An Organic Approach

Green business is the new rage. Everywhere you turn, companies are advertising the use of "green" products and "green" technologies. The hope is that it entices consumers to buy their products in an attempt to help the environment and feel good about doing their part. The cynic in me wonders how much truth there is to the "green" movement, and wouldn't the right way to help the environment be just not to buy as many products. The realist in me, which wins out most of my internal arguments, realizes the futility of the former assumption as people in this country have it in them to continue purchasing products in exactly the amount they feel they need or want. Trying to buck the "green" trend or any other trend which utilizes fad marketing to attract buyers would be as much a lesson in futility as practicing baseball in the rain. Instead I pose this question: Aren't all products and technologies designed to be "green"? Of course it is a different kind of green, this is the green that our whole economy is based on and is the color of our money.

That being said, perhaps we can use this phrase to better understand how we can be successful with this approach beyond the marketing aspect. What if we looked at the foundation and success of a business based on a more organic approach? Environmental Capitalism can be used as a term to better describe my idea. What it doesn't mean is using or abusing the environment to achieve sales or profitability goals, but instead, using organic thoughts, ideas and theories to better manage today's business. Maybe at the end of it all, a compromise can be found where products move off the shelves at the same pace, but getting them there has less of an environmental effect.

The first environmental theory I want to throw out is "Carrying Capacity". Carrying capacity has long been used to describe the amount of life a certain eco-system can contain. In its most simple terms, carrying capacity is the total number of inhabitants a system can support without causing permanent damage or taxation to the system itself. As a business term, carrying capacity describes the total amount of revenue or profit available within a given parameter. Whereas in nature, the parameters can be modified or affected by changes in technology, breeding, or the arrival of different species, in business the carrying capacity can be affected by similar changes where breeding and the arrival of a new species can be transferred to product variations and competitive pressures. CC in a business sense can be figured by looking at your current business volume as a relationship to market share, footprint, headcount and operational efficiency. While it may be easy to change one or more of the variables over time, to find a true Carrying Capacity, you would have to take everything as it is today and work from there. By taking your current volume and comparing it to the effectiveness of your business today, you can figure out your carrying capacity. While this is a somewhat drawn out process with many variables to consider, figuring out what the most volume your can obtain with your current system, process, assets and headcount is an important step in understanding and pinpointing the gaps in your current business model. The Carrying Capacity Gap is the difference between your current volume and the maximum volume you are capable of achieving within your current parameters. The size of the gap depends in large part on the efficiency level of your current structure.

The second theory has a wider range of current usage and with that a wider range of interpretation. "Sustainability" has long been used by both economists and environmentalists in an attempt to edify the necessity to continue or abate current structures and or strategies in order to prolong the effectiveness of a certain system. In environmental terminology, it is used to quantify the length of time and in what manner a certain system can maintain its current load. When we look at an ordinary business, the importance of sustainability is paramount to the long-term success of that business. Most businesses wear their longevity as a badge of honor; using it as an effective marketing tool. Very few successful businesses have a goal of only lasting a short period of time. As staying power is a measure of success, sustainability is the impetus for marking it. In order for a business to remain viable and marketable over time, it must have in place a sustainability plan taking into account the minimum necessities for long term stability. Where environmentalists utilize environmental, social and economic dimensions as their three pillars of sustainability, a business would use production, marketing and fulfillment. In neither case would it be possible to have any level of mutual exclusivity in order to maintain a level of sustainability. For a business, planning for the future should necessarily determine the current course of action. As with Carrying Capacity, Sustainability has a high number of variables. In business, sustainability should be treated as a destination instead of a journey. Quantitative and qualitative data should be used in conjunction with one another to determine the most efficient and effective course for sustainability. As with any journey, the quest for sustainability should be planned and the progress tracked throughout.

There are a number of other organic theories which translate well into the economic and business world. The key factor to organic business understands the connection between the frailty and strength of the current environment and how a business can influence it without exceeding the boundaries that nature has necessarily set forth.