Businesses that build environmental considerations into their basic business planning can increase their value through operating efficiencies, new or improved products or new markets. Consequently, environmental opportunities will increasingly drive strategic business planning, according to a report released by the Aspen Institute. As more firms incorporate environmental factors into their basic decisions, the report says, they also are developing more efficient processes and creating new products. The report says many leading edge companies now see an opportunity to gain a competitive edge by integrating environmental factors into their core business strategies. As this trend grows, it will be a powerful new force for environmental improvement.
Consumption involves the use of goods and services to meet current wants.
The extent to which materials, energy, and assimilative capacity are used up in the act of consumption depends on the ratio of resources use to production and consumption - the energy intensity of consumption is an example of such a ratio. The reason that the distinction is important is that consumption can rise while the ratio of resources to consumption can fall at the same time. The extent to which total resource use rises then depends on whether the ratio falls faster than the level of consumption rises. For the most part, the thrust of Agenda 21 is that the world needs to raise consumption whilst reducing resource use. But some people have wrongly concluded that what is needed is a reduction in consumption.