Are Business Opportunities found in Rising Resource Pressures?

Businesses around the world are feeling the pressures of rising energy, water, and the potential costs of emissions. While business risks and costs are driving many behavior changes, leading businesses are exploring sustainability concepts to identify opportunities. Many companies are addressing these risks by exploring the value aspects of business sustainability.

Energy intensive businesses are feeling the impacts of changes in the energy market. Cliffs Natural Resources, a mining and natural resource company, reports that the company’s emissions, energy consumption and water use all increased in 2008, according to its latest sustainability report. However, the company is focusing on the opportunities to address and differentiate from the competition in the areas of:

•    Governance, Management and Transparency
•    Environmental Stewardship
•    Promoting Sustainable Development in Local Communities
•    Economic Impact
•    Respecting Employees

As business sustainability consultants working with businesses and individuals, we stress the value in creating a business case for both personal and business sustainability.   When facing the financial pressures of energy and water consumption, our professional consulting focuses on the sustainability concepts of efficiency and conservation to create value.

We look to the leading edge of business sustainability for innovative ideas and value creation. At Dell, the company is exploring projects to incorporate more renewable energy in its operations. They are implementing business sustainability programs to convert more than 25 percent of its global energy to renewable sources. The company's current eco actions have resulted in 100 percent of its 2.1 million square-foot global headquarters campus being powered with 100 percent green power, and its 240,000 square-foot Oklahoma City campus 100 percent with wind energy.

Taiga Company's sustainability consulting interfaces with businesses that are taking proactive sustainable action. In our professional consulting, we recommend a proactive approach rather than a reactive response to external factors. Decisive and immediate action to become a business sustainability leader is creating a competitive advantage and allowing businesses on the forefront to capture additional market share.