Created by Mr Zachary Chan ZAscension Essay Content Environment (vs

Economy)

Question: HFDYA that environmental concerns always play second fiddle to economic
progress?

Intro: Eco-tourism has become increasingly popular in recent years, with many countries
having successfully marketed themselves as eco-tourism destinations, including Butan, the
Dominican Republic, Thailand, Sweeden and Denmark. In fact, in 2017, the UN World Tourism
Organisation cited environmental sustainability as one of the defining traits of tourism. These
make us hopeful that the concerns of the economy and the environment can be reconciled
afterall. Green Activists have criticised the industry for relegating environmental concerns to
the backseat all these years, siphoning resources off the earth and ravaging it in return via
pollution and global warming. Since the 1980s, there has been a growing body of evidence to
suggest that industrialisation is having an effect on the climate of the planet. It has only
continued to aggravate over the years, ostensibly suggesting that economic aims would
always eclipse protection of the environment. However the picture is not as bleak as it seems.
Increasingly today there is a growing awareness and effort to develop sustainably rather than
blindly prioritising the economy. Having a green agenda can even help companies better
achieve their economic goals. Moreover, with governments channelling efforts into this
aspect, together with the aid of technology, environmental and economic concerns can
indubitably be balanced.

CA1: The industry is the main culprit of harming the environment and it is not likely for them
to stop given that it is reasonable to prioritise financial gains since that is precisely the main
aim of companies. Environmental sacrifices are merely necessary costs incurred to achieve
the ultimate goal of profits. The calls to protect the environment are insufficient to dissuade
companies from pursuing profits at the expense of the environment.

Rebuttal: Insofar as it is impractical to expect the industry to sacrifice financial gains for the
sake of the environment, it is possible to balance the two aspects. The enlightened industry
realises that being environmentally friendly entails huge cost savings. Going green enhances
businesses instead of diminishing earnings. Therefore, there is compelling impetus that
galvanises companies to pay attention to environmental conservation rather amidst pursuing
profits than simply throw it into the oblivion.

E.g: Bank of America has been making strong efforts to go green. Even though the company
has had a 24% increase in its customer base, its still managed to reduce paper use by 32%
percent. Bank of America also runs a recycling program thats responsible for recycling
300,000 tons of paper a year. Thats 200,000 tree saved yearly. Additionally, the company
offers a $3000 bonus to employees that buy hybrid cars.

A1: Furthermore, being green not only saves money, it also creates new revenue by attracting
customers who care about a company's environmental footprint. It can even help companies
gain even more profits in the long run, considering that it aligns more with consumer and
government interest two entities that fuel the industrys existence and flourish. For the
Created by Mr Zachary Chan ZAscension Essay Content Environment (vs
Economy)

former, being environmentally friendly has become a plausible marketing strategy to gain the
favour of consumers. For the latter, there are tax advantages given by the government to
green companies. Therefore, companies that have acumen would realise that going green is
a beneficial step for their business and profits does not necessarily mean sacrificing the
environment. Hence, green industries have gained significant popularity and adopting green
practices boosts reputation that in turn engenders more business.

E.g: States such as California have cracked down on emissions allowances, so companies such
as FedEx and General Electric have incorporated green technology in order to reduce
emissions and comply with state standards. Tax credit and incentives at the state level are
also available. Florida, for example, allows companies that produce and sell electricity from a
renewable energy facility to take a corporate income tax credit. Florida businesses are also
eligible for a sales tax exemption for using solar energy systems, equipment, machinery and
other renewable energy technologies. The Solar Energy System Incentives Program allows
Florida companies to take rebates, and the Renewable Energy and Energy-Efficient
Technologies Grants Program provides grants for Florida companies using solar and
renewable energy sources to run the business. Additionally, the IRS allows businesses that
use company cars such as hybrids to take an alternative motor vehicle credit on federal taxes.
The federal government also allows businesses to take a tax credit of up to 30 percent for the
use of solar and wind energy.

Companies such as Wal-Mart and Target have incorporated green changes such as
composting and recycling, changing transportation routes to save gas, reducing packaging,
and stocking their shelves with greener products. As a result, these companies have seen
customers respond positively to the changes, with green product sales alone jumping
somewhere around 20 percent as of 2016.

Unilever has made sustainability part of its corporate identity. The companys Sustainable
Living Plan sets targets for sourcing, supply chain and production on everything from energy
and water use to treatment of suppliers and communities where they operate. When it was
first adopted in 2010, CEO Paul Polman said he wanted to double the companys business
while halving its environmental impact in just 10 years. Its made amazing strides: three
quarters of Unilevers nonhazardous waste does not go to landfills and the share of its
agricultural suppliers that use sustainable practices has tripled. The United Nations awarded
the companys CEO its Champion of the Earth Award in 2015 for his efforts toward reaching
this goal.

A2: Large-scale efforts to balance economic and environmental concerns have been made by
governments. The chasm between the two aspects is no longer impossible to bridge thanks
to the resources and attention that has been channelled into the green movement. It follows
that as politicians grow to regard conservation in a serious light, global efforts mediated by
governments would ensue in a collective bid to resolve the environmental crises. This
Created by Mr Zachary Chan ZAscension Essay Content Environment (vs
Economy)

translates into real, consequential impact for weaving green concerns into the entire
economy.

E.g: This is aptly illustrated in Singapores collaboration with China to construct an eco-city in
the northern port city of Tianjin. Masdar City, an eco-city in the deserts of Abu Dhabi, has
served to prove that environmental efforts can be promoted and made possible by both the
government and corporations.

Governments of many countries now place much investment on environmental technology

to discover new sources of energy that can fuel the industrys needs. This is where the array
of alternative energy sources: hydro-electric power, solar energy, nuclear energy and biofuel
come in.

A3: The advancement of technology has made it more feasible to achieve environmental
conservation alongside economic progress. In fact, many new and innovative business models
and ideas have spawned out of this newfound desire to marry profits and environmental
conservation. Technology has enabled circular business approaches that tap into new
sources of value by turning waste into wealth, creating a whole new industry of business. The
idea that profits means sacrificing the environment is a false dichotomy that has been
debunked by technology.

E.g: LanzaTech is a clean-tech company thats revolutionizing the way the world thinks about
carbon waste. The companys view: treat carbon as an opportunity instead of a liability.
LanzaTechs proprietary microbes capture and recycle waste gases before they are emitted
as greenhouse gases, reducing harmful nitrous and sulphur oxides by over 85%. Essentially,
theyre turning air into something of value. The company estimates it can apply its process to
65% of the worlds steel mills, with the potential to make 30 billion gallons of ethanol, or 19%
of todays current jet fuel demand.

Patagonia, an American clothing company uses its business to inspire and implement
solutions to the environmental crisis. It is alongside this mission that the principles of the
circular economy have been embedded into its business strategy. Patagonia has worked to
provide a higher quality product to attract consumers by making parts accessible and repair
easy, as well as shifting a focus towards celebrating the effort of trying to fix something. In
doing so, Patagonia has been able to extend the usable life of its products and simultaneously
to shift the consumer perception of product ownership and on consumption.