What is Green Enterprise?

A green enterprise is a business or enterprise that has a minimal negative impact or potentially a positive effect on the global or local environment, human society, or economy. In words, the word ‘Green’ has come from the word ‘Grene’ in Middle English and Anglo-Saxon. It means Grass and Grow concerned with live grass and leaves growing with the spring season. According to the business dictionary “a business functioning in a capacity where no negative impact is made on the local or global environment, the community, or the economy. A green business will also engage in forward-thinking policies for environmental concerns and policies affecting human rights.”

In general, a green enterprise is a business or industry established and operated not creating a negative impact on the economy, human society, and environment. The main objective of the enterprise is to earn profit and contribute to protecting the ecology. Green enterprise reduces environmental threats, environmental hazards, and crises. Green enterprise is a business that aims at earning profit by reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable economic development without degrading the ecology and the environment. Green enterprise is activities that have the goal of decreasing environmental crisis and ecological scarcities, and objectives for sustainable economic development without degrading the environment.

Green enterprise has been a mediator of economic-environmental relations, and it has been helping to serve to diversify our economy, even if it has a negligible impact on decreasing atmospheric CO2 levels. The definition of “green jobs” is ambiguous, however, it is normally agreed that these jobs, the result of green business, ought to be linked to “clean energy” and make a contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases. It is carefully associated with ecological economics. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues “that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a just transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource-efficient, and socially inclusive.”

Green sticker and Eco-label practices have emerged as patrons going through indications of friendliness to the surroundings and sustainable development. Many industries are beginning to undertake these requirements as a way to promote their greening practices in a globalizing economy. Also recognized as sustainability standards, these requirements are specific regulations that warranty the products bought don’t harm the environment and the human beings that make them. The number of these requirements has grown lately and they can now assist grow a new, greener economy. They make attention to monetary sectors like forestry, farming, mining, or fishing among others; consider environmental elements like protecting water sources and biodiversity, or decreasing greenhouse emissions; help social protections and workers’ rights, and home in on precise components of manufacturing processes.

A green enterprise is any business or industry that participates in environmentally friendly or green activities to make sure that all processes, products, and manufacturing processes adequately address environmental concerns while earning a profit. It is a commercial enterprise that “meets the needs of the existing planet not undermining the capacity of future generations to meet their own needs.” It is the method of assessing how to design products that will take advantage of the current environmental scenario and how properly a company’s products operate with renewable resources. Everyone influences the sustainability of the market and the planet in some way. Sustainable development inside an enterprise can create value for customers, investors, and the environment. A green enterprise should meet consumer needs while, at the same time, treating the environment well.

Green Enterprise: A Sustainable Business

The main initiative of sustainable enterprises is to decrease the environmental harm caused by the manufacturing and consumption of their goods. The impact of such human activities in terms of the number of greenhouse gases produced can be measured in units of carbon dioxide and is regarded as the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint thought is derived from the ecological footprint analysis, which examines the ecological capability required to help the consumption of products. Businesses take an extensive range of green initiatives. One of the examples is the act of “going paperless” or sending digital correspondence in lieu of paper when possible.

On a greater level, examples of sustainable enterprise practices include refurbishing used products (e.g., tuning up gently used industrial health tools for resale); revising manufacturing processes to remove waste (such as the use of an extra correct template to cut out designs), and choosing nontoxic raw materials and processes. Sustainable enterprise leaders additionally take into account the life cycle costs for the products they produce. Input expenses ought to be regarded as involving regulations, energy use, storage, and disposal.  Designing for the environment (DFE) is also a component of sustainable business. This procedure allows users to think about the environmental impacts of a product and the method used to make that product.

The many probabilities for adopting green practices have led to the tremendous strain being put upon industries from consumers, employees, authorities regulators, and different stakeholders. Some industries have resorted to greenwashing instead of making significant changes, purely advertising their products in ways that endorse green practices.  Still, enormous industries have taken the sustainability trend critically and are earning profits.
The effective way for enterprises to make contributions toward waste reduction is to re-manufacture products so that the materials used can have a longer life span.

Green Enterprise:  A Socially Sustainable

Institutions that give back to the community, whether or not through personnel volunteering their time or through charitable donations are considered socially sustainable. Institutions can inspire schooling in their communities by training their personnel and providing internships to youth participants in the community. Practices such as these strengthen the education level and quality of life in the community.

