An academic paper regarding the increase in "green" businesses and ventures around the world (but especially in developed nations), written for my International Trade course.

1. Name: Mira McKee (mkm3475)
Class: 4:00-7:00PM – Senecal
Briefing Paper #2
Related Chapter: Ch. 5
The Rise of Green Initiatives in Developed Nations
Outline:
1. Introduction
a. Corporate Social Responsibility vs. Sustainable Strategies
2. Body
a. Rise of Green Initiatives
i. Evolution of Environmental Thought
ii. Shift toward Green Initiative Profitability
b. Environmentalism in America and Sweden
i. History of Environmental Movements
ii. Where They Are Today
3. Conclusion
a. Implications For Now and Moving Forward

2. Introduction:
As environmentalism has continued to gain importance and concern globally in the past few
decades, there has been a drastic evolution in business mindset. Long gone are the days where
businesses could focus solely on profit with no concern for their stakeholders, shareholders, and
their surrounding community. An initial change in mindset was addressed in the 1950s with the
advent of corporate social responsibility, the idea that businesses should give back in a positive
way to the world around them. In recent years, the world has moved even beyond that, with
shifting consumer demands pushing businesses to implement sustainable strategies and “green
initiatives,” programs that directly contribute to environmental wellness, or “doing well by doing
good” (2010 BRASS Program Planning Committee, 2010). In this paper, I will be discussing
how environmentalism has moved from being simply the right thing to do ethically to now also
being the right thing to do from a profit-maximizing perspective as environmental practices get
easier and consumer demands get greener. Utilizing a comparison between two key countries—
Sweden, consistently ranked as one of the most sustainable countries in the world, and the
United States, an early pioneer in the environmentalist movement—I will also be exploring the
relationship that government and culture have with the growing focus on environmentalism, and
contrast the two developed nations’ views on green business.
Rise of Green Initiatives:
The emphasis on environmentalism that has become a sizable trend in recent years has been
brewing for many decades. The 50s and 60s were tumultuous times of revolution and change for
many nations worldwide and led to the push toward many liberal-leaning causes, from civil
rights to gender equality to sustainability and beyond. Among these issues, one that came to light

3. was the idea of holding businesses and business executives accountable for their actions. Many
of these concepts joined hand-in-hand in the form of “corporate social responsibility,” a term
first coined by economist Howard Bowen, in his 1953 book, Social Responsibilities of the
Businessman (Bowen, 1953), which many companies claim to take part in today. CSR usually
entails a business becoming philanthropic, establishing an employee volunteering program, and
other things of the like. However, in the decades since (especially in the most recent 2), the shift
in business mindset has gone further, and consumers now demand of many businesses an even
higher standard: one wherein which they are pushed follow ethical practices, use sustainable
materials, and ultimately contribute to the environment in an un-harmful (if not beneficial) way.
One prominent way that this idea has manifested itself in the business world is in the rise of
sustainable or “green” initiatives.
Green initiatives have taken off in the past few decades as one of the biggest trends in business,
not just for brand affinity purposes, but for profit-building ones as well. According to Harvard
Business Review, “being green is no longer a cost of doing business; it is a catalyst for
innovation, new market opportunity, and wealth creation” (Clarke, et al., 1994). Although many
companies have been slow to buy into the idea that green initiatives can actually help businesses
perform better, many experts such as environmental author Shel Horowitz attest that “going
green can often be much cheaper. Green companies are preferred by many customers, thus, more
sales [and] green products and services can be sold at higher prices without price resistance”
(Akitunde, 2015). As climate conditions have continued to worsen, consumers have become
more environmentally conscious, and there has been a huge growth in profitability in categories
such as organic food, ethically-sourced products, and green technology. Movements like
eliminating testing on animals, buying sustainable products, and cutting down on single-use

