal incident sparked the beginning of the Era of Beyond Compliance, companies have pondered about the benefits of employing environmental initiatives. Companies will enjoy financial benefits in return for environmental action, but whether a firm may see financial reward depends on several conditions that must be met. However, if conditions are not met, environmental initiatives will still benefit companies in a multitude of other areas.
Many companies are able to accept a win-win strategy towards adopting environmentally friendly practices, because of the positive correlation between environmental actions and financial returns (Frankel, 1998). A company can save costs by looking for eco-efficiencies; where companies decrease their environmentally harmful inputs and outputs. In 2009, Canadian Tire introduced the right-fit packaging program, which would reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging. While Canadian Tire was curtailing their environmental impact, 320 packaging changes between 2010-2011 saved the company $6.3 million in costs (Elm & Tyler, 2012). Eco-efficiencies clearly yields profit, while reducing the company's environmental impact. Furthermore, creating a product or service that offers unique environmental benefits for consumers is another way that environmental actions lead to financial gain. By creating an environmentally beneficial product, a company separates themselves from competition and will be able to capitalize on these environmental opportunities. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for greener goods: goods being made in an environmentally friendly way or by a company who is greener (Reinhardt, 1999). Besides capitalizing on environmentally differentiated products, companies can also achiev...

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...b.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/pl/product.seam?c=21121301&i=21121303&cs=e9e64f75bc349f933691f3c0af7cbb95
Etsy, D., & Winston, A. (2006). Green to gold. (p. 84). Chicago: Wiley. Retrieved from https://www.reserves.uwaterloo.ca/ares/ares.dll?Action=10&Type=10&Value=47712 Acuff, Z., Harris, A., Larsen, L., Magnus, B., & Pumphrey, A. U.S.A Environmental Protection
Agency, (2005). Building green for the future: Case studies of sustainable development in Michigan. Retrieved from Urban Catalysts Associates website: http://www.epa.gov/p3/success/michigan.pdf.
Hugget, D., & Tansey, H. (2011). 3m's sustainability strategy & waste minimization. Retrieved from Hugget, D., & Tansey, H. (2011). 3m's sustainability strategy & waste minimization. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Retrieved from http://mntap.umn.edu/events/wastemin2011/3M_Sustainability.pdf

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