“But I should cherish the fact that their response to this opportunity cost has paved way for a bigger cause -environmental protection.

I could say that going green is today’s global trend. In fact, numerous companies in the world are making concrete actions on how they could lend a hand to save our environment. The automobile and insurance companies for example do implement their own green strategies. The automobile industry has produced vehicles which emit less carbon and sulfur compounds; while on the other hand, the business of insurance offers better premiums for people opting to purchase eco-friendly and hybrid cars. These are proofs that in reality, many companies are now shifting their gears to green.

In the Philippines, our city malls are good examples that somehow our establishments are getting conscious about environmental protection. They are using biodegradable plastics and encouraging buyers to purchase green bags for shopping purposes. All of these are in line with the goal of reducing plastic wastes. They even participate in eco-activities like Earth Hour, asking their store owners to switch off lights. With these, the projection of the vitality of energy conservation goes beyond the circle of business people, thus even reaching the consumers.

One friend of mine told me that these pro-environmental stuffs that the business world are doing are all in the name of sham. He said that they simply do it for their own sake. They make use of the trend for public relation purposes, to catch the attention of the market and even gain recognition from LGUs and NGOs who are pushing for environmentalism.

At the back of my head, I conceded that my friend’s points are true. Yes, companies take this trend for PR, that by conducting eco-activities they could serve their own interests. They could increase their sales, strengthen consumers’ trust and build better images. If that’s their main priority then it’s saddening, since they themselves have lost the very essence of why it is a must for us to take initiatives on safe-guarding the environment. But I should cherish the fact that their response to this opportunity cost has paved way for a bigger cause –environmental protection.

Despite the companies’ motives why they are turning green, the truth is that they have largely contributed to environmentalists in bringing awareness to the people and have potentially influenced them by changing the way things are done. Whatever maybe the advantage the concept of going green has brought or might bring them, at least in this type of cycle, it always ends for the benefit of the humanity and of mother nature.

I am hoping that this movement will no longer be a trend but a lifestyle instead. Trends in human nature “come and go” while lifestyle reflects our values and attitudes, attitudes that speak of how concerned we are of our surroundings and values that show our willingness to pursue preservation and responsible stewardship to our one and only planet, earth.