Business in focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business in focus - Essay Example However, this key environmental trend is causing many regional and international companies to rethink their existing business strategies in order to satisfy consumer demand for eco-friendly products through marketing and in areas of facilities management. This report identifies differing viewpoints on environmental consciousness along with an assessment of how this both positively and negatively impacts retail business operations and finance. Piell (2009) offers that certain regulatory entities, in international retail selling environments, are adding considerable pressure to companies to comply with energy usage reductions, which is especially noticeable in the consumer sales environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency created its Energy Star labeling system which was a regulatory effort for appliance manufacturers to clearly list the energy-efficiency rating of their products, such as dishwashers, refrigerators and microwaves (Piell). Additionally, Verizon, one of the largest international mobile communications technology companies, proudly promotes the Energy Star labeling system in over 30 of its international retail stores that are at least 5,000 square feet in order to comply with these regulations and also show interested consumers that the business takes energy consumption at its stores quite seriously (Piell). This regulatory pressure forces many appliance retailers (and other energy-consuming product manufacturers) to change the internal energy mechanisms of their products in an effort to reduce a product’s carbon footprint, the volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the devices. From a manufacturing perspective, this key trend in regulatory activities related to the environment can be a costly business operation as it often involves devoting more financial resources to research and development in order to meet new standards of energy consumption. Energy