​Euro-zone is facing an economic crisis that can undermine the commitment to tackle environmental issues. This is one of the key messages by the European Environmental Agency, reported in a recent publication entitled “Building the future we want”. The 2012 edition explores the environmental impacts of our consumption and production patterns and how these can be changed to reduce their effect on the environment along with new technological tools. Furthermore, this alternative approach, so called “sustainable”, was on top of the agenda at “Rio+20 Summit” which took place in Rio de Janeiro in June.
Economic insecurity, fears of unemployment and life-quality concerns seem to overcome environmental issues in our day-by-day concerns. An intensive use of our natural resources, careless of environment, will hardly provide a secure and healthy future for the next generations. Despite uncertainty about the exact extent of our environmental impacts, it is perfectly clear that current levels and patterns of resource extraction cannot last forever. Thus, a new approach is urgently needed and a sustainable economy seems, at the moment, a viable option to ensure economic and social prosperity in the long term.
Changing the way we live, produce and consume will open ahead a series of new opportunities.
It is not a matter of consumption or production, but of how we do it. What, where and how much we consume and how we produce can definitely affect the environment. Lowering the amount of extracted resources by means of recycling and re-using materials cannot be a definitive solution. We cannot avoid consuming resources, but we can consume them wisely. We can shift to cleaner alternatives, re-think our production processes and learn to turn our waste into a resource, finding new efficient ways to produce more without using more resources.
A company adopting more sustainable practices could cut down production costs, increasing profitability, besides the benefits in terms of corporate’s image. Meeting consumers’ demand, company might gain a competitive advantage and increase their market share. Moreover, growing demand for innovative green-products and services is leading to new business opportunities.
There is not a one-size-fits-all solution to translate sustainability into business, but CESI could provide advice and support in many environmental related aspects.
CESI assists clients to achieve and maintain environmental regulatory compliance and provides consultancy services in a broad range of industrial sectors. Walking together along with its clients the path towards sustainability, CESI enable them to design new approaches to the environmental, both for operational and corporate strategies. No matter the complexity and multi-disciplinarity of the project, CESI has the strength and depth to handle it and to assist its clients in developing their business so as to be not just compliant with all current and future legislative requirements, but to overcome them, transforming environmental costs into business strengths and opportunities.
Development means investment and, from this perspective, sustainability is ultimately a matter of choices: policy choices, business choices and consumer choices. CESI supports investors to take efficient decisions, especially in the context of the current financial crisis. Our feasibility studies objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives, providing a guide to choosing the best opportunities in the respect of the environment, making the project design easier, and ultimately maximizing the success. Bringing environmental issues so early into the project planning process is the best way to journey on. Entering into the authorization procedure supported by CESI will lead customers to save time and reduce costs, enabling projects to be authorized on schedule, while meeting the expectations of the stakeholders.