Sustainability and Profitability in Business

This assignment delves into the relationship between sustainability and profitability in business. Students are required to examine research papers and articles that explore various aspects of this connection, including green innovation, the triple bottom line approach, and the impact of sustainable practices on business performance. The analysis should shed light on how businesses can integrate environmental and social responsibility into their core operations while achieving financial success.

Running head: IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Impact of Green IT in Business
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Executive Summary
The primary purpose of this report is to talk about the impact that Green IT has in an
organization. It discusses the different aspects of Green IT and in what way they prove to be
detrimental or beneficial for the development of an organization. It elaborates how the
changes in business model can prove to be useful for the environment. The report brings out
that companies have suitable technology along with finances that can help them in being
socially responsible and bring about changes to the environment.

2IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Implications for Sustainable Development in Business.............................................................3
Practical considerations..............................................................................................................4
Developing a supportive corporate culture................................................................................4
Adopting a systems approach.....................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................10

3IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Introduction
Green information technology refers to the practice that deals with environmentally
sustainable computing. It aims at minimizing negative effect of the IT operations on that of
the environment. It designs, manufactures and operates the computers in a manner that is
environment friendly. The motive behind that of green IT practice focuses on the reduction of
use of hazardous material and maximise the energy efficiency during the lifetime of a
product. This report focuses on the role that green IT plays in business and how they can be
profitable even when they use environmental friendly measures.
Implications for Sustainable Development in Business
The concept of sustainable development has become very popular in the modern age
and it should be integrated within the planning of a business enterprise. It means adopting the
business strategies that can help in meeting the needs of the enterprise and at the same time
sustains and enhances the human along with natural resources. A cliché of the modern age is
that the environmental problems are significant and economic growth is the main factor that
causes the problems related to environment. Environment regulation that is strict often
obstructs the growth of a business (Hbr.org 2018). It gives rise to a trade-off between that of
a healthy environment on one hand and healthy growth on that of the other. There are some
kind of development that is both environmentally along with socially sustainable. It can lead
to an improved environment and also foster growth of the business. Sustainable Development
deals with the revolutionary change in relation to the approach of a business. Business along
with societies can find suitable approaches that can help in moving towards the three goals-
environmental protection, economic development along with social wellbeing (Huang, Li and
Yen 2016).

4IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Practical considerations
Green IT in Business is fluid and changes with the passage of time as a result of
increased information and the evolving priorities of the society. The role that is played by the
business in the arena of sustainable development remains vague. All the business
organizations can make a contribution in the arena of sustainable development and make a
difference on the basis of sector and size of organization. Many areas in relation to
sustainable development remain ambiguous that makes it difficult to chalk out an effective
course of action. The forestry industry cannot clearly define regarding what is sustainable
forest management. There are some critics who bear the notion that replacing the trees would
not be sufficient as harvesting can destroy the biodiversity of the forest (Charter 2017). From
the broader perspective of the business, it will be profitable for the business if it operates
within a healthy environment. On the global platform, sustainable economies within the
developing countries can provide best opportunities in the arena of expanding markets
(Hbr.org 2018). Sustainable Development is a long term goal of a business and good
environmental performance is an objective of the majority of business. The primary focus is
environmental management within the developed world and the developing countries on the
other hand lay stress on sustainable development.
Developing a supportive corporate culture
An appropriate corporate culture is of great significance so that the organization and
its people can contribute to the policies of sustainable development. Implementation of the
process of “Green IT” will require a type of organizational renewal. The participation of the
employees can help in generating practical ideas and enhance the enthusiasm of the
employees (Luhar and Memon 2014). A large number of customers enjoy being part of such
an organization which operates in a responsible manner. Implementing the objectives in

5IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
relation to Green IT will require that the managers change their attitudes. Retraining can
provide effective help in this arena (Leal-Rodriguez, Martelo-Landroguez and Aragon-Correa
2016). Some of the executives within a business may feel that their primary responsibility is
to maximise the profit of the owners of the business. There are some who only consider the
effect on the shareholders of the business and ignore the effect on the stakeholder group.
Effective communication is of crucial importance within an organization. All the
different layers of management should be able to understand the established policies within
an organization. The business enterprise should broaden the outlook of people in the
organization. Employees have a great influence on the corporate culture and this can impact
the environmental performance of the company. There are many companies that have invited
direct suggestion from that of the employees regarding the issues of environment. There are
many companies that have changed the product on that basis and this occurs only in the
countries that are environmentally advanced (Gonzalez-Feliu 2018). This makes the
employees feel responsible for the organization and improves their overall performance. This
can pave the way for the growth of the company and help them in earning profit. Concept of
“Green IT” requires the organizations to inculcate a kind of culture that lays stress on
participation of the employee (Kennedy 2016). It can help in the process of continuous
learning along with development of the employee that significantly improves their
performance within the organization.
The economies that are developing at a rapid pace are often said to be sustainability
laggards and they focus more on bringing the citizens out of their poverty as compared to that
of protecting the environment. Their regulatory bodies can be said to be weak and they do not
want to set restrictions on the markets that are newly liberalized (Lindenmayer et al. 2015).
On the other hand, there are some companies that follow three main approaches that helps
their business to make financial gains. Investment in expensive methods relating to

6IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
sustainable operation can help in lowering the costs and give rise to higher yields. There are
other organizations that have adopted a bootstrap approach in relation to conservation. They
initially start with the small changes that helped in producing cost savings. They made use of
these savings in order to fund technologies that are more advanced. It helped in making the
process of production more efficient. There are some organizations that have spread the
efforts in relation to sustainability in the arena of operations of customers along with
suppliers. They create new business model which the competitors find difficult to imitate
(Kennedy 2016). These companies clearly show that the trade-off between that of economic
development along with that of environmentalism is not necessary. The pursuing of the factor
of sustainability is a powerful path that can help in reinventing the business that are facing
limits on the resources.
Noah Walley along with Bradley Whitehead has endorsed the conventional view that
environmental regulations have a serious impact on the factor of economic competitiveness
(Hbr.org 2018). In the report called “Environmental Regulation and International
Competitiveness” that was carried out with her colleagues Adam Jaffe and Paul Portney this
debate was focussed at great length. According to this report, the truth lies somewhere
between the two positions. They did not find much evidence regarding the fact that
environmental regulations badly impacted the factor of competitiveness. It has been revealed
with the help of studies that the impact of environmental regulation on that of trade flows is
marginally small. According to this report, there is not much proof of the fact that
environmental regulation was responsible for stimulating innovation (Gonzalez-Feliu 2018).
There does not exist any single empirical analysis that supports this view. There are several
studies that point forward to the opposite thing. Policy makers should establish environmental
goal that is consistent with the trade-off that all kinds of regulatory activities need.
Policymakers should be able to base the environmental goals by balancing benefit and the

7IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
cost. Policymakers should reduce the magnitude of the cost by the implementation of
environmental policy instrument that is cost effective. Michael Porter understands that
environmental regulations carry with it economic cost. According to him, environmental
standards impose cost but they also create business opportunities that can offset all kinds of
spending on that of pollution control (Porter, Stern and Green 2014). When the companies
have to face higher costs on account of the environmental regulations, they will start to think
about new technologies that can help in the reduction of the cost of compliance. Porter thinks
that when the environmental issues are addressed the companies should manufacture new
products (Ortiz‐de‐Mandojana and Bansal 2016). The companies that are quick-responding
may obtain the advantage of the fist mover by the selling of unexpected solutions to the
world.
Adopting a systems approach
Green IT in the organizations forces the companies to lower the cost in a different
way. The initial investments that were made in costly materials will help in generating more
savings in the long run (Høgevold et al. 2015). It will also force the companies to go against
that of conventional financial wisdom. It will not focus on the reduction of cost of each part
but rather on the factor of increasing the efficiency of the entire system. Zhangzidao Fisher
Group is a company that is based in China and they have adopted the method of integrated
multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) (Ferguson and Souza 2016). They do not focus on
maximising production of that of a single species but rather is instrumental in creating a
balanced ecosystem consisting of sea cucumbers and sea urchins (Padin et al. 2016). There
existed some species who used to provide food for the others and so they did not have to be
fed from that of external sources. Zhangzidao has been successful in reducing waste and
converts the fish by-products into that of harvestable crops.

8IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Prevention of pollution does not always pay a return on that of investment. Solving of
the environmental problems will require a large amount of investment and the principal
economic pay off would be that they would be granted the right to continue the business. The
cost incurred in bringing about the changes will end up in increasing the price of the product
for which the consumers would have to pay (Bocken et al. 2014). The values of the
shareholders should be shifted to that of the players but they would not be destroyed
completely. Using the new capital for the improvement in environment can help in earning a
positive return as compared to that of the alternative of not investing properly (Svensson,
Eriksson and Padin 2016). On the occasion of failing to achieve this, proper strategy would
be the liquidation of the business.
A prudent manager should be able to think about all the aspects and bring about
changes in the organization. The environmental problems are not the creation of some kind of
anti-capitalist elite. They are quite real and they threaten the global atmosphere.
Environmental degradation is surging on account of fast population growth along with that of
increasing economic activity. A commonsense alliance of the sector of business along with
environmentalists can help in solving the major issues related to that of environmental
pollution (Charter 2017). Business possesses the resources of technology and finances that
can help in the process of bringing about changes.
Many companies that are coming up in the recent times conserve the constrained
resource by implementing minor adjustments to that of the operations. The beverage bottler
of Costa Rica called Florida Ice and Farm initially started by the repairing of the water leaks
within the production equipment in a brief span of time. Manilla Water Company existing in
Philippines focussed on the area of the water lost on account of leaks and this helped in
saving a huge amount of money. The company was successful in recovering an enormous
amount of water that would have cost them $ 750 million.

9IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Conclusion
Sustainable economies can provide the best solutions that can help in the expansion of
the business. Direct suggestion from the employees of an organization can help in making the
employees feel more motivated and they feel loyal towards the organization. This helps in the
improvement of the performance of the employees within an organization. The savings that
are made in the business can help in the funding of innovative technologies and make the
process of production more efficient. They can also create a new business model that the
competitors cannot easily imitate that can help the company in earning profits. The solving of
the problems of environment would need ample investment and the sole economic pay off
would be that they would be granted the right of continuing the business. The cost that will be
spent for bring about the modifications would end up in increasing the price of the product.
The customers often end up suffering as they are the ones who have to pay the increased
price of the product.

10IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
References:
Bocken, N.M.P., Short, S.W., Rana, P. and Evans, S., 2014. A literature and practice review
to develop sustainable business model archetypes. Journal of cleaner production, 65, pp.42-
56.
Charter, M. ed., 2017. Greener marketing: A responsible approach to business. Routledge.
Ferguson, M.E. and Souza, G.C. eds., 2016. Closed-loop supply chains: new developments to
improve the sustainability of business practices. CRC Press.
Gonzalez-Feliu, J., 2018. Sustainability Evaluation of Green Urban Logistics Systems:
Literature Overview and Proposed Framework. In Green Initiatives for Business
Sustainability and Value Creation (pp. 103-134). IGI Global.
Hbr.org (2018). Making Sustainability Profitable. [online] Harvard Business Review.
Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/03/making-sustainability-profitable [Accessed 19 Jan.
2018].
Hbr.org (2018). The Challenge of Going Green. [online] Harvard Business Review.
Available at: https://hbr.org/1994/07/the-challenge-of-going-green [Accessed 19 Jan. 2018].
Høgevold, N.M., Svensson, G., Klopper, H.B., Wagner, B., Valera, J.C.S., Padin, C., Ferro,
C. and Petzer, D., 2015. A triple bottom line construct and reasons for implementing
sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks. Corporate
Governance, 15(4), pp.427-443.
Huang, J.W., Li, Y.H. and Yen, M.T., 2016. The Relationship between Green Innovation and
Business Performance-The Mediating Effect of Brand Image. Xing Xiao Ping Lun, 13(1),
p.89.

11IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
Kennedy, S., 2016. Corporate Sustainability & Green Cities.
Leal-Rodriguez, A.L., Martelo-Landroguez, S. and Aragon-Correa, J.A., 2016, January. Why
Going Green Pays Off? From Absorptive Capacity to Green Innovation and Performance.
In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2016, No. 1, p. 15985). Academy of
Management.
Lindenmayer, D.B., Burns, E.L., Tennant, P., Dickman, C.R., Green, P.T., Keith, D.A.,
Metcalfe, D.J., Russell‐Smith, J., Wardle, G.M., Williams, D. and Bossard, K., 2015.
Contemplating the future: Acting now on long‐term monitoring to answer 2050's
questions. Austral Ecology, 40(3), pp.213-224.
Luhar, A.S. and Memon, A., 2014. Study of Application of Green Business Model with
Reference to IT Sector. SFIMAR Research Review, 9(1), pp.41-46.
Ortiz‐de‐Mandojana, N. and Bansal, P., 2016. The long‐term benefits of organizational
resilience through sustainable business practices. Strategic Management Journal, 37(8),
pp.1615-1631.
Padin, C., Padin, C., Ferro, C., Ferro, C., Wagner, B., Wagner, B., Valera, J.C.S., Valera,
J.C.S., Høgevold, N.M., Høgevold, N.M. and Svensson, G., 2016. Validating a triple bottom
line construct and reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and
their business networks. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in
Society, 16(5), pp.849-865.
Porter, M.E., Stern, S. and Green, M., 2014. Social progress index 2014. Washington, DC:
Social Progress Imperative.
Svensson, G., Eriksson, D. and Padin, C., 2016. Triple bottom line extended-a bipolar
approach of implementation, assessment and reporting of sustainable business models and

12IMPACT OF GREEN IT IN BUSINESS
sustainable business practices. International Journal of Business Excellence, 10(2), pp.139-
151.