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For Sustainable Development: ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE MANAGEMENT
Although it is faced with obstacles, the world as a whole has started to accept the fact that it has no other option but to preserve the environment and the resources which were once considered to be infinite. However, when it comes to the necessary precautions to be taken, mankind displays behavior based on circumstance. At the individual level, everyone is in agreement that the environment should be protected. But when the issue is by governments, not only it is possible to get different responses but it is also difficult to see any solid action. Unlike governments, the business world has managed to take solid steps in protecting the environment, thanks to its proactive approach. It is an accepted fact of doing business now that the future cannot be planned without sustainable development. At this point, new managerial approaches that combine innovation with sustainable development have emerged.. Corporate Environmentalism Companies have started to play a more active role in creating a sustainable world. If resources become depleted and the world becomes an inhospitable place, it will also be a threat to the sustainability of companies which do not employ management methods which focus on environmental protection. This issue has moved beyond one of simple social responsibility, becoming one in which companies must be concerned for their own viability. In Turkey, the number of award winning projects carried out in this area has been increasing rapidly. The aviation sector is among the top sources of carbon dioxide emissions and TAV Airports has been closely monitoring measures taken by the aviation sector and implementing similar measures in its quest for sustainable development. (For the projects see Pages 84 – 87 and NewsPORT issue 13, pages 54—57, Life Cycle Pages) As a consequence of this effort, TAV Airports’ Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport International Departures Terminal received the “Special Jury Award” from the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry and the “Environmentalist Airport of the Year” award at the International Aviation Summit held in Doha. Global examples are quite striking The overall picture outside Turkey is quite interesting. Toyota, the company ranked number one in car production, receives awards for its environmental practices. Nokia, the number one cell phone brand in the world, was judged the most environmentally friendly company of the year. The fact that companies—particularly global companies--have quite optimistic views about environmental protection shown once again at the World Climate Summit held in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7-18, 2009.
Representatives of many sectors agree that the global supply chain will complete the transition into a “low carbon economy” within 3 to 5 years. The best example of this is statements made by the CEOs of two global giants, Coca-Cola and Unilever. At the United Nations summit, in which senior managers of these giant global companies participated, Coca-Cola’s CEO Muhtar Kent summarized his company’s views on the issue as follows: “We believe that the notions of sustainability and an effective supply chain can be harmonized with a comprehensive approach of innovation. In the new world order, competitive advantage will lie in the sources of the supply chain. And these sources will be sensitive to the environment.” Supporting Kent’s views, Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, indicated that possessing an environmentally sensitive production and supply chain is an effective approach, both in terms of the sustainability of the company and turning this sustainability into an advantage.
As a result of research carried out at the summit--at which the senior managers of global logistics and transportation giants participated--it was shown that companies are well aware of the ways of implementing the low carbon economy, and that there is a strong perception about the issue.
Renewable energy is a must for the aviation sector Each transportation modality, ranging from air and land transportation to sea and railway transportation, damages the environment to varying degrees. While institutions such as the European Union enact legislation limiting carbon dioxide emissions by vehicles, companies attempting to limit greenhouse gas emissions are more carefully structuring their supply chains. There are emissions standards for land and railway transportation which have been spelled out in the Kyoto Protocol. However, this does not cover sea and air transportation. Forecasts indicate that emissions by the airline industry will be responsible for some 15% of global warming gasses. An interesting approach by Sir Richard Branson A unique approach in this regard has come from the owner of Virgin Airlines, Sir Richard Branson. It has been 3 years since Branson announced that the company will grant all of its net profit generated within the next 10 years to projects aimed at combating global warming. Branson argues that mankind should stop using fossil fuels immediately and through his company Virgin Fuels, established in 2006, he has allocated 400 million USD to R&D activities for environmentally friendly energy sources. As a first step, Virgin Fuels invested 60 million dollars in the California-based Cilion company, which produces bio-ethanol from corn. In accordance with the partnership agreement, six of the seven bio-ethanol refineries to be established by 2009 have been established. Virgin Airlines is also working on a project to begin using wind energy in planes.
In recent years, Sir Branson, a unique voice of the aviation sector, has ended nearly every statement in the following way: “It is in our hands to decide whether or not to hand over to our children this blue and wonderful planet we have acquired from our ancestors. We need to admit that we’ve acted irresponsibly until now. We are not in a situation to do a profitability analysis of the issue. We have to complete the transition to renewable energy." Sir is right!
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