While catching up on some journal reading recently it was encouraging to read about the continuing growth of the use of wind energy among corporations Though tech companies such as Google long been using renewable energy, corporate giants such as Walmart and General Motors have become some of America’s biggest purchasers of such energy. According to Reuters, large corporations are attracted not only to the environmental aspect of renewable energy but, more so, to the cost savings. Taking a “value chain approach” presents important opportunities for lifecycle thinking and creative collaborations. Within this approach, special focus is given to local communities and the natural environment because of their essential roles within business value chains. Community risks are business risks because communities provide key resources to companies, as well as a “social license to operate.” Although rarely quantified, ecosystems provide natural goods and services of considerable economic value to businesses. Hopefully we will see more of this type of thinking within all aspects of our healthcare related businesses in the future.
Lisa James
