7. Environmental changes

The rise of environmental concerns over recent years has had a massive impact on companies, people, and the systems being used to respond to these external changes.

Consider

  • Global warming concerns have directly affected many industries. In particular, high energy-use industries such as aluminium smelting and steel works who are looking for greener ways to source their energy.
  • Cities are huge organisatons in themselves and because of sustainability concerns, they have had to look to their mass transport strategy, their recycling methods and energy use.
  • The transport industries - car, ship, rail, air have all been impacted by the need to reduce carbon emissions. This has driven innovation towards alternative technologies. Their R&D departments have expanded, their marketing strategies have changed. It has changed the attitude of customers and the products they buy.
  • Waste management. Land fill is no longer the standard way of getting rid of waste. This was triggered by governments imposing a tax on every tonne sent to land fill so it suddenly made economic sense to look towards recycling. As a result, entire recycling industries have sprung up. Companies insist that staff recycle their paper and other office waste such as toner. Many companies have systems in place to monitor their recycling effectiveness.

 

challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you

Click on this link: Recycling technologies