Why Environmental Stewardship is Good Business

Some companies follow environmental regulations to the letter and are content to provide minimum protections to the environment. These organizations may view environmental, health, and safety operations as a "cost center," failing to recognize the real value that environmental stewardship can create. Their environmental compliance efforts are mostly motivated by avoiding hefty EPA penalties, costly clean-up projects, and legal jeopardy.

Other companies incorporate a higher level of environmental stewardship into their mission. They not only recognize the potential benefits to the earth, they also understand how this approach can have far-reaching positive impacts on business concerns as well.

What is Environmental Stewardship?

Environmental Stewardship is the responsible use, management, and protection of the natural environment.

This is achieved by the conservation and preservation of natural resources and the use of sustainable practices. Its primary goals are to enhance ecosystem resilience and the well-being of future generations of human and other animal, aquatic, and plant life on the planet.

A robust and cohesive corporate environmental policy can minimize your company’s negative impact on the environment and even reverse existing damages.

Strong environmental stewardship can also yield positive fiscal implications for the business.

Environmental Benefits

When you institute and adhere to policies for reducing, reusing, and recycling, you can conserve valuable resources, control your exposure to regulatory liability, and minimize your impact on the environment, 

With the right approach, your company may:

• Use fewer virgin materials in your processes;
• Reduce waste generation and its corresponding regulatory responsibilities;
• Release smaller quantities of toxic chemicals into the environment;
• Decrease water and energy consumption; and
• Minimize pollution that contributes to climate change.

Business Benefits of Environmental Stewardship

Businesses exist to serve customers while considering the needs of local and global communities, and to make money for stockholders. How can good environmental stewardship advance these goals?

Increase Revenue. Consumers, B2B vendors, and shareholders are increasingly demanding that companies demonstrate good environmental stewardship. They are willing to spend their money on products and services produced by companies that share their values and protect the environment–and withhold their purchasing power from those who don’t.

This can lead to an increase in sales and investment by increasing your customer base and their loyalty to your organization.

Improved Reputation. Good environmental stewardship can boost your company’s reputation and help you attract and retain dedicated employees along with those repeat customers. It will also open up access to environmentally oriented suppliers and vendors, and other supply chain players to support your mission.

Cost Savings and Innovation. By assessing and revising processes, equipment, and chemical use, your company can realize a cost savings that provides you with a competitive edge due to improved efficiencies. It may also lead to more innovation by promoting investment in new technologies.

A Reputation for Leadership. Finally, what value would you put on your company name being synonymous with environmental leadership that other companies would want to model? The impact of that kind of standout performance to your bottom line is immeasurable.

By thinking of environmental protection as an opportunity to create value, you can find ways to reduce costs, minimize waste, and positively impact your organization's bottom line.   

Complete Environmental Regulations Training

Before you can develop or improve your environmental compliance program, you need to know which EPA air, water, and chemical regulations apply to your business.

Join Lion for the two-day Complete Environmental Regulations Webinar on May 11–12 to get a clear view of the EPA requirements that affect your operations. For each major EPA program, we cover the keys to applicability, where to find critical requirements, and how to meet your reporting and recordkeeping responsibilities. 

Can't join us live? Learn at your own pace with the on-demand online course. 

Tags: environmental compliance