The Responsible Company Review

After reading the book “The Responsible Company”, I will first present a summary report of each chapter in this paper and conclude by comparing the book with the movie “The Insider” and finally presenting my overall summary of what I learned.

In the book “The Responsible Company”, chapter one introduced the concept that our current economic activity is no longer sustainable, and if we want to save this planet, society must change. For this to take place, businesses must realize they are socially and environmentally responsible for their actions, and therefore, they must make a conscious effort to make their operations and products more environmentally friendly. Thus, companies must begin to reach across the aisle and start working together with their competition to fix the problems that early industrialism has created. No one business can fix the environment no matter how much profits they generate. For this to work, society must work as one team, such as the Conservation Alliance and Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). By creating alliances, corporations can share different innovations that can help the environment, such as the Eco Index which measure the impact on the environment. Another idea is LEED Certification which allows companies to reduce their carbon footprint. Corporations must realize that consumers are watching them closely to see if they are helping the environment, and if they are not they will be blackballed by consumers, just ask Wal-Mart, who lost 14 million customers because of negative public opinion. Thankfully, Wal-Mart has understood something clearly at last and is one of the biggest advocates of the environment. For sustainability to work, society must begin to be more efficient and start doing more with less.

In chapter two, our industrialism and our way of life have altered the environment to the point that the damage cannot be undone. Humanity has moved through life as if there are no consequences. Unfortunately, that is not the case. We have changed the face of the planet from a once beautiful world, like Yosemite National Park, to one that will eventually resemble the planet Mars. Our rivers and lakes are drying up as quickly as the oxygen being depleted from the water due to eutrophication and wildlife are being driven to the point of extinction at an alarming rate. What people fail to realize is that humans are animals as well, and at the current rate of environmental decay, we also face extinction like the dinosaurs. Unlike the other wild animals, humans are completely to blame. Because of our globalization, the planet cannot recover from all the damage done by the chemicals we have created. Our selfishness is not only ruining the planet, but it is also destroying our health. Cancer and other diseases are on the rise at an alarming rate because of our toxic ways, and we are the only ones to blame because of our environmental ignorance.

In chapter 3, the responsible company is defined as one that does less harm to the environment while taking care of its people. Companies can no longer conduct business the same way because resources cannot keep up, they must ensure their short-term goals and performance have long-term effects on the environment as well as people’s health. Although limited resources are a major concern regarding sustainability, this chapter did not mention a key variable in the resource crisis, and that is the ever-growing population. It is this one factor that will push limited resources to its breaking point. Because of this, prices will increase due to the small supply and high demand, which could ultimately lead to dystopia. Thus, it is imperative that corporations look beyond profits and find a way to do more with less to preserve our limited resources. For this to take place, businesses must have a purpose in their work. Corporations must come together and adopt the same mission and vision, one that is responsible and allows for a sustainable civilization. This mission should be one built around “the 3 Ps: Planet, People, and Profit.” (Chouinard & Stanley, 2012)