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lnLroducLlon..........................................................................................................................................02
Lcologlcal lssues laclng Cur World..............................................................................................02 - 03
llgure ...................................................................................................................................................04
1he SoluLlon..................................................................................................................................03 - 07

1oday, undenlably, we llve comforLably ln our world, buL ls our world comforLable wlLh us llvlng ln
lL? 1he human race has evolved Lo an exLenL LhaL would have been lncomprehenslble Lo our
predecessors of [usL 100 years ago. Cur Lechnologlcal advancemenLs provlde us wlLh luxurles LhaL
have become necesslLles, llke Lhe lnLerneL, 8lackberry, lad, Lhe ablllLy Lo Lravel across Lhe globe,
and so on. AdvancemenL conLlnues aL break-neck speed, buL aL whaL cosL?
1he [ourney we are Laklng Lo make our llves beLLer ls leavlng a Lrall behlnd, whlch, noL only our nexL
generaLlon, buL many generaLlons Lo come wlll have Lo follow. 1hls ls a Lrall of desLrucLlon,
desolaLlon and uncerLalnLy. lL's llke bulldlng a sLaLe-of-Lhe-arL home wlLh all amenlLles, buL leavlng
Lhe hazardous wasLe and consLrucLlon maLerlal ouLslde for oLhers Lo wallow ln.
Cur earLh ls, so far, Lhe only place we know, where llfe exlsLs and we are Lhe only llvlng organlsm
who can modlfy, repalr or desLroy Lhe ecosysLem. Cur relaLlonshlp wlLh our earLh cannoL be
separaLed, we are noL Lwo (8rown. A 2003). lL ls also an lnevlLable LruLh LhaL Lo survlve we musL use
Lhe resources avallable only on earLh, from Lrees for maklng houses Lo fossll fuels for runnlng our
lndusLrles. Powever, Lhe consLanL urge Lo glve ourselves Lhe besL, ls maklng earLh's ecosysLem Lhe
worsL.
Slnce 1830, Lhe developed counLrles alone (norLh Amerlca and Lurope) have produced around 70
of all Lhe greenhouse gases (CPCs), whlle Lhe resL are responslble for less Lhan a quarLer. 8ecause of
Lhe rapld populaLlon, Cu growLh and lncreaslng share of energy-lnLenslve lndusLrles ln developlng
counLrles, mosL fuLure emlsslons are yeL Lo come. (SLern LxecuLlve summary)
WhaL does Lhls mean? lL means overwhelmlng lmpllcaLlons. 1here ls a 77 Lo 99 chance of
LemperaLure rlse exceedlng Lwo degrees Celslus globally. (SLern LxecuLlve summary) ln facL, by Lhe
end of Lhe cenLury CPCs could more Lhan Lrlple, creaLlng a 30 rlsk for Lhe global average
LemperaLure Lo exceed flve degrees Celslus. lL means a masslve change ln our world as we know lL.
ln facL lL's already happenlng - exLreme weaLher condlLlons, droughLs, floods, lce melLlng ln Lhe
arcLlc, conLlnenLal shlfLs, agrlculLural desLrucLlon, spreadlng of dlsease, and LhaL's [usL Lhe beglnnlng.
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Sclence warns us LhaL warmlng wlll have severe lmpacLs on our planeL, such as:
- MelLlng glaclers wlll lnlLlally lncrease floods and Lhen sLrongly reduce waLer supplles,
evenLually LhreaLenlng one-slxLh of Lhe world's populaLlon.
- lood producLlon ablllLy wlll decllne ln warmer counLrles.
- LcosysLems wlll be parLlcularly vulnerable, wlLh around 13-40 of specles poLenLlally faclng
exLlncLlon afLer only 2C of warmlng. And ocean acldlflcaLlon, a dlrecL resulL of rlslng carbon
dloxlde levels, wlll have ma[or effecLs on marlne ecosysLems.
- 8ased on dlfferenL sLudles, warmlng of 2 - 3C may make Amazon raln foresL vulnerable Lo
cllmaLe change Lo an lrrevocable exLenL.
