The Natural Environment
In Western Europe, “green” parties have pressed for public action to reduce industrial pollution. In the United States, experts have documented ecological deterioration, and watchdog groups such as the Sierra Club commit to political and social action.
Steel companies and public utilities have invested billions of dollars in pollution-control equipment and environmentally friendly fuels, making hybrid cars, low-flow toilets and showers, organic foods, and green office buildings everyday realities. Opportunities await those who can reconcile prosperity with environmental protection.
Corporate environmentalism recognizes the need to integrate environmental issues into the firm’s strategic plans. Trends for marketers to be aware of include the shortage of raw materials, especially water; the increased cost of energy; increased pollution levels; and the changing role of governments
The earth’s raw materials consist of the infinite, the finite renewable, and the finite nonrenewable. Firms whose products require finite nonrenewable resources—oil, coal, platinum—face substantial cost increases as depletion approaches. Firms that can develop substitute materials have an excellent opportunity.
One finite nonrenewable resource, oil, has created serious problems for the world econ-omy. As oil prices soar, companies search for practical means to harness solar power and other alternative energies.
Some industrial activity will inevitably damage the natural environment, creating a large market for pollution-control solutions such as scrubbers, recycling centers, and landfill systems as well as for alternative ways to produce and package goods
Many poor nations are doing little about pollution, lacking the funds or the political will. It is in the richer nations’ interest to help control pollution, but even richer nations today lack the necessary funds.
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