Sustainable Business Is Growing But It Still Has A Long Way To Go

Despite the growth of sustainable business, this extrordinary transformation has only just begun. The combination of regulation and demand will color the future a much darker shade of green than what we see today. Whether you are a passionate supporter of efforts to combat climate change or a science-hating denier, everyone will have to contend with a business environment that will be unmistakably greener.

The core features of the new green economy are here to stay and will keep growing. This includes things like efficiency, conservation, waste reduction, pollution prevention, supply-chain management, environmental reporting, biomimicry and cradle-to-cradle products.

Although the green economy is a permanent fixture, companies will continue to rise and fall as new technologies emerge and old technologies are rendered obsolete. But the core features of green business will be with us for generations to come.

More and more companies are adopting greener practices and environmentally oriented consulting services are very much in demand. However, the green market is still very young.

The vast majority of businesses have yet to adopt sustainable practices. According to the Sustainability & Innovation Survey by MIT’s Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group, small business has been especially slow to adopt sustainability. Their survey revealed that 82 percent of small companies have yet to go green, and 66 percent of large companies have yet to embrace sustainability. That leaves a lot of room for growth.

The green market is now estimated to be worth $5.27 trillion (£3.2 trillion) worldwide. In the next couple of decades the clean energy market alone is expected to be worth more than$13 trillion.

Today the green market may seem big, but the business world of tomorrow will be much greener.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Growth of the Green Market

The green market has been growing fast and shows no signs of slowing. The global environmental industry is presently worth almost one and a half trillion dollars and it is expected to double in the next decade.

Even in an economic environment marked by widespread declines, the green market showed steady growth. In 2007 the green market grew 8%. In 2008 as the wider economy began feeling the effects of the most serious downturn since the Great Depression, the green market managed to grow a remarkable 3%.

Forecasts published in July 2009, by US trade publication Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) expected a 2009 growth rate 0.6% for the US environmental industry. However, the EBJ described 0.6% growth as a significant achievement given that the prevailing estimates expected the US gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 2-4% in 2009.

On June 17 2010, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry released a newsletter that indicates the global market for environmental products and services will double by 2020.

Established in 1965, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry is a non-profit public entity, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai by creating a favorable business environment, supporting the development of business, and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) has released this year's fourth issue of its bi-monthly newsletter, CSR Al Youm. The newsletter addresses the opportunities, competencies and complexities of the Green Market. According to the newsletter, the green market will double from $1.37 trillion a year in 2010 to $2.74 trillion by 2020.

The news that the green market will double in the next decade adds to the growing number of reports that point to vast opportunities.
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