Risky Business: The Cost of NOT Managing Environmental Impacts

Take, for example, a family-owned barge company which has ferried goods up and down the Mississippi River for the last 60 years. Water and weather weigh heavily on whether the company opens its doors every day, so the increased frequency of major water events like flooding or droughts must become part of their risk mitigation strategy. Similarly, building and construction companies need to weigh the cost/benefit of managing forests to minimize air, water, and soil quality degradation. As our global economies continue to converge, companies need to account for the fact that ecosystems are doing the same.