(SLern LxecuLlve summary)
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llgure below summarlses Lhe sclenLlflc evldence of Lhe llnks beLween concenLraLlons of greenhouse gases ln
Lhe aLmosphere, Lhe probablllLy of dlfferenL levels of global average LemperaLure change, and Lhe physlcal
lmpacLs expecLed for each level. 1he rlsks of serlous, lrreverslble lmpacLs of cllmaLe change lncrease sLrongly
as concenLraLlons of greenhouse gases ln Lhe aLmosphere rlse.

(Source: SLern LxecuLlve summary)
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1he fuLure ls ln our hands. We could keep generaLlng very hlgh emlsslons for Lhe nexL half-cenLury
and suffer Lhe consequences, or creaLe a susLalnable soluLlon for our earLh. ln llghL of Lhls we are
faced wlLh Lhe daunLlng quesLlon - whaL can be done and who can do lL?
CerLalnly, many counLrles, sLaLes and companles have begun Lo Lake lnlLlaLlve. 8uL when we
compare Lhe emlsslons of mosL lndlvldual counLrles Lo Lhe global LoLal, Lhey are Lrlvlal. ln addlLlon,
exLremely large reducLlons are requlred Lo sLablllse greenhouse gas concenLraLlons ln Lhe
aLmosphere. !usLlfylng Lhe enormous changes needed by counLrles, sLaLes and companles Lo make a
slgnlflcanL dlfference ln cllmaLe change versus Lhe global publlc good ls an on-golng baLLle. Cne Lhlng
ls cerLaln - we requlre lnLernaLlonal managemenL of common resources.
WlLh Lhe envlronmenLal revoluLlon Lhe blrLh of a new klnd of managemenL has arlsen. ln addlLlon Lo
operaLlons managemenL, flnanclal managemenL and people managemenL, companles have adopLed
green managemenL. lndeed, nearly every ma[or buslness ln Lhe world Loday has embraced green
managemenL, noL only Lo defend Lhelr rlghL Lo remaln as a leglLlmaLe buslness, buL golng as far as Lo
esLabllsh lL as Lhe core of Lhelr buslness and very purpose of exlsLence.
8emarkably, ln Lhe pasL, managers have regarded Lhe flxaLlon wlLh green managemenL as a LhreaL.
1hankfully, Loday green managemenL ls more wldely accepLed as belng proflLable. Creen
managemenL as a LhreaL was Lhe resulL of Lhe convenLlonal vlew LhaL lL lmposed cosLs, slowed
producLlvlLy growLh, and hlndered compeLlLlveness. A revlsed vlew sees lL as a drlvlng force for
corporaLe enLrepreneurshlp and lnnovaLlon (Cohen & Wlnn, 2007, uean & Mc-Mullen, 2007).
LxLracLlng more economlc value from fewer naLural resources and raw maLerlals can lmprove
exlsLlng producLs and servlces and lead Lo Lhe developmenL of new ones.
Creen managemenL has provlded a compeLlLlve advanLage Lo Lhe companles LhaL have adopLed lL.
1hese companles noL only have been able Lo lower cosLs and achleve cosL leadershlp by pursulng
envlronmenLal efflclency, buL Lhey also have pursued a dlfferenLlaLlon or a focus sLraLegy based on
developlng green producLs" for nlche markeLs (ShrlvasLava, 1993).
3M ls a ploneer ln green managemenL, as early as 1973Lhe company declded Lo:
- Solve lLs own envlronmenLal problems, prevenLlng polluLlon aL Lhe source whenever and
wherever posslble.
- uevelop producLs LhaL have a mlnlmal effecL on Lhe envlronmenL.
- Conserve naLural resources Lhrough reclamaLlon and oLher approprlaLe meLhods.
*+% ,-''% .+%+$'&'%( /+0' 12- 34+%'(5 3+$' :

- MeeL and malnLaln governmenL regulaLlons and asslsL governmenL agencles ln
envlronmenLal acLlvlLles wherever posslble.
(Marcus and lremeLh. 2009)
3M creaLed a polluLlon prevenLlon program called 3, or olluLlon revenLlon ays. 1hls was Lhe flrsL
successful lndusLrlal program commlLLed Lo source reducLlon Lhrough producL reformulaLlon,
process modlflcaLlon, equlpmenL redeslgn, recycllng, and reuse.
