Everyone wants to be a leader, but no one wants to be a captain of a wrecked ship. It is important that one leaves a positive mark and set a trend that other leaders might want to emulate. This is the time for that, as the world is making a transition in terms of business operations and delivery towards a sustainable net zero future. A leader who runs or manages a prestigious company that’s operating to satisfy all facets of the environment which are physical, social and economic will safely raise their head to say, ‘I am the CEO of such a company, this is what we have achieved, this is what we are working on and our main goal is to ensure service delivery that satisfies our clientele and at the same time protecting and giving back to the environment. We are stewards of the environment.’ Whilst the one who runs an organization that is constantly making headlines of pollution, stakeholder disputes and manufacturing of non-environmentally friendly products will crawl and hide their face because then they will have to answer to be public as to why there is an increase in unstable extraction of raw material, all forms of pollution emanating from their manufacturing organizations as well as how to manage the waste from the end product. It will be providing answers for such questions, which on its own will be bad publicity. Business could be lost, and the organization might be on the verge of being a sinking ship if the captain of the ship does not look to greening his boardroom.
In an era where the world has become more environmentally conscious CEOs must take strides to care for the environment through adopting green practices throughout their operations, from raw material extraction right up to disposal of the end product after use. We are past the stage where arguments are held to justify climate variability and change being said to be a mirage. Where some business leaders still argue environmental disasters as being coincidental or where businesses can get away by putting on a façade of green practices and environmentally friendly products which will not be true. A situation now being termed as greenwashing. Consumers are becoming more environmentally aware by the day. Environmental awareness is being promoted at all levels, from as early as five years, when a child starts going to school. After experiencing disasters such as the Pomona dumpsite fires, typhoid and cholera outbreaks, Cyclone Idai, water shortages due to polluted water sources and the general nuisance litter in residential areas and towns trends are changing. Consumers tend to be a bit skeptical as to where they shop from, the type of products they buy and where they get their services from. The question one could ask themselves is, how and where am I going to dispose of this when I am done using it? Going for a product with a recyclable or reusable packaging would then be a good idea. More sales and more profits for those with reusable and recyclable packaging. A question I would then ask a CEO seated at the top chair of his boardroom is, “Do you think your product is selling at this very moment? If so, why?”
It is of uttermost importance that I mention that a positive trajectory, though still gradual, is being noted in this dimension as some of the leading corporates’ CEOs are taking a stand to channel their organizations towards green practices. In August 2019, at a CEOs roundtable in America, the business leaders acknowledged that for the world to tackle challenges such as climate change and inequality the business community has to play a critical role. They also highlighted that business is no longer meant to maximize shareholder profits only but to also drive the sustainability issues that are important to the future success of their businesses. It is clear that CEOs are thinking about where their companies fit into society and where their companies will stand in the future. The main question business people always ask when posed with an idea of pushing for environmental management is, ‘What is the business case? What do we benefit from it?’ Here are a few reasons why CEOs must green their boardrooms:
- Maximizing profits through reduced costs;
- Gaining market share and becoming an industrial leader;
- Employer image improvement;
- Attracting more investors;
- Instilling consumer confidence in the products and services.
I will still argue that it is good to look at the numbers and business case of everything but with environmental management there is no dodging sometimes. The fact remains, some resources are finite and need proper management and pollution can bear unending repercussions which might cost the business more. Imagine a beverage company disposing untreated effluent into a nearby river source that could contaminate its boreholes from which it takes large amounts of water required to make its juices. Costs will not only be from compensating the affected nearby communities but to the business itself where large amounts of money will be needed to treat the water or even outsource the resource.
The environment is a closed cycle one which gives back what you feed into it. It is the primary provider of resources and also the sink for all that would have been left from what would have been consumed, be it solid, liquid or gaseous. If well managed it continues to carry the burden and providing its services with no detrimental effects but if handled poorly environmental incidents are experienced. The environment has the ability to regulate and react with certain elements to try and minimize negative effects but only to a certain extent. Examples include its ability to decompose waste, absorb and neutralize certain chemicals and gases but some streams of waste do not decompose and some chemicals and gases do not degrade or cannot be neutralized. The continued disposal of such leads to accumulation of unwanted material which then leads to different forms of pollution and contamination, which have ripple effects on the environment branching off to businesses. Likewise, the continued careless extraction of raw materials leads to depletion of resources which will also be required in the future to continue running the same organizations.
All these are things CEOs have to consider in their different boardrooms. It might be good today, business might be booming and profits flowing in in large percentages, but will it still be good tomorrow? What should be done to make sure that it will still be as good tomorrow as it is today?
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