Environmentalists and suits – where is the common ground? We have to find it because soaring energy costs are a big part of our global economic crisis. We have no silver bullet for our environmental and economic challenges. But is there any common ground to be found? Is corporate sustainability an oxymoron, or is it the wave of the future?

Corporate success and environmental protection/sustainability are not mutually exclusive. In fact, businesses today see more and more benefit in creating long-term solutions. Both the financial and environmental sectors are suffering today because of short-sightedness: the economy is in a slump due to risky, irresponsible borrowing and little future planning, while dependence on diminishing energy resources continues to grow. If businesses value their long-term success, they will begin to work on both of these areas simultaneously and each will contribute to the other’s success.

In the buildings business, this is already starting to be realized. More efficiency and sustainability within a building’s construction and upkeep not only benefits the environment, but also impacts the business’s bottom line.

Maybe the building owner invests in an energy efficiency strategy not based on a sense of corporate responsibility, but because it improves the bottom line. But does it really matter when the end result is reduced energy consumption, lower dependence on foreign resources and less C02 emissions?