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| Entrepreneur |
Whether we want to admit it or not--environmentally-friendly businesses practices are a must. However, it can often be shot down or argued against by certain people. A miser would argue by saying that spending money on proper waste disposal is a waste of money. A spendthrift would want to rake in as much money as possible for extravagant spending. Both views are equally misguided when they ignore the need for eco-capitalism. I ended up remembering one of my undergraduate classes and MBA classes at the University of San Carlos-Main Campus. One of them talked about business ethics especially concerned with green business practices. Do we need money? Sure! However, money alone isn't the factor. Money, when used properly, is beneficial to society and the environment. Spending money on proper waste disposal will benefit society. However, wanting only money no matter what the cost will end up harming both society and the environment.
How would sustainable business practices actually be better for the money in the long run?
A Cree Indian proverb once said the following wise words, "When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money." We need money to buy food but money can never become our food. The value of money is in it as a medium of exchange. Money is useful when there's clean water, clean air, clean food, and all the necessities. Money is printed on a mixture of cotton fiber and linen. In short, the value of money is how it impacts both society and the environment. If the sources of cotton and linen were cut down--there would be nothing to print money with. If all the trees were cut down then there would be no more materials to make paper to make accounting reports, no more lumber to sell, and demolishing a forest for an instant profit is stupid. Throwing away garbage into the bodies of water because you're too stingy to spend on proper waste disposal means getting rid of more sources of income. If all the fish were caught and all the streams were poisoned--there will be no more continuous source of money. Fish markets have to get a steady supply of fish. Streams of water provide water to drink. If all of those were gone then the money is of no value.
I guess this is something greedy people can never get because they only care about money. However, I'm "greedy" enough to consider why environmentally-friendly business practices are better for the money. You would want to think of the following principles for long-term money-making:
- Having a clean workplace definitely benefits everyone. I could think how a miser wants more money but may not be able to for refusing to clean the workplace. If your workplace is so infested with pests--it would be a bad environment for both customers and workers. Spending money to have a clean and presentable (though not necessarily glamorous) environment will attract more customers, therefore, encouraging more growth.
- If you cut down only trees that are ready for cutting--you allow the younger trees to grow. Younger trees provide new batches of trees for future cutting. Tree planting activities don't only stop floods but also provide new batches of trees for future cutting. Continued tree planting keeps the cycle of trees going to provide raw materials and safeguards against flash floods. Money will be useless if flashfloods keep flooding the city because all the trees were cut down.
- Keeping the health of the bodies of water will provide the best quality for water and everything in it. I definitely would want to drink healthy water and eat non-contaminated fish. I want to have a continued supply of clean water and fresh fish. How can that happen if we keep on dumping waste and overfishing? There will be a lack of clean water and a lack of food as a result.
- Sustainable crop practices such as crop rotation keep the soil healthy. Do you know that the soil needs time to rest? You would want to keep the soil as healthy as possible. Healthier soil equals healthier crops. Healthier crops equal you can sell at a higher price because the cost of production isn't going to come cheap either. However, economies of scale may soon make these healthy crops better and be sold at a better price. People would be willing to pay more for a healthy crop than to pay more for an unhealthy crop. There will be a healthy generation of workers that will perpetuate the cycle of making crops that are worth a higher price.
In the long run, environmentally-friendly businesses will have better yields for years to come
Greedy people want results, right? However, we really need to learn to wait for better results while doing our part. Stock markets don't immediately yield profits either even if you do it yourself. Expert stock market players will probably admit that they had to be very patient before even buying or selling any units of stocks. I have to wait until whatever investments I have will yield. The money market is full of waiting periods. The value of the investment can go down so it's best to hold it. Holding periods can be very necessary. Environmentally-friendly business practices will also force you to wait for results. It would even mean that you have to reduce your production (for now) but you'll end up increasing both quality and quantity in the long run. Sure, planting crops on crop rotation can get rid of bigger short-term yields. However, it may increase the number of short-term yields in the future. Healthier soil would mean more room for better crops in the long run. Both quality and quantity should go hand in hand--not just one over the other.
The sustainability cycle would go this way--better environmental practices make better products. Better products mean more satisfied customers who will be willing to pay for better quality. It's like how someone is willing to dish out an extra few pesos for better quality. Would you want to drink cheap coffee where the water is verified unsafe? Would you want to drink expensive coffee which is made from rotten coffee beans and unsafe water? The environment also affects customer health. What good would it be to make a million pesos today only to lose it in lawsuits tomorrow due to customer health?It would mean that the money can't be enjoyed for too long since it was the fruit of dirty labor. However, money made with clean hands is best enjoyed in the long run. The best environmental practices will give money its highest value eventually. After all, who would want to part with money over something that's just of bad value, right?