Environmentalism: Gift or Curse?

Until relatively recently, environmental concerns were a non issue for most companies. However, as of late, changes in our climate have sparked the interest of most activist groups, who have done there best to influence companies to change their policies and attitudes towards environmentalism. I say that the activist groups acted first before the companies themselves because it could easily be argued that without the intervention of various groups, the companies wouldn't have changed their actions. Some companies have taken to environmentalism and the "green" mentality and used it to their advantage by marketing themselves to environmentally conscious businesses or individuals. However, for most companies, the push towards environmentalism has been a burden. Although environmentally safe practices are proven to have a lasting effect on preserving our planet, the fact of the matter is that these processes and changes that have to take place in order to be environmentally friendly are costly. For most companies the benefits of switching over to being environmentally friendly do not outweigh the drawbacks of having to raise prices for their customers and in turn, potentially decreasing their profit margins. Whether or not it is cost effective to be environmentally friendly, it is imperative to the sustainability of our planet that companies hold the environment in high regards. If companies continue to put environmentally safe practices on the back burner, they'll have nowhere to spend the extra money their making by cutting corners because they will almost certainly destroy our planet. Do you think that within the next 10 years, government organizations will increase standards for environmentally safe practices, and force companies to be more environmentally friendly?