For a commercial enterprise to be certainly sustainable, it has to maintain no longer solely the essential environmental resources, but also social resources including employees, clients (the community), and its reputation. The term that is directly related to the social issue of sustainability is environmental justice. Sustainability and social justice are directly related to each other, and seeing these as separate unrelated issues can lead to greater troubles for the environment and potential businesses. Sustainability is a great deal with corporate social responsibility, even though the two are not the same. Corporate social responsibility and sustainability are not the same, they are associated with each other.

Green Enterprise in Nepal 

Green enterprise is a new concept that emerged with the terms global warming, climate change, natural resources, sustainable development, and environmental crisis. Nepal is rich in natural resources with diversified ecology, geography, climate, human settlement, and human society. Green enterprises ensure the nation’s sustainable economic growth by preserving the environment as responsible enterprises. It is directly related to nature. Green enterprises have been introduced in protected areas and rural communities as means of preserving biodiversity and sustainable development. However, the efforts for high-value enterprise generation are not satisfactory in this competitive market. To promote green enterprise, skills and knowledge, market networks, and partnership are prioritized with investment in technology, entrepreneurship, and policy. There are no special provisions for promoting this enterprise to protect the environment and strengthen the livelihood of the local community. The nation has classified the enterprises such as micro, cottage, small, medium, and large enterprises based on capital and objectives. A green enterprise has been viewed in holistic approaches not included in specific categories. 

According to the Industrial Enterprise Act 2076 (2020), a green enterprise must be matched with the provision based on the nature of goods or services indicated ‘ Agriculture and forest product-based industry’ in clause (c) of sub-section, section 17 under chapter three of the act. This indicates Industries mentioned in Schedule-4 (below here in detail) manufacturing any goods from agriculture or forest product-based raw materials or related to agriculture or forest products; 

Industries Based on Agriculture and Forest Products

1. Fruits farming or fruits processing;
2. Production, processing, and storage of food products;
3. Animal husbandry, bird farming (including ostrich), animal breeding, Challa Kadne business, and production and processing of meat;
4. Industries producing milk and processing dairy products;
5. Fishery, production, processing, and packaging of fry;
6. Industries producing animal feed from agro-products as the primary raw materials;
7. Silk farming and processing;
8. Tea garden, tea processing;
9. Coffee farming and coffee processing;
10. Herbs farming, herbs processing;
11. Production of vegetable seeds;
12. Vegetable farming, vegetable processing;
13. Establishment and operation of green-houses;
14. Beekeeping (bee breeding, honey production, and processing;
15. Floriculture, flower processing (making of garland, decoration, making a bouquet, including production of seeds);
16. Nursery business, establishment, protection, and management of botanical gardens, inclusive of tissue culture;
17. Rubber farming, preliminary processing, and operation of rubber; 18. Operation and management of cold stores, and agriculture markets;
18. Establishment and management of a community, leasehold, partnership, private forest, and agriculture forest, and other non-timber forest products;
19. Commercial farming and processing of cash crops (such as sugarcane, cotton (Kapas), Sanpat, Sajiwan, sweet sargam, stevia…., tobacco,  Zute, Alaichi, Keshar, oil seed. Mashala cultivation, Dalahan, etc. and production of their seeds);
20. Bet, bamboo farming, bet, bamboo, and other natural fiber products; 22. Processing of seeds;
21. Wood industries including shaw mills and furniture;
22. Wood industries such as parqueting, seasoning, treatment plant, plywood, composite, and board;
23. Industries based on other non-timber forest products including paper and resin;
24. Industries producing mushrooms, tissue culture (producing plants through new technology), agroforest;
25. Cotton farming, production, and processing of cotton and cotton seeds.

A Helpful Booklet on Green Enterprise for Entrepreneurs

Here is a link to a helpful booklet on a green enterprise for entrepreneurs ( Green Enterprise Promotion in TMJ) for free. This helps you know what is green enterprise, what types, and why it is important. It also may be helpful for starting and promoting your business. You can also get some idea of the business functions, including the marketing strategy of green enterprises.

Conclusion

A green enterprise is an enterprise that has a minimal negative impact or potentially a positive effect on the global or local environment, human society, or economy. It is a business functioning in a capacity where no negative impact is made on the local or global environment, the community, or the economy. It helps reduce environmental threats, environmental hazards, and crises. Green enterprise is a business that aims at earning profit by reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable economic development without degrading the ecology and the environment. Green enterprise is very important for human beings as it has the goal of decreasing environmental crisis and ecological scarcities, and objectives for sustainable economic development without degrading the environment.

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Here below are some links to paid resources for a detailed study.