“Faster, better, cheaper” has been the mantra of successful businesses for generations. One of the dominant drivers in business — from the Industrial Revolution to the Internet Revolution — has always been low-cost, high-impact innovation.
So what comes next after faster, better, cheaper? I believe it’s greener.
The emergence of sustainability as a key business driver is interesting, especially because the climate issue remains a problem without a real solution at this moment. We haven’t established standard global metrics that indicate how much progress we’re making, or need to make, on a global scale.
But it’s clear green is a critical addition to a new commercial equation taking hold today. Why? Because companies recognize there is a significant financial and economic cost attached to pollution. There are also tremendous societal expectations at play: it’s becoming increasingly unacceptable to pollute in a globally interdependent world.
Over the past few decades, container transport has been one of the key catalysts behind the global economy’s expansion, and it represents a significant percentage of the world’s total cargo. Major container shipping companies, as well as many ports, are now trying to conduct business on a more sustainable basis today.
It’s extremely encouraging that companies across the board are adding greener to the tried-and-true faster, better and cheaper model. This evolving commercial equation will lead to even greater innovation and prosperity in the coming years — as well as the environmental progress that citizens and communities all over the world need and deserve.