Through out the years man was able to develop and increase its knowledge about technology and how the “world works,” but together with this development and the increase in his domination amongst all other living organism in Earth, comes also the destruction of the very world that he dominates. Slowly, awareness about this destruction came and individual members of the human society came to acknowledge the idea that they should protect the environment lest Earth is destroyed and will not be unfit for human habitation, and this would lead to the extinction of mankind.
Throughout the later part of the 20th century up to the present, an increasing awareness about the ecological state of the world led to the development of the concept about green economics. According to http://www.greeneconomics.net/what2f.htm, “Green Economics” is the economy of the real world, where every little thing keeps a harmony with each other it is when human work and his needs is balanced with what Earth can “give.” It is about the quality of what we get and not about the quantity of our resources. It is achieved when human priorities are aimed at “regeneration,” regeneration of individuals, communities, and the ecosystem, and not about accumulation of money and other materials alone.
It is an approach to economics in which human beings focus on the natural world where he resides. Green economist assert the etymological idea of the word “economy” itself, since economics literally mean “housekeeping,” economics is the way in which we sustain our “house” the Earth.
Due to this principles Green economists believe that the Earths resources needs to be sustained lest the humans would literally run out of resources. And that if immediate and appropriate action towards ecological sustainability is ignored Earths destruction is adamant. They also acclaimed the interconnection between every part of the Earth’s environment, warning that the disruption of even one part of the balance in the ecology of the world would have a grave effect on the whole environment.
Thus, prompt action is required of every human being in Earth. They announced that an increase in human standards of living can be attained by applying the principles of a green economy. They say that a healthy life can be achieved through the Green economy according to the web site of the Environmental Protection Agency reducing the smoke emission of cars alone would reduce the rates of lung cancer and other respiratory complications. Trees are believed to “hold” the earth on mountains, reducing the chances of landslides occurring.
The most “popular” issue in environmental management today is global warming, through recycling of paper, plastic, glass and other materials, trees and other resources would be saved and global warming would be lessened. Trees reduce the amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere, thus, protection of this natural resource is important in a green economy standpoint. Added to these, mismanagement of the Earth’s resources can contribute directly to food shortage, leading to poverty and death of individuals who are unable to receive nourishment. Other diseases, aside from those mentioned above can be acquired and developed due to Man’s disregard for his environment. And the proliferation of these diseases can be prevented with the help of the Green Economy.
The shift to a Green Economic point of view is not easy, and conversion must be radical and abrupt. Worldwide cooperation is needed to achieve greater success. And to start this “revolution” individual change should be attained together with “pioneer enterprises” or corporations who direct their “economic growth” towards “environmental sustainability.”
Designing a green business model is an undertaking that enables the creation of an enterprise that keeps sustainability in mind. This kind of businesses uses sustainable means of getting its resources. It focuses in reducing the waste by-products of the processes in their enterprise aside to the use of “environment-friendly” ingredients in their production.
In the creation of this kind of model, the investor keeps in mind the effects of what his enterprise would be on the planet and to every individual who lives in it. He also bears in his mind the relevance of his product or business to the overall state of the environment and the human society.
Today an increasing awareness to the relevance of sustainable energy to the environment causes the movement of members of the energy sector to focus its financial resources in the development of technology that would enable an efficient means of amassing sustainable energy such as biomass, and energy from the sun, water, and other natural resources. (Fusaro P.C.)
A great deal has been done in this field since they started this movement. The development of environmentally friendly vehicles is on its way, cars running with solar power, water, etc. are continuously being developed, but due to its relatively high cost, mass production of these vehicles is hindered. Also the government of various countries has started creating laws that benefit the environment. An international agreement was signed by numerous countries agreeing to the need of laws such as the “Clean Air Act,” they agreed to create similar laws and to support the “Green Revolution” in their country.
The International Finance sector has also joined the bandwagon of sustainable business model. According to the website of the Financial Times, an increasing support and movement towards banking sustainability among banks is happening outside of the developed countries and is shown by the different financial institutions from different countries such as China, Russia, etc. including large financial institution such as the Citigroup, HSBC, etc. (Willman)
This means that a great amount of financial support can now be attained by enterprises seeking the help of these financial institutions. A great deal of investment can now be achieved in the growing market of sustainability.
One of the companies who were able to “hug” the Green Business concept is the Pizza Fusion restaurant found in the US. Reports about its achievement said that it has attained a “highly successful growth since launching their financial program in January, 2007. They were able to establish 20 franchises in four states. (“Green Business Is Good for Pizza Fusion”)
Randy Romano, vice president of business development, said that this success is a “sign of the times,” he added that investors focus their resources in more “eco-friendly operations” especially because many of them “find sustainable business to be more rewarding on a number of levels.”
The success of their pizza business shows the growing need and awareness of consumers in the sustainable means of doing business. With the advent of business such as this, we can say that we are now being more ecologically aware and are now close to achieving a Green Economy.
Works Cited
- Fusaro P.C., Vasey G.M. “The New Green Business Model.” WorldPower, 2006. 2-3.
- “Green Business Is Good for Pizza Fusion”. 2007. July 25 2007. <http://www.pizzafusion.com/viewMedia.php?id=26>.
- “Green Economics”. 2007. july 25 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_economics>.
- “What Is Green Economics?” july 25 2007. <http://www.greeneconomics.net/what2f.htm>.
- Willman, John. “Green Business Models Catching on in the Developing World”. 2007. The Financial Times. July 25 2007. <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f312ad08-e180-11db-bd73-000b5df10621.html>.
