This title is entirely clickbait, but in all seriousness, a lot of what business majors are taught works against the environment. After all, most companies want to increase profit margins by whatever means necessary. Sustainable packaging, fair wages, and durable design are often the first things to go when trying to reduce costs. If you are a business major, or a business minor like me, it is especially important to be aware of this and fight for sustainability to be a focus, or at least take product development and businesses into consideration as a whole.
I am taking microeconomics this semester for my entrepreneurship minor, and it quickly became clear that sustainability was not a priority in the least. When given a fake menu and asked to identify the option that would best handle a price raise, I immediately turned to one of the numerous hamburgers listed. Since there were a bunch of hamburger options, who cared if one of them was slightly more expensive? Anyone who really wanted that ingredient combination would be willing to pay extra and everyone else would just order a different option. Nobody would be greatly impacted, and the restaurant could make a few extra dollars.
It turns out, the correct answer was to raise the price of the veggie burger because it was the only vegetarian option and therefore vegetarians would be willing to pay an exorbitant price. As a vegetarian, I found this to be frustrating. Not only because I don’t want to pay extra money, but because reducing meat consumption is beneficial for our already suffering earth. Restaurants should make vegetarian and vegan options cheaper so customers are encouraged to try options that result in less carbon than meat. Overall, it is disturbing that overcharging vegetarians is “the right answer.”
Although this situation occurred in microeconomics class, the lack of care regarding sustainability has nothing to do with any individual professor, class, or even company. The problem is deeply ingrained in our society. It’s the reason package-free products are not the norm, being a vegetarian is seen as nearly impossible, and sustainability is an afterthought. Our society is not set up in a way that prioritizes the environment, and now we need to work extra hard to make it that way.
The big question is: what can we do to fix this mess? Obviously, there isn’t an easy answer or it would probably be solved already. It seems like advocacy is one of the best ways to promote sustainability and hopefully change the culture. Talk about the everyday changes you have made to help the environment. This could be through everyday conversations, social media, or any other form of communication. Support companies that are trying to be more environmentally conscious, especially small businesses. Buy products that are unpackaged, use reusables, and research other initiatives that can fit into your life. Then, make it known that you do these things.
As a college student, I am constantly meeting new people. Even if I never talk to them again, mentioning that I thrift my clothes or use a shampoo bar could spark their interest and encourage a sustainability journey that otherwise would not have occurred. I also try to introduce my roommate, suitemates, and friends to low-waste products that I use. My suite uses laundry sheets, a dish soap block, and a clothes drying rack. Nobody was previously against any of these products, they just didn’t know they existed or hadn’t thought about the ways they could help the environment.
The overall message is that one of the best ways to promote sustainability is to advocate for it both in the classroom and in everyday life. Share your low-waste products, fight for sustainability and environmentally conscious conversations within companies, and remember that the environment doesn’t really hate you simply because you are a business major.
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