Title: (PDF) Sustainable Business Strategy
Headings: Sustainable Business Strategy
Sustainable Business Strategy
Abstract
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, t.b.long@rug.nl
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Content: Many natural resources are both exhaustible and undervalued, which is contrary to assumptions used
to value them (mainly, that they are infinitely plentiful). This means that finite resource are used inefficiently
or potentially exhausted completely – this is especially problematic where resources provide critical ecosystem
services such as fresh air or water. Increasing recognition of the value of these resources is moving the status
quo closer to more accurate pricing, and as this happens, this in turn creates opportunities for sustainable
strategies by entrepreneurs and incumbents, such as new products, customer segments, or how these
resources are owned and managed. Maintaining local communi ty control and ownership can promote more
sustainable use, and also ensures that local people benefit through jobs or the extraction of appropriate re nts. The fourth key systemic imperfection creating opportunities for sustainable strategies is the lack of perfect
information. Current markets, in theory, rely on all actors having perfect information, which is rarely, if ever,
the case. This lack of knowledge on part of the consumer creates a market imperfection, where consumers
make uninformed buying decisions, often at the cost of both the environment and their wallets. Cohen and
Winn (2007) provide the example of low consumer understanding of energy consumption in the home, in
terms of how much they use, the relative benefits of different fuel sources or the rate of return on potential
improvements. This often results in an inefficient and wasteful system, and one which is more expensive for
often cash strapped consume rs – which in turn, creates opportunit