Understanding Green Business

The term `green movement' denotes the individuals and organizations that involve in efforts to safeguard the environment. To a greater extent it was believed that the green movement originated in the US with the publishing of the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and legislative actions of the 1970s. However, a peep into the history reveals a different picture. The concern for environment appears to stem from the 1830s and 1840s. The well-known philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, first mentioned in his book, Maine Woods, the need for conservation and respect towards nature. George Perkins Marsh was another key supporter who proposed the preservation of the natural environment. However, such ideas and thoughts were met with stiff opposition from those who believed that it was moral to use the land economically and leaving land unutilized was wasteful and uncivilized. This conflict is still prevalent in the current times. Later in the 1860s, the US government set aside land for parks for public use. Several parks were established, such as the Yosemite, Sequoia and the General Grant parks. Though this era was supportive to environment, especially with the implementation of the Forest Reserve Act (1891), it was also a setback when the government passed the General Mining Act of 1872. While the former, allowed the government to set aside forest reserves from the land in the public domain, the latter allows the government to authorize and govern the prospecting and mining for minerals such as gold, platinum and silver on federal public lands, which again is detrimental to the environment. During the 1900s, two prominent supporters, Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir publicized and popularized the significance of conservation. However, the two World Wars and the Economic Depression forced environmental issues to the background, as there were other concerns for the country to battle with. The awareness about environmental issues was also limited among the Americans. Only natural disasters seemed to divert the attention to environmental concerns, which very soon faded from public memory. However, after World War II, there was a certain amount of significance on conservation of land, while other issues continued to be ignored. This continued until 1948, when death fog disaster created a stir across the nation. There was also an increased pace on industrial and technological development, which led to a gradual awareness that conservation is beyond saving forests and establishing national parks. Around the same time, Rachel Carson's bestseller further revealed the use of toxins in consumer products and the harmful outcomes of controlling nature. Other incidents such as the oil spill in Santa Barbara and prevention of damming the Grand Canyon further received media attention and created more awareness about environmental issues. Finally, in 1964, the Wilderness Act was passed which limited the construction of dams on landmarks and lands of national and ecological significance. During these years, the Environmental Protection Agency was established which was an important achievement in the history of the green movement. As a matter of fact, the late 1960s and the 1970s are considered to be the era of the modern green movement. During the 1970s, there were several acts introduced to clean and protect the environment. The Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act were some of them. Other initiatives were the ban on dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) , a popular synthetic pesticide and the beginning of the annual Earth Day also created awareness. Public was also sensitized to disasters such as the Three Mile Island disaster in 1979, the Love Canal disaster in 1978 and the oil spill of Exxon Valdez in 1989. Though there was enough public awareness about ecological issues and federal laws in place, the industry continued with its pace of growth and ignored the protests and strictures. During the 1990s, the environmental protests took a radical transformation with the rise of groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Earth First! and Earth Liberation Front (ELF). The protests made by these groups received media attention. While some focused on corporate mistreatments others focused on animal rights. In total, there were several groups using various methods to attract attention and generate action to protect the environment. Though there was an increased awareness and acceptance of these groups, they also invited ridicule and were considered misguided environmental fanatics. Later, after the 9/11 attack and a series of catastrophic natural disasters and evidence of climate change, there was a scientific consensus about the environmental concerns. There was an increased pro-active participation from the businesses to care for the environment. Many consider such initiatives as a long-term strategy to build a positive image and a gimmick to increase the profits. However, this has sped up the pace of development of eco-friendly products; consumers are thus embracing such products and this has resulted in increased sales of hybrid vehicles and organic products. With such a heightened level of awareness, companies are embracing green practices, be it in manufacturing or marketing or others processes. This book will bring out the various facets such as manufacturing, information technology, transportation and marketing and advertising that are going green and are getting labeled as “Green Organizations”. Green organizations is the term given to companies that are involved in developing products that are environmentally friendly and through process and use of materials that have a low impact on the environment.