Redefining Profits

Redefining Profits

Money has become the cornerstone to our society; everything revolves around it. We work to make money so that we can buy things. Companies make things so that they can sell them for financial profit. Unfortunately, the environment has suffered at the hands of financial gain. When companies put all of their efforts into maximizing profits, they tend to overlook the greater losses that occur due to their processes. If environmentally responsible practices were to be financially beneficial to businesses through government policies, then it would help to redefine what companies see as profitable. Likewise, if irresponsible practices were to be financially costly to businesses, they would be more likely to try to reduce their costs by changing the ways that they operate.

In order for this design concept to work, we would need to define responsible and irresponsible practices so that companies would be able to make educated decisions. According to Benyus, there are 10 principles that businesses can incorporate to emulate the way that nature operates. These principles should be used a guideline for running environmentally responsible businesses. There are a few of these principles in particular that would be most applicable to a majority of businesses.

The first principle that businesses should apply is called “Gather and Use Energy Efficiently”. This principle is modeled after the way that nature uses energy. It suggests that we should use natural, renewable energy resources from the sun, and only as much energy as needed to complete certain tasks. Businesses should then receive tax incentives for using renewable energy sources and for not using amounts of energy beyond what is required.

A second principle, called “Use Materials Sparingly”, explains how nature optimizes designs to be as durable as they need to be while using as little materials as possible. Multi-function is another key element of this principle. If one object can serve multiple purposes, then you do not need to waste materials by creating two or three separate objects. Companies who engineer their products to use materials more efficiently will not only receive incentives from tax breaks, but will also see a cost benefit because by using fewer materials, they are purchasing fewer raw materials.

A final principle that companies should implement is that of “Run on Information”. This principle suggests that logistics and information systems are paramount in nature. Animals have developed a complex series of communication used for survival based on feedback. Businesses should incorporate better systems of feedback. The ability to examine results and standings would allow businesses to keep themselves in check. It would also allow consumers to see how businesses are doing and make informed decisions about which companies they do business with. The government could also use these information systems to track how well a company is meeting its sustainability goals. If the government has a system of communicating with companies and retrieving vital information, it provides greater accountability.

Overall, if businesses were given a measurable system of environmental accountability with benefits and consequences built into it, then they would ultimately begin to change the way that they perceive typical business practices. They would begin to weigh the environmental costs of certain things because they know that these negative environmental impacts would result in negative financial impacts for them as well.