Never mind the motives for conservation
Posted by DavidM in Save energy | 18 December 2006
I just read a post on Energy Refuge about energy conservation and how different people and organisations have different motives.
the point they make is that the motive matters less than the action and I completely agree with this. In fact I'd go further.
One problem with the historical approach to tackling environmental issues is that global warming, climate change, environmental pollution is an intangible in most people's lives. Yes they know more children with asthma, sure they know recent summers are getting hotter (to most people not a bad thing anyway) and of course it's sad when you hear about animals perishing due to loss of their habitat.
But these things are far less real than the commute to work, the stress of the day job or raising the family, of paying taxes and bills. Or for businesses of making profit, conforming to regulation and keeping up with innovation.
I think the smart thing that has happened more recently is that while the environment message has been pushed more strongly it has also been more closely linked to cost. For businesses especially this two-pronged approach makes sense. Companies like BT and Sky in the UK who have made huge progress towards reducing their impact are doing so because it looks good from a corporate social responsibility perspective and because it saves them money.
Let's not get high and mighty about whether this is green enough or meets our moral standards. By supporting and backing companies like these and showing they can be more successful, others will be encouraged to follow.
