Many analysts and politicians are now saying that saving the long-term sustainability of the world’s environment must take a back seat to saving the world’s economy. But industries and corporations who focus on the bottom line at the expense of the environment may find themselves encountering massive problems down the road.

Historically, environmental concerns have been driven by economic conditions. Oil shocks in the 1970s triggered the implementation of CAFE standards, and the first forays into alternative-fuel vehicles.

As Dave Collyer, recently appointed head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), observed in a recent interview: “Our experience has been when there are significant economic challenges ... the environment tends to be a somewhat lower priority in the minds of voters and probably, then, in the minds of policymakers.”

But if CAPP thinks current economic conditions—including a recent spike in gas prices—will renew interests in its massive stocks of carbon-heavy oil sand and oil shale, it may have another think coming. A recent study by Britain's Carbon Trust revealed that, for companies across sectors as divergent as the brewing and automotive industries, massive benefits could accrue from adopting greener technologies. Companies who fail to adopt these technologies may be looking at real problems in a very short time.

The effect earlier this year of a fuel spike on the American auto market is an example of what shortsighted thinking can do to profits. Many of the top manufacturers who  invested heavily in large, inefficient vehicles saw sales plummet and had to write off record losses, while early investment into hybrids paid dividends for companies like Toyota and Honda. Factor in the impact of near-inevitable restrictions on carbon emissions, along with likely energy cost increases outside the automotive sector, and green tech may pave the only way to a sustainable future for these companies. 

In fact, green technology may represent the next great business opportunity. As the Carbon Trust noted in its report: “Climate change could start the next industrial revolution.” Indeed, the perceived dichotomy between environmental and economic concerns seem ever more false as the economic impacts of environmental change become ever more clear. If anything, it seems now that a clean energy future, and a stronger, revitalized economy will be inextricably intertwined in the coming decades.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons