Europa 2020

U vrijeme kada recesija pogađa svaku zemlju Europske Unije, svjedoci smo smanjenja stope zaposlenosti.  Međutim, jedan od glavnih ciljeva EU, odnosno Europa 2020 strategije je održavati tu stopu na 75%. U 2010, stopa je bila na 68%. Danas se broji 23 milijuna nezaposlenih ljudi diljem 27 zemalja članica EU.

Postoji nekoliko transformacija koje EU planira pojačati u narednih nekoliko godina. Nastoje se osigurati pravi ljude s pravim obrazovanjem i pravim vještine za buduće tržište rada, ali također poboljšati uvjeti za rad ljudi diljem zemalja EU. Nadalje, nastoji se olakšati razvoj za poduzetnike koji bi rezultirao u sposobnost stvaranja novih radnih mjesta za više ljudi u budućnosti.

Drugi važan dio Europa 2020 strategije je smanjiti siromaštvo. Zadatak je smanjiti stopu siromaštva za najmanje 25%, no ovo se prikazuje kao jedan od najtežih zadataka ove strategije. Također se spominje i korištenje različitih indikatora od strane političara u definiranju broja ljudi koji zaista žive u siromaštvu, što Europi dodatno otežava ostvarivanje cilja.

Jedna od strategija će također pomoći redistribuciju bogatstva i resursa na području EU, što posljedično treba smanjiti nejednakost i reformirati neke od zemalja Istočne Europe, u čijim kućanstvima je nerijetko samo jedna zaposlena osoba. Nije dokazano da ova strategija zapravo i djeluje, vjerojatno zbog izbjegavanja negativnih konotacija za političare i nadolazećih izbora u Europskom parlamentu u 2014.

EU također u obzir uzima važnost tehnološke ovisnosti i kreira politiku kojom potiče istraživanja i razvoj, te inovacije kako bi stvorila svijest o obnovljivim izvorima energije i, najvažnije, stvorila klimu za promjene.

Prema EuroStat-u (2011), proizvodnja primarne energije u EU u 2009. godini iznosila je 818 Mtoe, što je 48% njene potrebe za energijom. Danska je jedina zemlja u EU koja proizvodi više nego dovoljno energije za svoje potrebe. Ona je jedini neto izvoznik energije u EU. U suprotnosti je Malta koja je u potpunosti ovisna o uvozu.

Rusija je najveći opskrbljivač Europske unije energijom. EU je kreirala Ugovor o energetskoj povelji, s glavnim ciljem kooperacije između energetski  bogate Azije i siromašne Europe, u kojoj obje strane imaju interes. Ruska ekonomska snaga ovisi o izvozu plina i nafte po višim cijenama. Najveći kupac i najveće tržište za Rusiju jest EU. Unatoč tome, Rusija i dalje nastoji povećati svoj udio u opskrbljivanju EU energijom, dok EU ne želi ovisiti o Rusiji niti joj dopustiti monopol na tržištu.

1994. je Rusiija odbila postići dogovor u saboru i time prislila EU na razmišljanje o njenoj budućoj energetskoj politici. Dodatno, ljudi su postali svjesniji važnosti održivog razvoja i sačuvanja prirode, što je bio dodatan razlog za novu Energy 2020: competitive, sustainable and secure energy politiku. Ta je politika fokusirana na interno energetsko tržište s kvalitetnim uslugama po niskoj cijeni, te na poticanje razvoja obnovljivih izvora energije.

Jedan od načina za postizanje tih ciljeva jest osnivanje Europskog tehnološkog institute u 2008. Nadalje, putek KIC-innoenergy, EU potiče inovacije u sedam različitih područja kao što su tehnologijama čistog ugljena, energetski učinkovitih zgrada i gradova te obnovljivim izvorima energije.

Europa 2020 strategija ima specifične planove za zemlje i Uniju, kojima se nastoji osigurati postizanje strateških ciljeva. Iako je EU jedna od najvećih i najuspiješnijih  trgovinska organizacija modernog vremena, veliki izazovi recesije i zaštite blagostanja njenih građana stoje pred njom.

Europe 2020

In a time where the recession is hitting every land in the EU, we have seen employment rates decrease. However, one of EU’s main goals of the Europe 2020 strategy is to maintain at 75%. In 2010, the rate was at 68%. Today, there are 23 million unemployed people throughout the 27 EU countries.

There are a number of transformations the EU is planning to step up within the next few years. They want to provide the right people with the right education, holding the right skills for future labour, and also improve the working conditions for people throughout EU countries. Another transformation the EU plans to put forward is to make it easier for entrepreneurs to develop to result in the ability to create more jobs for more people in the future.

Another main part of the agenda for the Europe 2020 is to lower poverty. The task is to reduce poverty by at least 25%, but this has proven to be one of the hardest tasks of the strategy. It has also been mentioned that some politicians have used different indicators to define the number of people actually living in poverty and this makes it harder for Europe to work towards the goal.

One of the strategies will help to redistribute the wealth and means in the EU area and therefore reduce inequality and reform some of the Eastern European countries, as many households there have only one person working. There is not yet proof that these strategies work, possibly due to the election of the European Parliament coming up in 2014 and politicians may not want to make unpopular announcements.

The EU also takes on board the importance of technological dependency and creates policies to underpin research and development and innovations, to create awareness of renewable energy and most importantly to create climate for changes.

According to EuroStat (2011), the EU’s production of primary energy in 2009 was 818 Mtoe which was 48% of its energy needs. Denmark is the only country in the EU that produces considerably more than enough energy than they need. It is the only net energy exporter in the EU. In the opposite direction is Malta who has total dependency on imports.

Russia is the EU’s biggest energy supplier. The EU created the Energy Charter Treaty with the main aim to arrange cooperation between energy rich Asia and poor Europe, in which both sides have interest. Russia’s economic strength depends on the export of gas and oil for higher prices. Russia’s largest market and biggest buyer of energy is the EU. Therefore, Russia aims to increase their share in supplying energy in Europe. However, the EU does not want to depend on Russia or let Russia monopolise the market.

In 1994, Russia refused to approve an agreement in the parliament and pushed the EU to think about their future energy policy. In addition, people became more aware about the importance of sustainable development and nature conservation, another reason for the new energy policy, also known as “Energy 2020: competitive, sustainable and secure energy”. This policy focused on an internal energy market with quality service at low prices and on supporting development of renewable energy.

One of the ways to reach these goals was by establishing European Institute of Technology (EIT) in 2008. Through KIC-innoenergy it supports innovation project in seven different areas such as Clean coal technologies, Intelligent energy-efficient buildings and cities and Renewable energy.

The Europe 2020 strategy has specific plans for countries and the union as a whole, to make sure they reach their strategic goals. Even the EU is one of the largest and most successful trade organisations in the modern time, great challenges stand before this union to beat the recession and to yet again work their way to protect the well-being of the European Union citizens. 

GREEN IS "IN"

This season green is in! The trend of corporate social responsibility, which have been growing more and more, is certainly green business which strives to have a positive impact on the environment and community. Doing business that way demonstrates commitment to a healthy and sustainable future, and it adopts principles, policies and practices that improve the quality of life for its customers and employees.

As this aspect of corporate social responsibility is recently becoming more valuable, it is not surprising that green is becoming more popular word in a dictionary of all the companies that are trying to be different. Saving energy and respecting the environmental impact in doing business may not yet be at the top of priority list of Croatian companies, but with time, this shift is moving in a positive direction. The reason is probably growingly accepted perception that  green is not just saving environment, but money too, and the more obvious potential benefits are, the greater emphasis companies put on sustainability. In addition, it is known that resources are becoming scarce and costly, so customers, employees and investors are becoming increasingly environmentally-conscious.

Although the main reason for green business should probably be the preservation of our planet, it is clear that in business world it is difficult for this to become the main motive. Therefore, it is important to make companies aware that there are many other reasons for green business, and why green business is good business.

Reduced Risk. Environmental degradation threatens the ecosystem that allows the economy to function and companies are beginning to take notice. PepsiCo, for example, is investing in sustainable solutions to water scarcity, while Siemens is investing in renewables that will prepare them for future. Also, the American retailer Target constructs halls and buildings in accordance with the american government's guidance on energy perservation,  U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, so saving literaly starts from the ground. In addition, they announced that they have reduced waste by as much as 70% with an extensive recycling program.

Green Product Demand. Demand for environmentally-friendly products and services continues to grow. According to a survey conducted by Cohn & Wolfe, a majority of consumers say that it is very or somewhat important that companies are environmentally-friendly and 35% are willing to spend more for green products. Per example Wal-Mart, in cooperation with suppliers, changed packaging of certain products. Optimization enabled them to transport as much as 42% more pieces in the truck and they saved 16.3 tons of plastic packaging, but also reduced consumption of diesel fuel by 158,000 gallons per year.

Consumer Engagement. Community involvement is an important cornerstone for many companies, and green practices can enhance public image and community relations. According to a report by D S Simon Productions, media initiatives with a corporate social responsibility focus generates 35-50% more positive media coverage on television, radio, web and social media than comparable programs without the CSR hook.

Attracting Talents. Environmentally-conscious business practices help attract and retain the best employees by increasing employee satisfaction and pride in the workplace. According to a MonsterTRAK poll on green employment, 92% of young professionals would be more inclined to work for an environmentally-friendly company.

Attracting Investors. Socially and environmentally responsible assets rose more than 324% from 1995 to 2007, indicating a growing interest in sustainability among investors. Investors are also shifting from a "do no harm" approach to a "do more good" approach that will certainly benefit companies committed to the health of the communities they operate in.

Saving Money. As already mentioned, green business is not saving the environment only, but money too. EPA also concluded that in 2006, only its ENERGY STAR program reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the one that would be produced by 25 million cars, and that way American traders saved $ 14 billion on their utility bills. Besides that, there are many other examples of how companies saved money with green business: Coca-Cola's efforts to cut down on packaging saved it $100 million; after Marks & Spencer adopted environmental and ethical business guidelines, the company earned an extra £50 million in revenue; and small business owner in the UK introduced more energy efficient lighting throughout his shop, saving him £2,282 in annual energy costs.

These examples certainly show multiple benefits, but the real question is how to actually include green in a business process?

“There’s this theory that you have to pick one: economics or environmental performance. That’s nonsense. Innovation is the way you can have both. Companies that don’t get this, really risk becoming irrelevant to the marketplace.” - Mark Vachon, vice president of GE’s ecomagination

Many will say that the key to success is research and development, which are critical for innovation and thereby gaining competitive advantage over other companies. One of the competitive advantages is certainly sustainability, whereby the ecology can be incorporated into the manufacturing process and so, at certain stages, minimize negative impacts on the environment. This is of course only one possibility. What are your advices for companies that want to do green business? What are your thoughts on green business? Can it really be beneficial for the company? Do you appreciate such companies more?