Sustainability in the business context is defined as the implementation of environmentally friendly practices. These include wasting less, generating green energy, and building infrastructure with the land as opposed to on it. As we have learned more about the consequences of human development as well as how mitigating them often makes business sense, sustainability has become more and more desirable. Both public and private programs have been launched to encourage business to adopt sustainable practices. Unfortunately, a few of them failed.
Within the government, a handful of agencies have failed to effectively encourage sustainability, at least for any worthwhile length of time. The Interagency Working Group on Sustainable Development Indicators was supposed to bring together personnel from various federal agencies to monitor and promote sustainability, but it never gained enough momentum to do anything notable. During the Clinton administration, the President’s Council on Sustainable Development sought to collect data and report on sustainable businesses in America. It produced reports for a time, and its advice for sustainability is still followed by some, but the organization disbanded after six years.
But the government isn’t alone in sometimes failing to effectuate long-standing sustainability programs. Various companies have sustainability initiatives that don’t produce results. One of the most notorious in America is Walmart’s; despite setting ambitious goals, they have made modest progress. Their greenhouse gas emission metric, for example, fails to include their supply chain, which accounts for 92% of their overall footprint. Target and Disney have fallen similarly short.
Even though these entities have failed at achieving sustainability, it does not mean that you and your business are doomed to do the same. With the right determination and expert guidance, you can help your business and its facilities become sustainable, helping the environment and your budget. To learn more about how we at MaintenX can help, contact us today!