1he 3M example was followed by oLher companles. ln Lhe 1990s, for lnsLance, such companles as
novarLls, Chevron, uow, Ceneral uynamlcs, l8M, and MonsanLo lnvenLorled Lhelr wasLes and
evaluaLed lmpacLs, paylng aLLenLlon Lo producL and process deslgn, planL conflguraLlon, lnformaLlon
and conLrol sysLems, human resources, 8&u, suppllers, and corporaLe organlzaLlon (Marcus, 2003).
Powever, one quesLlons how far we can rely on corporaLlons Lo solve our ecologlcal lssues. AfLer all,
buslness ls sLlll buslness and Lhe goal of buslness ls Lo earn proflL. ln Lhe end lf green managemenL
lsn'L proflLable, Lhen lL won'L lasL. ln facL, many crlLlcs belleve LhaL Lhere ls no chance of economlc
payback wlLh green managemenL (Walley & WhlLehead, 1994). AnoLher ma[or barrler ls Lhe
companles' necesslLy Lo comply wlLh governmenLal requlremenLs domlnaLlng Lhe corporaLe agenda.
lL ls common knowledge LhaL consumers are noL wllllng Lo buy a sufflclenLly large range of green
producLs, and lf Lhe producLs cosL more and do noL work well, Lhey wlll re[ecL Lhem.
We musL Lhen ask ourselves, should proflL be Lhe decldlng facLor ln savlng our planeL? We expecL
companles Lo care for Lhe envlronmenL, wheLher proflLable or noL. ?eL whlle we are busy reaplng Lhe
earLh of lLs naLural resources, we slmulLaneously dlsLurb Lhe fraglle ecosysLems. ln Lhe end, Lhere
musL be superlor beneflLs Lo compensaLe for Lhe damage we cause.
Cf course we musLn'L sLop Lhe senslble and responslble efforLs Lo analyse cosL-beneflLs, buL Lhe
undenlable uLlllLarlan calculaLlons are burdensome and complex. unforLunaLely Lo Lhe exLenL LhaL
Lhey overshadow Lhe need Lo adhere Lhe bellef LhaL naLure ls Lhe mosL valuable producL avallable Lo
manklnd. Lven wlLh all Lhe knowledge avallable Lo us, we do noL have rellable lndlcaLors Lo make
good comparlsons beLween ob[ecLlves. An elemenL of resldual rlsk (Marcus, 1988) exlsLs ln whaLever
humans do.
1hus, Lhe debaLe beLween Lhe poslLlon LhaL naLure has absoluLe rlghLs and Lhe poslLlon LhaL lL ls
slmply a commodlLy lles ln Lhe background of mosL green managemenL declslons. (Marcus and
lremeLh. 2009) Addlng Lo Lhe complexlLy ls Lhe pracLlcal lssue of Lhe value of our envlronmenL. WhaL
*+% ,-''% .+%+$'&'%( /+0' 12- 34+%'(5 3+$' ;

prlce Lag can we puL on Lhe earLh? lf Lhe carrylng capaclLy of Lhe earLh ls llmlLed, Lhen whaL humans
exLracL from naLure ln Lhe presenL ls aL Lhe expense of fuLure generaLlons. lf Lhe harm ls lrreverslble,
under whaL clrcumsLances do humans have Lhe rlghL Lo remove endowmenLs from naLure LhaL
fuLure generaLlons wlll need Lo susLaln llfe? Creen managemenL ls noL slmply a maLLer of wheLher lL
pays. 1here are deeper lmpllcaLlons. (Marcus and lremeLh. 2009)
ln Lhe end Lhe problem seems blgger Lhan any of us, buL lsn'L blgger Lhan all of us. lL would seem
corporaLe responslblllLy ls a ma[or parL of Lhe green managemenL ple, buL cerLalnly noL Lhe whole. lL
Lakes greaL leadershlp and lnlLlaLlve of all naLlons Lo seL ln moLlon serlous regulaLlons resLrlcLlng Lhe
producLlon of CPCs and Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of rewards for polluLlon prevenLlon. Lveryone musL be
obllged Lo [ump onLo Lhe green bandwagon lf we are Lo leave anyLhlng for our fellow manklnd Lo
en[oy when we're long gone.