Consumers today make choices based on the values of a brand. Standard measures of whether a product or service is good or not certainly remain relevant, however, customers want to know how a company relates to certain lifestyles, aesthetics and the environment.
Today a green economy is worth $209 billion (according to the LOHAS Journal). It is actually moving toward impossible for a company to be successful on Wall Street and NOT be environmentally minded. It is no longer a question of will a company make a play for green-minded consumers. It is simply, in what way it makes sense for my business.
Wall Street is going to have to start meeting standards that display some social responsibility to the planet. The next level is trying to devise criteria that really inform consumers as to whether a corporation is eco-thoughtful let alone socially responsible. You can often opt to turn to certain on-line sites and periodicals for more information. CSRwire.com, a newswire service, gives companies an outlet to provide updates and commentary on their sustainable efforts. Overall, it just seems that consumer demand will lead to a business standard that will soon perpetuate sustainable business practices.
The problem is that WallStreet rewards short-term thinking. Only things that result in immediate stock increases seem to matter. While long-term good business ideas, such as green thinking are indeed beneficial. Few companies will do more then the cosmetic things that will feed the short attention span of the average customer and result in immediate purchases of goods and services. Long-term solutions will take time and the ADD generation will have moved onto the next thing by then.
I suppose the only way for a company to be successful in both wall street and also in being green is when consumers start valuing Green procedures as a needed practice in each and every company. Unless if people start valuing products from companies which are more green in their production than others, I do not see a way in which the wall street is going to start value these companies higher and helping them in being successful in both arenas.
Comments | 4 Total
April 28, 2008 at 11:52am by s k
Consumers today make choices based on the values of a brand. Standard measures of whether a product or service is good or not certainly remain relevant, however, customers want to know how a company relates to certain lifestyles, aesthetics and the environment.
Today a green economy is worth $209 billion (according to the LOHAS Journal). It is actually moving toward impossible for a company to be successful on Wall Street and NOT be environmentally minded. It is no longer a question of will a company make a play for green-minded consumers. It is simply, in what way it makes sense for my business.
Wall Street is going to have to start meeting standards that display some social responsibility to the planet. The next level is trying to devise criteria that really inform consumers as to whether a corporation is eco-thoughtful let alone socially responsible. You can often opt to turn to certain on-line sites and periodicals for more information. CSRwire.com, a newswire service, gives companies an outlet to provide updates and commentary on their sustainable efforts. Overall, it just seems that consumer demand will lead to a business standard that will soon perpetuate sustainable business practices.
April 28, 2008 at 1:33pm by Joseph Colonna
The problem is that WallStreet rewards short-term thinking. Only things that result in immediate stock increases seem to matter. While long-term good business ideas, such as green thinking are indeed beneficial. Few companies will do more then the cosmetic things that will feed the short attention span of the average customer and result in immediate purchases of goods and services. Long-term solutions will take time and the ADD generation will have moved onto the next thing by then.
April 28, 2008 at 10:43pm by Marc Stender
If Wallstreet was our last forest I would buy an ax.
why grow greed?
April 29, 2008 at 2:02am by Ershad Roy
I suppose the only way for a company to be successful in both wall street and also in being green is when consumers start valuing Green procedures as a needed practice in each and every company. Unless if people start valuing products from companies which are more green in their production than others, I do not see a way in which the wall street is going to start value these companies higher and helping them in being successful in both arenas.