Green Business---sustainable entrepreneurship

Hang Tian 0386300 Instructor: Susan Thompson June 2, 2012
Abstract
This research essay generally discusses the effects of green business when it been applied on business organization to improve environmental performance. It discusses three main characteristics of green business and explains them with several examples. It also talked about some major industries achieve goals through green management method.

Some factors
As the developing of international trade liberalization, the environmental protection issue has gradually become one of important factor that has been widely noticed by many countries and international organizations. Our earth is facing the resource exhaustion problem, any development that takes natural as the price will eventually feed the consequence. “Which is a fancy word for trashing the planet, this looks like chop down the trees, blow up mountains to get the metals inside, use up all the water and we wipe out the animals.” (Chuck Rogér, 2011). In early 1970s, the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has been issued international environmental protection agreement through the international conference with many countries. Since the relevant new laws and policies adopted, firms start to realize and pursuing on green business. In 1971 Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman came up to a new concept of business called social marketing which generally been accept by non-profit profit and profit organizations, this concept target on long-term benefit for society and environmental friendly, it be consider as a turn in point for firm from main-stream to multi-stream. What today’s society focus is harmonious development between humankind and nature as Marcus & Fremeth says (2009) “The cornerstone is a conception of interlocking environmental, social, and economic spheres, whose development should be harmonious”. As the consequence, development of Green (sustainable) enterprise has become the future trend of the business market.

What is green business?
Green business can be defined as “a firm that are aimed at achieving better environmental performance and, simultaneously, making the company more competitive” (Hirsch. 2010). Green business also can be classified in two categories in the main-stream of business always trying to improve its product or performance to maximize the profit as Cherly Rodgers and Linnanen defined “desire to make money and grow as a business venture” (Linnanen 2002, Cherly Rodgers 2009); on the multi-stream side green business are most no-profit organizations like World Health Organization and United Nations Environment Programme they take environmental protection as its own duty, put environmental benefits on the first place in definition as “desire to change the world and improve the quality of the environment” (Linnanen 2002, Cherly Rodgers 2009). For the main-stream approach company they generally involve in three areas: product, technology and management.
Green product
Green products are those have less of an impact on the environment or are less detrimental to human health products which are able to substitute some current similar product but more competitive than others. “GE developed a new generation of jet engines that uses 15% less fuel, emits 30% less nitrous oxide, and costs less to operate”; it is a great example for a green product that not even reduce its impact on environment but also improve its competitiveness by using less resource while more effective. Another important character for green products is recyclable; Wal-Mart recycles plastic bags and other recyclables shipping them to Bentonville, Arkansas to make patio furniture and chairs. So Hewlett-Packard and