These days, a number of large international companies “go green”: use organic materials, apply waste-free, chemical-free or other-bad-things-free production methods. Yet up till current decade, small- and medium-size companies only pursued the business’ main goal: maximize their profits. Fortunately, the awareness of sustainability importance arises among business people, though the reasons for that are not absolutely clear: either it is a genuine care of our environment or just a popular trend of claiming the products to be “environment-friendly”.

One way or another, the business field is making a good progress towards a better habitat. In addition, companies have even a greater incentive as sustainable stock exchanges and sustainability indexes have been created. That is, to make their company look better on the market and increase their profit, owners will need to opt for green production methods since after a while the goal of profit maximization will be greatly influenced by the firm’s ability to carry out sustainable operations. For instance, a Turkish stock exchange has recently created its first sustainability index, which will influence the price of shares substantially. Furthermore, a ranking of the most sustainable companies has been created and will also influence the companies’ success.

Hence, the idea of green production is finally about to go side by side with the main business incentive, creating a path towards a better environment.

References:

Turkish stock exchange launches sustainability index. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014 from http://www.irmagazine.com/articles/stock-exchanges-listings/20447/turkish-stock-exchange-launches-sustainability-index/

Report finds substantial progress on sustainability initiatives at 55 Stock Exchanges. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://unctad.org/en/pages/newsdetails.aspx?OriginalVersionID=849