| Article Index |
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| Sustainability in tough economic times: 7 questions to spur your efforts |
| What’s Going On Here? |
| How to Move Forward and Embed Sustainability in the Organizational DNA? |
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Page 2 of 3
What’s Going On Here?
Why are some mainstream business leaders now speaking about the strategic benefits of sustainability in a recession? Put simply, they see sustainability not as a problem to be solved, but as a future to be created — as a pragmatic response to business and organizational realities that are cast into sharp relief by planning and risk management that deliberately looks beyond the horizon of the next quarter or the next year.
What is it going to cost to heat our buildings in 2050? How will we move people and goods around our cities and country at that time? How should we? Smart business and community leaders know that we need to start taking the implications of development and business practice choices over the long term into account now as a form of prudent risk management.
Let’s take energy as an example. As oil recovers and begins its inevitable climb back towards (and beyond?) $100 a barrel, it is important to remember that this cost increase is not the same as a tax at the cash register. Rather, it affects the supply chain every time anyone in that supply chain starts an ignition key or uses a machine. Energy costs touch products and services many times before they reach the consumer, causing exponential growth in the energy-cost component of a good or service.
Doing business or planning communities without paying attention to energy costs — even in the short term, is turning a blind eye to serious risks to shareholder and societal value.
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