In this case, Nau’s operation has been driven by environmental, social and economic factors from design to sales to finances. In the design area, the company developed 24 of its 32 fabrics to be more sustainable and to combine performance and visual appeal. In the sales area, the company uses a concept called “Web-front” to combine the efficiency of the Web with the intimacy of a gallery-like boutique so that the operating expense is saved because less energy and fewer material are used. In the finance area, Nau has pledged 5 percent of sales to charitable organizations dedicated to solving crucial environmental and humanitarian problems while the “philanthropic gold standard” is 1 percent and the average among all corporations is 0.047 percent. So from a Green Management perspective, Nau’s approach to doing business would be considered as dark green. Their holistic approach to environmental sustainability goes beyond the products they sell and extends into their relationship with suppliers and retailing phases of their products. So it is ethical and responsible.
But why some other companies do not take this approach? Several viewpoints are raised to support the irresponsible behavior.
1. The responsibility of the enterprises in the society is to make profit for stockholders. There is no need for them to take the social responsibility.
2. Too much power is given to the enterprises if they participate in the settlement of social problems. Then corruption problem may come up.
3. Interest conflict may exist in the procedure of taking social responsibility.
4. The enterprises are not good at managing social problems. There might be different consequences if they are forced to do so.
5. Take the social responsibility would increase the cost of an enterprise, reduce the total revenue and finally lead to a bad economic performance. In some studies, it showed that