Sustainable development is defined by the United Nations as that which is able to meet the needs of the present without compromising that of the future.
Furthermore, the UN stipulates that the concept of sustainability encompasses that of factors which are economic, social and environmental.
There is already a widespread acceptance of the aim for sustainability in conducting business in a competitive manner.
Companies which are aiming to be one of the sustainable corporations will have greater acceptance in the future than those which have not made bigger efforts in this arena.
Socially, environmental awareness is to the fore and the organization that is not compliant risks alienating the very clients that it needs to succeed.
Enterprise carbon and energy management systems are now emerging as a key tool in the business arsenal, enabling the company to fully understand and develop its position.
Sustainable corporations look for all the help they can get, as they meet increasing demands from all angles.
Dedicated systems have arisen to fill this need.
Enterprise carbon and energy management systems currently available allow the organization to understand its energy use and efficiency, in many cases for the first time.
An individual asset may have been deemed to be efficient according to the benchmarks set by the manufacturer, but it may not have been operating efficiently from an energy use perspective and consequently emitting levels of carbon no longer acceptable.
For an organization to be fully aware of its carbon footprint, energy inefficiencies and what it needs to do to change, it needs to analyze the performance of every asset and be in possession of comprehensive and up-to-date information.
Systems and solutions provide this information to the company, regardless of how many assets are concerned, how distributed the organization or how complex the process.
Every organization must understand that carbon is now a cost of doing business.
Law is being seen as capable of creating market-driven forces which compel carbon emissions to go down as competition increases in the carbon economy.
It is a known fact that every single organization needs to use up energy to be able to function, even down from the smallest enterprise up to the largest industrial complex there is.
Recent research by AMR has shown that almost half of all businesses have no systems or plans in place to measure the carbon use and as such, are as far from being sustainable corporations as they could be.
Approximately a third of surveyed suggested that lack of awareness which becomes a barrier in comprehending the entire process hampered adoption which further requires these organizations to investigate this issue further the soonest time possible.
Certain governments around the world have moved forward with stringent regulation to force the formation of sustainable corporations through trading restrictions, fines and penalties.
Elsewhere, individual jurisdictions and smaller governments are taking their own raft of actions and the net result will undoubtedly be a much more highly regulated and enforced carbon market in the future.
As one of the most important facets of a sustainable corporation is its reputation, brand management initiatives must include a concerted move toward sustainability.
Simple public relations exercises, indications of processes or projects are not good enough and enterprise carbon and energy management systems in place will provide a solid foundation for growth.