Sustainability ethics: real or just a marketing ploy?

Sustainability Ethics Go green is a concept th...

Sustainability Ethics

Go green is a concept that has been in every business strategy in winning customers in the recent years. The United States Chamber of Commerce defines the concept as a business taking steps towards conservation of energy, saving money and reducing pollution with whichever means possible for a sustainable future for the current generations and the ones to come (Davis). However, there are a few companies using the concept for the wrong reason hence end up not achieving anything at all.

The purpose of going green is to reach sustainability where the resources are used at a minimal to save for future generation. Various companies, on the other hand, use the concept through publicity for the purpose of winning clients who are environment cautious without making any changes within the organization. For instance, a detergent production firm may change their slogans, logos and even their way of packaging to show that they are trying in every effort to make sustainability changes in the organization but maintain the same harsh, raw materials they use in making the detergent. The act is a deception to people who value the environment and an example of greenwashing (Clark).

There are however other organizations which are truthful to what they say they are doing towards saving the resources for sustainability. An example would be a hotel that recycles water and uses the water for cleaning and watering flowers within its compound. Some hotels have also installed motion detector where if there is no movement in a room for a specified time all appliances switch off hence saving energy. The same hotels reuse their old bedsheets to make pillows which reduce the amount of waste released into the environment.

The issue of going green is critical for every company as it is one of the various ways of showing corporate social responsibility. It shows how much a firm respects the environment that provides resources which help it thrive (Yozgat and Karataş).