4. plastics (such as straws) have skyrocketed. The consumer demand is there, and many top
executives believe that it’s time for businesses to either jump onto this market opportunity or get
left behind; as environmental expert Tim Grosse puts it, “your business can ride this tsunami
wave by gaining market share from the rapidly growing number of environmentally responsible
customers or your business can lag the market and peers by ignoring this trend” (Houlihan et al.,
2018). Many businesses have found success capitalizing on this “green trend;” for example,
PepsiCo reported in 2015 that their sustainability initiatives delivered more than $375 million in
estimated cost savings (“PepsiCo Sustainability Initiatives…,” 2015). Of course, there have been
failures (e.g., a study by Bain & Company found that only 2% of companies who set
sustainability goals achieved or exceeded them), but overall, this trend is both good for the
environment and growing in popularity for consumers (Davis-Peccoud, et al., 2016). In an era
full of boycotts and “cancel culture,” companies should be cautious and evolve as the times
demand them to, or fear getting left behind in an increasingly competitive global market.
Environmentalism in America and Sweden:
Let’s move to exploring the rise of green initiatives in two of the most developed nations in the
world: Sweden and the United States. Two incredibly powerful and prominent countries, both
Sweden and the U.S. rank highly on many global indices such as gender equality, human rights,
GDP, and of course, the environmental and sustainability index, with the latter coming in at #15
and the former at #1 (Schieler, 2018). In exploring these two nations, I will aim to get a more
nuanced look into what makes countries more or less likely to be environmentally-focused in a
business context, and whether or not that affects how much citizens are proponents of sustainable
business strategies.

5. The United States is rightfully considered a pioneer of the environmental moment, being one of
the first countries to enact and create substantial policies and administrations aimed at preserving
their natural environment, as well as being the first country to establish Earth Day as a national
holiday (Kuzmiak, 1991). From the 1970s through the mid-1980s, it was commonly thought that
the United States “stood out as the global leader in the field of international environmental law”
(Keleman, 2015). Sweden, on the other hand, has for many years depended on the environmental
regulation of the E.U., which though in past decades had been considered a reluctant follower of
multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), is now considered a global leader in
implementing them (Keleman, 2015). Sweden has, in the years since being admitted to the E.U.,
gone beyond even the their environmental standards to enact some of the most progressive
environmental policies in the world (Medved, 2017). Sweden’s former Minister of the
Environment, Andreas Carlgren, emphasized in a recent interview that it was important to note
that “Sweden learned from the United States in the beginning,” but went on to say that Sweden
has been moving forward “based on broad, shared values,” implying that the U.S. had not had
the same growth forward, and reiterating the common idea and justified narrative that the U.S. is
no longer the world leader in the global environmental movement (Urbanski, 2018).
Unlike countries like Sweden and others in the E.U. who have enjoyed an improving
environmental record over the past decade, the United States has seen a decline in environmental
progress when it comes to policymaking (even as citizens’ support for environmentalism has
grown) (Parker et al., 2019). This may be, in part, why green initiatives have taken off in the
U.S. more than they have in countries like Sweden (according to some studies; there is still much
research to be done regarding the global impact of green initiatives). For one thing, American
consumers are much more influential to the global economy than Swedish consumers and thus

6. their tastes are often more highly considered internationally. For another, there is considerable
research that many Americans feel that their government isn’t doing enough to protect the
environment (for example, a national poll conducted by the Yale Program on Climate
Communication found that almost 70% of Americans thought the U.S. should’ve stayed in the
Paris Climate Accord that the Trump Administration pulled out of), which may explain why
American consumers feel “guilty” and have pushed toward greener shopping decisions, forcing
businesses into adopting greener production methods (Meyer, 2017). As of 2018, nearly half of
American consumers said they’d definitely change their consumption habits to reduce their
environmental impact. Additionally, the sustainable fast-moving consumer goods market grew to
$128.5 billion in America this past year and seems to only be continuing to grow in the years to
come (“Was 2018 the Year of the Influential Sustainable Consumer?, 2018).
Conclusion:
The signs all point to the idea that green businesses will continue to proliferate in the global
economy, especially in nations like America with a mixed stance on environmental policy and
consumers that are becoming ever-the-more conscious regarding environmental liability. There
is mixed evidence as to whether or not green initiatives will continue to grow in the same way in
European countries like Sweden where environmentalism is already very engrained in the
political and social culture and where citizens may thus feel less prone to purchasing
environmentally-friendly goods. However, one thing remains certain: citizens, countries, and
companies everywhere are beginning to feel the weight of environmental responsibility, either on
a genuine, ethical level or as a profitable trend and opportunity that they would be keen to
follow. Either way, sustainability has sauntered its way onto the world stage and this emphasis
on environmentalism is not going anywhere anytime soon.

7. Sources:
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