Large corporations are causing more significant damage to our waters and seem to care nothing about it. This mindset of prioritising business ambition over the environment is one of the biggest risks to the ocean and reef, its inhabitants, and the humans who live near it. Thankfully, corporations can improve their ocean effect.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can change firms’ negative attitudes and activities and make them environmentally conscious.
Understanding how corporations affect the ocean and how CSR can alter this might help one comprehend our environment and its future.
How Corporations Damage Our Oceans And Reefs
To comprehend the ocean’s precarious position, learn how corporations harm them. The following are some ways corporations destroy the ocean.
Trash and Plastic
Corporations are dumping massive amounts of trash at sea and beaches, leading to an alarming increase in single-use plastics. Despite awareness, they have only taken limited steps to address the issue, focusing on sales and commercial goals.
Fossil Fuels
Corporate factories emit smoke from fossil fuels, harming the ocean, air quality, and atmosphere. Despite their negative impact, many companies continue to use fossil fuels due to their affordability and resistance to change.
Here is how corporate social responsibility can save our oceans and reefs.
What Is Corporate Social Responsibility?
Corporate social responsibility has grown in popularity recently. Simply said, it is a practice that firms that profit from natural resources use to balance their actions and benefit society. Beneficial practices include social justice initiatives, community aid, and environmental business process changes.
While environmentalists support corporate social responsibility, one may wonder why firms would suddenly change their minds. There are several reasons why firms are adopting CSR.
The leading causes include increased social responsibility due to shifting customer demands and lower costs in environmentally friendly operations.
Consumers realise corporations’ environmental implications more than before. Therefore, many consumers avoid products from non-environmentally conscious corporations.
Companies are often motivated to act responsible to attract customers and reduce sales despite not being necessarily altruistic. They invest in cleaner energy for cost savings and consumer appeal, but their environmental impact is also positive.
How CSR Can Save Oceans And Reefs
Corporate social responsibility can significantly reduce ocean damage. Companies are increasingly more responsible for ocean contamination from single-use plastic. Studies can now identify which firms pollute the ocean most. Companies are now more motivated to address the issue of their products ending up in the water because it can significantly impact their revenues.
Many companies still use fossil fuels but are exploring solar and wind energy.
Installing clean energy infrastructure may appear expensive, but firms will save money in the long run. This is because these energy sources are becoming cheaper to use each year.Once sustainable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels, firms will likely invest in it and improve industrial hygiene. This will reduce oceanic fossil fuel emissions and save many endangered habitats.
It’s Time for Corporations To Become Accountable
Corporations pollute and affect the ability of our oceans and reefs to house specific organisms, etc. Thankfully, corporate social responsibility is helping companies improve their practices, such as environmental project volunteering and being more environmentally friendly. Although companies are still motivated by money rather than altruism, it is encouraging and advantageous that they are starting to care about their impact on the planet. As we move forward, more companies will undoubtedly adopt corporate social responsibility.
