Green To Gold

Green to Gold Executive Report

The world of business is turning over a new page in the way to do business. Recent changes in social views have pointed towards a greener future and look to big business for changes. Our environment is the sole provider of natural capital and we are deteriorating this fundamental support system every day. All business is in one way or another is linked to our world's natural resources by companies that create products and/or services. Therefore, business sustainability can be directly linked to environmental sustainability.

The world's most dominate companies such as General Electric, Wal-Mart, Toyota, Nike and others have realized the importance of a greener future. They have recognized that the next new challenge for business in the future will be the ability to Ð''go green.' Current environmental legislation and social views are gaining support and business world will need to be ahead of the environmental movement to succeed. Big business has also realized that changes can create positive opportunities for companies that emerge on the forefront of environmental recognition.

Business benefits by environmental thinking in many ways:

Ð'* Reducing risk

Ð'* Increasing revenues

Ð'* Creating strong brands

Ð'* Generating lasting value

Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, has deemed environmental sustainability a "remarkable business opportunity." Environmental strategy implementation within business takes a few steps to capture these opportunities. First, the most powerful tool for eco-advantage companies is eco-tracking. Eco-tracking helps companies identify challenges and discover ways to turn them into advantages. Companies need to know how they effect the environment and what impacts arise may arise. Important questions should be:

Ð'* What kind of