Environmental Issues

The growing number of business has increased the needs to establish a manufacturing facilities or business representative in many locations. This situation while provides interesting figures from economic or business point of view, still it is potential to present another problems if the development does not comply with environment preservation in a particular location or area.

As the development of business influences the environment, there is a notion that the development should take into account external factors not only the economic matters but also environment. Concerning this issues, this paper will elaborate the discussion of sustainable development especially analyzing the statement from Adams (200923) telling us that there is no simple meaning of sustainable development far from making the phrase useless, it is precisely because of its ability to host divergent ideas that sustainable development has proved so useful, and has become so dominant.

In order to giving the stances over the statements, we will provide several real-case examples from companies. In addition, we will also present the brief on sustainable development, its impact to the business, and business strategies, which is developed to achieve the truly sustainable development.

Sustainable Development
Sustainable development, by definition, refers to the ability of a business to fulfil present needs without sacrificing the next generations future needs. This is not the only definition on sustainable development as Adams (200923) also reveals that there is no simple meaning of sustainable development. However, from many definitions regarding this matter, they all share something in common where they typically reveal three factors influencing the sustainable development they are environment, economy and society just like described in the figure 1. As described in the figure, each cross-section from two factors bear one element that further develops in sustainability.

Figure 1 Factors influencing sustainable development
Source Acadmie Nancy-Metz, 2010

In simple statements, the relationship between the three factors can be describes as a situation that a business should consider when developing its activities in order to increase the economical development that a country or a region faces without eliminating the society concerns over the need to have good environment. In other words, sustainable development represents the accomplishment of social and economic progress that pays attention to the preservation of environment by using natural resources in appropriate practices (Acadmie Nancy-Metz, 2010).

Sustainable Development Implication toward Businesses
Concerns towards Sustainable Development
According to several findings on researches and observations, it is revealed the growth of economy and environmental development occupies similar potion within a discussion. This underlines that developed countries such as United States of America, Canada, and UK have a strict environmental guideline in order to preserve their society concerns. Unfortunately, the rigorous environmental regulation does prohibit growth of business including the fast pace of invention instead of encouraging business to raise the environmental-safe concerns (BSD Global, 1992).

Under such circumstances, the search for appropriate shapes of business development that takes into account environment and social concerns is the challenging ways for regulators and business as well. This initiative has driven many companies to set new objectives in performing their business the three goals are environmental protection, social well-being, and economic development (BSD Global, 1992).
This practice underscore the Adams statement that amidst the variety of definition on sustainable development, businesses admits that sustainable development has proved so useful, and has become so dominant.

But, still, there are also people or businesses that only limit the scope of sustainable development as a good business itself that generate opportunities for the stakeholders, individuals or a group of people that have concerns towards the development of a business, especially for several types of green businesses (BSD Global, 1992).

In addition, it is also identified that sustainable development will have a positive effect on suppliers of green consumers, developers of safer materials and processes, investors of eco-efficiency operations, and social-oriented companies.

Despite the growing awareness towards the benefits of carrying out sustainable development, there are still lots of businesses that consider sustainable development as one source of costly activities. This view emerges because they believe there is a force that drive them to perform trade-offs between the advantages of economical issues and social-environmental safety (Business Strategies, 1992).

Innovation for Sustainable Development
Realizing the dilemma that businesses encounter during the implementation of sustainable development issue, they consider invention and innovation as the integral part in achieving the sustainable development issue.

In this manner, the invention and innovation of technology does not only refer to creating advanced technologies but also those who are environmentally safe and include the innovative ideas that lead to improved processes and methods of solving problems (Lemelson MIT Program, 2003).

Realizing the challenges that society faces in the long term, therefore, the use of appropriate technology may provide favourable condition to spawn invention and innovation that utilize material, which complies with sustainable development concept.

Moreover, the innovation and invention in sustainable development concept goes beyond merely develop new technologies. In fact, they involve creative thinking that heads for new processes and techniques of problem solving. The situation suggests that invention and innovation can encourage business to practice sustainable development concept in many ways (Invention and Innovation, 2003).

Business Strategies to Achieve Truly Environmentally Sustainable Development
Despite the tendencies to consider sustainable development as an additional burden, recent report indicated progress in socializing sustainable development to large American-based multinationals. Many have demonstrated that the practice of sustainable development processes makes a good business sense. Among several advantages that those companies identify, the most recognized ones are safer processes and enhanced management systems.

Safer Processes
The first identified benefits that American corporations reveal regarding the sustainable advantages is about the safer process. There is an interesting fact about this where those companies admit that they increasingly adopt the sustainable development within every business decisions. For example, Pacific Gas and Electric chooses energy conservation as a more profitable investment compare to nuclear power (BSD Global, 1992).

In addition together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) ENERGY STAR program, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PGE) will showcase the energy-efficient home products. This exhibition is compliance with the objectives of Pacific Gas and Electric to support the customers and users in saving money and energy (PGE External Communications, 2008).

Moreover, realizing the importance to support the sustainable development, eco-professionals team up to develop the so-called green building technology. The result of this development is important as building is responsible for natural resources exploration. Highlighting these concerns, Roodman and Lenssen (1995) say that approximately buildings use about 25 of material and energy flow,  of wood production, and 16 of fresh water withdrawals in the world.

Under such circumstances, green building development has opportunity to provide building that utilizes natural resources efficiently while in the same time creating healthier building that provides a better environment, enhances human health, and provide cost savings. One manufacturer that comply the environmental development is IKEA, which has been an icon of en environmentally friendly manufacturer of furniture products (California Integrated Waste Management Board, 2007).

Figure 2 Energy-efficient home products
Source httpblog.cleantechies.comfiles200905picture-1.png

From the above elaboration, it implies that green building also includes interior and also maintenance, to name a few. Therefore, the materials that include in the discussion of green building technology includes but not limited to
Recycled Building Products
Insulation
Eco Materials Suppliers
Solar Cell Products
Water Treatment and Filtration
(SustainableABC.com, 2003b)

Another important development in sustainable development is also cast by multinational food chain like McDonalds. Their program is to develop the waste reduction strategy, despite being less visible is considered a contributing effort of applying the sustainable development concept. The most noticeable practices that McDonalds performs regarding the environmentally sustainable are its decisions to change the plastic packaging into paper packaging (BSD Global, 1992).

Enhancing Management Systems
Concerning the managerial concerns, recently, these processes are performed by going through several stages of implementation.

First, businesses identify how stakeholders will be affected by corporate decisions.
Second, companies set sustainable development policies  objectives and design an implementation plan.
Third, they would apply measurements and performance standard for evaluation, using enhanced internal monitoring processes
(BSD Global, 1992)

Based on the elaboration on sustainable development and also from several real-case examples from IKEA, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PGE), and also McDonalds, we find that no simple meaning of sustainable development as each company may have different objectives towards the sustainable development along with factors that influence it. However, they share something in common that sustainable development has proved so useful, and has become so dominant in todays business practices.