Chapter 12 Flashcards
What is Sustainability, from a business perspective?
Potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment, including all of the biological entities. Also includes the mutually beneficial interactions between nature and individuals/organizations/business strategies
Water issues are the most far reaching and controversial issues
False - atmospheric because it’s the air we breathe
True or False: Social responsibility is part of the budget, sustainability is a tool for ethical decision making and financial performance
True
Name one reason Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a corporate issue
- CSR’s can create competitive advantages
- Stakeholders have more power with increased access to information
- gives firm opportunity to use differentiate themselves
- Companies can use their brand identity to create social value, quality, and customer loyalty
Do businesses have an ethical responsibility to minimize their harmful impact on the land?
Duh
(All/Only Water) Businesses must think about water conservation, allocation and purification
All
Did the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to address greenhouse gas emissions in 1997, succeed?
No, it failed but led to other initiatives like the recent Doha Gateway agreement
What is Acid rain?
occurs when certain elements in air pollution mix with air and water. This creates a new element that falls from the sky as corrosive rain that can corrode paint and deteriorate stone
What are the three sources of Air Pollution?
- Stationary (factories and power plants)
- Mobile (autos, planes, and trains)
- Natural (windblown dust and volcanic eruptions)
Water pollution not only affects wildlife - true or false?
True - comes with various side effects on humans and contaminates oceans, which compromise human food supplies
Some countries have implemented cap-and-trade programs for which form of energy, considered by the book to be the “dirtiest”
Coal Burning
See slide 10 for facts about water pollution
slide 10
While water quality is important, some countries are also increasingly worried about what else related to water?
The Water Quantity
What three events contribute to land pollution, which causes health issues, erosion, habitat destruction, and altered waterways/Poisoned groundwater
Residential/industrial waste
strip Mining
poor forest conservation
Define Biodiversity
How, because each species plays a unique role in their ecosystems, the loss of any one may threaten the entire ecosystem
Define Urban Sprawl
transformation of US from low-density communities to large-scale suburban developments
Companies must take a long-term view on Deforestation. why does this phenomenon keep occuring?
Boom in biofuels, poverty, farming, and short-term profits from lumber sales.
The EPA established five strategic goals that reflect their public priorities. What are they?
See slide 15
Can the EPA file civil suits against companies that violate environmental laws?
Yes, they enforce environmental legislation.
See slide 18 for most recent laws regarding the environment
18
Which alternative form of energy is cheaper, Wind or Geothermal?
Wind, 0 it hold’s great promise for the U.S. due to the Great Plains – one of the greatest sources of wind power on the planet.
Geothermal can provide a constant source of heat and it more reliable, but is much more expensive
See slide 17 for laws regarding the environment in the 70’s and 90’s
17
Solar power is expensive and inefficient. Why is there so much hype around it?
Because it is 100% renewable energy
Nuclear power is pollution-free and cost-competitive, but why is it still controversial?
Dangers of meltdown and waste storage complications
See slide 16 for laws regarding the environment in the 70’s
16
How does bettern environmental performance increase revenue?
By allowing for access to new markets, product differentiation, and sale of air pollution technologies.
The largest form of renewable energy considered “alternative” is
Hydropower, but it’s controversial due to its potential habitat destruction
How might better environmental performance decrease costs?
By improving risk management/stake-holder relationships, reducing materials and energy used while also reducing labor and capital costs.
Which of the following biofuels holds promise - grass, corn, or algae?
Algae and Grass
See slide 26 for levels of commitment on implementing an environmental strategy.
Slide 26
Define Greenwashing
involves misleading consumers into thrinking a product/service is more environmentally friendly that it truly is. Research indicates that this destroys consumer trust and creates confusion.
Define Green marketing
Strategic process involving stakeholder assessment to create long-term relationships with customers while maintaining, supporting, and enhancing the natural environment.
How might firms implement green marketing and become sustainability leaders?
Embed sustainablilty into their values, norms, and beliefs
No company can satisfy every claim and stakeholders are not equal. True or False
True - Company must identify and prioritize claims. Requires stakeholder assessment - acknowledging and actively monitoring the environmental concerns of all stakeholders
See slide 23 for intertwining of environmental and economic performance.
See slide 23
Define an environmental audit
Highly committed companies may conduct an audit of their environmental efforts and report results to stakeholders. Benchmarks are global standards, but environmental regulations obviously differ between countries so it;’s difficult to find acceptable solutions on a global scale.
Which alternative form of energy is the most controversial form?
Biofuel
