Profiting From Green Consumerism In Germany

Investigating over twenty cases, this OECD report examines how environmental requirements can become trade barriers for developing countries.

Green business is here. It is a multi billion business with enormous growth potential, driven by megatrends such as demographic change, climate change and urbanization. It is driving the transformation of existing businesses and changing the way customers and suppliers act, forcing them to rethink their business strategy.

Based on theories discussion, policy analysis, and case studies, this title examines green consumption in China from both the macro level of policy evolution and the micro level of community participation and implementation. Drawing on the theories of sustainable development, ecological philosophy, environmental economics, consumer psychology and behavior, and community participation, this book approaches the issues of green consumption in China from the legislative and administrative aspects and economic and information means. In looking into the cases of Shenzhen and Beijing, the book unravels the implementation and development of green consumption at the community level in terms of community participation and people’s awareness of the issue. Combining global experiences and local empirical studies, it discusses the concepts, evolution, and influencing factors of green consumption. It focuses on China's policy and practice, as well as the institutional hindrance and policy suggestions for further progress. This book will appeal to researchers, professionals, and policymakers interested in sustainable development, green economy, environmental economics, and sustainable consumption policy in China.

Are profits and sustainability compatible? This book brings unique perspectives to this key debate by exploring the history of green entrepreneurship since the nineteenth century, and its spread globally in industries including renewable energy, organic food, natural beauty, ecotourism, recycling, architecture, and finance. The book uses the lens of the extraordinary and often eccentric men and women who defied convention and imagined that business could help save the planet, rather than consume it. The social and religious beliefs that drove many of these individuals are explored as the book looks at how they overcame huge obstacles to execute their strategies. The green entrepreneurs seen here are shown to have created new markets and industries, and driven innovations in sustainable practices, even at times when most consumers and governments marginalized the entire subject. The struggles of early pioneers appear to have been rewarded by the growth of environmental awareness among consumers, business leaders, and others in recent years, but the Earth's environmental health continues to deteriorate. If profits and sustainability have proved challenging to reconcile, the book argues that one reason was how they were both defined.