Contemporary Commerce

29 April, 2014

Contemporary Commerce: The Necessity of Implementing Sustainable Development

Environmental protection and economic development is closely related to human survival and development. Environmental protection and economic development rely on and promote each other. The environment provides the necessary raw materials, resources, and energy for economic development. It also accommodates waste that result from economic activity. In short, the environment is the basis of economic development. The concept of the traditional development is defined according to the economic growth, namely with the growth of annual gross domestic product (GDP), which is with the goal of increasing national income. Not very long ago, economic growth is still a reflection of national power and social wealth. Economic growth also is the symbol of national life happiness. However, in the meantime, many problems are raised as the domestic economy booms, such as the energy crisis, climate change, environmental pollution, and ecological destruction. Under the traditional development system, economy was growing based on the expansion of investment scale, material, and nature resources, along with its growing speed, the environmental pollution and ecological destruction is more serious, and the sustainability of economic development is lower.

I believe the environment does not exist as separate from human actions, activities, and needs, and therefore it should not be considered in isolation from human concerns. Now, people may ask who should be the pioneer to take the first step to address environmental issues. Well, my answer will be the business. Business, as a media, combine human activities and environment together, are part of a larger society and accountable to that society for their actions. And there is an impassioned argument from Paul Hawken, the author of ‘The Ecology of Commerce’: The business both cause the most egregious abuses of the environment and, crucially, holds...