Effects Of Big Business

In every 'who-done-it' novel, there are multiple accounts of the same situation; those involved each have an agenda, and the story they weave is meant to protect their personal version of the truth. It is only when we get down to the facts that we reveal the truth and understand exactly how the crime truly unfolded. Over the years, there have been a multitude of explanations as to the cause of our current environmental crisis. For the average global citizen, it can be hard to understand exactly where the root of the problem lies, but much of the blame is consistently thrown on the shoulders of big business. Whether legitimate or unsubstantiated, the amount of statistics, rhetoric, and rumors concerning corporate business goes back and forth quicker than a player doing sprints before a hockey tournament. But can we trust those who speak against them? Can we trust big business itself?

It goes without saying that the chief excuse for 'business as usual' tactics within corporations is money. Cost is no longer just the sheave in the business model pulley system; they've traded the whole package in for a pneumatic conveying system. That is to say, cost has become such a key part of a successful business model that much is sacrificed for the bottom line. It's no longer important to create jobs at home because foreign worker programs are just as effective at half the price. This is the same ideology put towards energy consumption and waste policies as well; why pay to be green when you can protect your bottom line with cheap, eco-harming policies? Particularly in the early to late 90's when global warming was still unproven, some companies hired lobbyists simply to dispute the existence of any growing ecological problems simply to protect their own public image. Only now that there is irrefutable evidence are these companies forced to change their ways and adapt to what is quickly becoming a 'green economy'.

Today, adopting eco-friendly policies are in big business' best interest. With help from government sponsored programs, incentives, and tax credits, corporations looking to "go green" can now do so without having to worry about their bottom line, and the changes are beginning to show: companies in forestry are replanting more trees, fisheries are using nets that allow dolphins and whales to escape, metal producers are adopting higher volume recycling tactics, and manufacturing companies are using more recyclable or bio-degradable materials in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. Now that corporate leaders can see the positive effects of green business on their balance sheets, it is becoming a viable part of their business model, which helps all of us in the long run.

Though we cannot deny that big business is responsible for much of our overall environmental problem, it is too easy to simply accuse monolithic organizations of 'envirocide' rather than accept that each and every one of us, as a whole, are both accountable for the problem and responsible for the solution, from a real estate developer to the CEO of a multinational corporation. If solutions are to be found, it will take a global effort and a complete rethinking of our habits and beliefs to protect this planet we call home. It is no longer important who did it, but how we can fix it. Website sponsor: Bear Equipment wire rope sheaves and manufacturing.