Blog Post #8: Blowing Away the Competition- Environmental Sustainability

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/11/14/IKEA-eyes-low-carbon-future-with-Alberta-wind-energy-project.aspx

With the growing hype from the public in wanting more environmentally-friendly products and business, the furniture-giant Ikea has responded by developing plans to harness the power of renewable energy resources. To continue their stance on renewable energy, Ikea plans to add wind power along with their already-existing solar powered panels to operate a certain percentage of their business. Not only will this lower costs in the long-run for Ikea, this will also reduce the size of the carbon-footprint left behind. Evidently, this reflects environmental sustainability- a subset of corporate social responsibility. By helping the environment,  Ikea is helping the world become a a little more green (and not to mention, their financial accounts will see a little more green as well). However, this will also help economically as well, because one can hope that companies will pass on the savings- or a portion of it- to the consumers to increase sales through lower prices. In other words, by becoming more environmentally-friendly, Ikea stands in a win-win situation: they save money, save the environment, and save the conscience of consumers concerned about the planet Earth.