Chapter 14 Flashcards
Environmental Concerns in Business and Society
●Air pollution
●Ecosystems
●Energy production and consumption
●Nature and wildlife.
●Ozone
●Pollution
●Waste management
●Water quality
●Climate change/ global warming
Business, Its Stakeholders, and the Natural Environment
Environmental issues confront virtually all aspects of the corporation, from the input of resources to the manufacturing process, and from workplace conditions through to the way products are packaged and sold.
●Commons: Any resource used as though it belongs to all.
Environmental ethic:
the set of values or principles that govern a corporation’s practices relating to the environmen
Sustainable development:
development ensuring that the use of resources and the impact on the environment today does not damage prospects for the use of resources or the environment by future generations.
Business Sustainable Development:
adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining, and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future.”
Government departments and agencies:
Environment Canada
●Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment
●National Roundtable of the Environment and the Economy
●Canadian Environmental Assessment Act Agency
●Regulation:
●Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Kyoto Protocol
Environmental NGO Influence
hold shared values or attitudes about the challenges confronting the natural environment and advocate for changes to improve the condition of the environment.
●Such groups (e.., Greenpeace) influence corporations through protests, blockades, boycotts, and annual shareholder meetings.
Factors Leading ENGOs to Target Firms
Firm is the source of the environmental impact
●Extent of the consequences of the firm’s actions
●Denser relationships among firm’s ENGOs
●Larger the firm
●Greater influence of the firm
●Previous interactions with ENGO
●Closeness of the firm to consumers
●Firm’s brands are well known
Market-Driven Environmentalism
●Standard Environmentalism
●Government regulation occurs when it is a necessary remedy for market’s failure to provide environmental amenities
●Market Environmentalism
●Economic incentives created by market are more effective at protecting the environment than government intervention
● Environmentalism affected by market factors
●Economic growth, free trade, property rights
Source: Jones, 2001
Environmentalism
●Emissions trading:
●A system whereby corporations set targets for greenhouse gas reduction; if one corporation cannot meet the target, it purchases carbon credits from those that have met their targets (or “cap and trade”).
●Offsets (emission reduction credits):
●Credits purchased from other corporations or organizations to mitigate greenhouse gases released into the environment.
Managing Responses to Environmental Concerns
Token response (e.g., ‘greenwashing’ where firm does not seriously address environmental issues but merely says it does)
●Compliance with laws and regulations
●Comprehensive environmental management (gaining a competitive advantage)
●Sustainable development
Greening” of Business Functions
Financial management (e.g., disclosure)
●Marketing (e.g., green marketing)
●Human resources (e.g., environmentally friendly workplace)
●Operations (e.g., reduce, recycle, conserve, etc.)
Measuring and Reporting on Environmental Sustainability
Type and amount of materials used
●Source of energy and efficiency of use
●Source and quality of water
●Impact on biodiversity
●Reduction of emissions, effluents, and waste
●Product design that minimizes impact
●Compliance with environmental laws
●Use of efficient transportation
Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES)
●International Organization for Standardization ISO 14000
●International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
●Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network (CSIN)
●Environmental and Sustainable Development Indicators Initiative (ESDI)
Dissenting Views on the Environment
According to some business journalists:
●Concept difficult to define and understand
●Means stopping or constraining economic development
●Implies capitalism is unsustainable
●Lacks understanding of markets
●Executives are being misled
The Environment: Corporate Opportunities
Reputations likely enhanced
●Customers attracted
●Investors attracted
●Costs reduced through recycling/conservation
●More competent staff attracted
●Better integration with local community
●New technologies or expertise developed
●More efficient ways of producing products found
