Initial Thoughts on Sustainable Business

I know relatively little about the specifics of running a business, but I do know that I am often interested when a bit of business news crosses my computer screen when that bit of news has to do with environmental concerns. I have been fascinated by the ways in which the landscape has changed even in the short time I've been paying attention to it.

The most amazing thing to me now is how being "green" has gone from unnecessary and overly expensive, something business fought actively against, to something that is so "cool" it is being used in marketing campaigns and everyone from Apple to Wal-Mart is trying to get a piece of it.

That said, I still hear plenty of cases where businesses are adamantly resisting environmental changes in any way they can. It really makes me wonder if all the "green" talk I hear these days really is anything more than a marketing campaign, or if there is anything deeper there. The stubbornness that some of these companies show toward environmental change is saddening to me.

Still, when I read about a topic like Natural Capitalism, I am able to remain hopeful. The real key to getting businesses to adopt better practices is to show them that it truly is in their best interests. If they're going to be so self-interested, then we need to show them how they can legitimately remain self-interested while helping out the environment and gaining notable benefits from it.

I think we're closer than ever before to widespread adoption of environmentally friendly business practices, but clearly we still have a long way to go.