Businesses, their owners and managers, need to accept the need to incorporate environmental considerations into their strategic decision-making. One of the main reasons is the growing power and influence of informal controls that comes from pressure groups both nationally and globally.
What is a pressure group?
A pressure group is an organization created by a group of people with a common interest, who join together to put pressure on governments, business and consumers in order to change something, so that the objective of the pressure group is reached. Pressure groups will try to achieve either environmental or ethical causes aiming to change the way certain businesses function, or trying to influence government policies.
Examples of pressure groups
Perhaps the best-known international examples of pressure groups include the following organizations:
Example 1: Greenpeace is the international pressure group that campaigns for greater environmental protection in different countries. Its objective is to persuade governments to pass tighter anti-pollution laws and businesses to adopt green strategies.
Example 2: WWF is the pressure group that campaigns for improving animal welfare, and protecting and conserving the habitat of wild animals.
Example 3: Amnesty International is the pressure group that campaigns for greater human rights.
Example 4: Fairtrade Foundation is the pressure group that campaigns for a better deal for agricultural producers in low-income countries.
Example 5: The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is a non-profit social organization working globally to protect the environment that campaigns against the negative effects of business activity that may destroy lives of plants and animals.
The roles of pressure groups
Pressure groups operate in a way to influence changes among how three important business stakeholders:
- Governments to change their policies and to pass laws supporting the aims of pressure groups.
- Businesses to change policies, so that less damage is caused to the natural environment and animals.
- Consumers to change their purchasing habits, so that businesses that adopt the right policies see an increase in sales, but those that continue to pollute or use unethical business practices see a decrease in sales.
How pressure groups operate?
Pressure groups try to achieve these goals in a number of ways to make their point, including:
- Gaining publicity through media coverage. The more bad publicity the pressure group can manage to create against the company concerned, the greater the chance of it succeeding in changing business practices. Pressure groups will create media campaigns for effective Public Relations (PR) and issue frequent press releases giving details of undesirable company activity.
- Increasing awareness of the issue. The pressure group will use its website and the help of other media to promote certain issues. It may launch its own social advertising campaign trying to gain public sympathy to increase its effectiveness significantly.
- Boycotting businesses and their products. The more customers stop buying a certain company’s products, the more successful the pressure group will be and the chances for changing business practices become much stronger. Pressure groups will try to influence consumer behavior to the point that they refuse to buy a business’s products or services and even try to influence others to do the same.
- Public demonstrations. The pressure group will gather together a group of people to protest about the business’s actions or policies. It will happen either outside the company’s offices or factories, or in popular public places. Those demonstrations will help to keep the campaign going creating lots of attention among citizens.
- Lobbying of government to change laws. Pressure groups will often lobby the governments – attempting to influence policy-making – by putting the arguments to government members and political parties as they have the power to change the law by voting.
- Petitioning in writing. The pressure group may also file multiple written official complaints to the local or national governments or concerned authorities on certain issues to be amended.
How businesses respond to environmental pressures?
Environmental pressures can also be positive for both new firms and established ones as there are many opportunities awaiting. Businesses respond to environmental pressures because following environmentally friendly practices will benefit them in the following ways:
- Improved competitiveness. Obeying government regulations and standards can give a business a competitive advantage over other less environmentally friendly businesses.
- Financial incentives. Governments may provide financial incentives such as subsidies or lower corporate TAXes to encourage firms to use environmentally friendly methods of production.
- Good publicity. Pressure groups may approve businesses that have environmentally friendly practices giving those businesses good publicity. Sometimes, business will need to take legal action against pressure groups to defend business decisions in order to maintain their image, which may have been unfairly damaged by pressure groups.
- Opportunities to increase sales. Favorable publicity gained from greener methods of production can attract new customers, high-quality employees and new investors, as well as keep the existing ones.
- Lower costs. Following sustainable business practices such as recycling waste or using energy efficient machines may lead to cost savings.
- Lower energy usage. Using green manufacturing methods, which produce less waste and pollution, and may also reduce the overall use of energy.
- Improved employee motivation. Working from home on certain days instead of commuting to work by car may both benefit the natural environment and be a great motivator for employees.
Risks of failing to respond to environmental pressures
Businesses have to respond to the threat they face from environmental pressures. Because if they do not, then they may face the following threats:
- Legal issues. Inability to meet government regulations and standards will create legal problems for businesses.
- Bad publicity. Pressure groups opposing the business may produce negative publicity and prevent company’s growth.
- Damaged reputation. Due to poor reputation, the business may lose customers, employees and investors.
- Business closure. The government may order the business to stop trading when regulations to use greener methods of production are not followed.
The green revolution in recent decades has led to the growth of many new ways of dealing with environmental management. Well, sometimes pressure groups may indeed have that positive influence.
