Global Environmental Challenges

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Global Environmental Challenges and the Business Response ------------------------------------------------- Final Reflection Paper - Nida Noorani In this course, I learnt how to balance protecting the environment with shareholders’ priorities for their businesses. It is an increasingly globalized world and so the concept of sustainable development is no longer something that only people and politicians care about – businesses must also consider it in order to stay competitive. In order for businesses to provide the vast array of services and goods that they do, they interact with the natural environment. This environment is at a critical point in its existence as it has been abused for too long. We were first taught how the environment was in danger and then, how businesses can introduce environmental strategies and environmental management systems. We learnt how they could anticipate regulation and not just react to it. The idea that businesses can also benefit through their environmental strategy in the forms of cost cutting and technological development was at the forefront of our learning – a new way to approach the issue. This paper will expand on the four main areas of learning outlined in the course using the various frameworks and the four case studies used in class. The first objective was to learn why environmental challenges become drivers for sustainability as a business topic. I believe that there are many factors that are contributing to this. The quick dissemination of both information and communication technologies, the increasing power of markets and consumers, and the growing number of civil society organizations that support the issue all contribute to the reason WHY businesses are caring about sustainability at their top-management strategic meetings. The Patagonia Case Study showed us consumers are demanding products that lasted longer
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