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How do you feel when you drive by some sort of factory or plant and you see an obnoxiously large smoke stack spewing fumes into the air or a drainage pipe of chemical runoff that flows into a water supply? The sense of disgust from the thought of how these companies get away with this action not only concur with opinion of environment activists but also involves the United States government. It was not long ago that the government realized that these effects were harmful to the world around us, which caused the government to create several groups to enforce laws and regulations against these unethical operating businesses. These questions are similar to those frequently asked by many economists when discussing the subject of business environmental laws and ethics. A business must decide how they want to run their business, unethically by cutting corners or abiding by ethical and law standards. This issue comes down to the standpoint wherever businesses may fall on if they care more about using unethical ways to gain some sort of advantage or if they would rather operate in a way with limits but complies with ethical and law standards. (MODIFY THESIS)
The United States government has generally had a hands off approach regarding business environmental corporate ethics. Up until the year 1970, the government rarely accounted for the amount of pollution and the effect it had on the American population. This year, 1970, the movement enacted the largest Environmental Protection Agency otherwise known as EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency has several branches across the United States to help enforce and institute laws and regulations, regarding the government (EPA). The reason “EPA” was established was to police these code infract...
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...ausing to their surroundings by instituting such bad business practices are directly connect to the main source of pollution and disease. The number of cases of these pollution influenced diseases are growing. The disease range from birth defects to various types of cancers.
Contrary to the idea that companies should be able to operate as they please and avoid all regulations that prevent the destruction of the environment, I believe and agree with the group of people on the opposing stance. Just like many others I believe that all companies should not only operate up to regulation standards but also operate in an ethical way. An ethical way to act for these companies is to consider the effects each form of operation has on the environment. I believe that the right course of action will, in the long run only benefit the organization and the environment as a whole.
Cases have been widely used in medical ethics and law. In both fields, numerous books and articles about cases have appeared, including book-length catalogs of cases. I argue that pluralistic casuistry provides an adequate approach to environmental ethics. It retains the strengths while avoiding the weaknesses of the other approaches. Importantly, it resolves some broader theoretical issues and provides a clear, explicit methodology for education and praxis.
Exxon/Mobil, one of the nation’s leading oil producers, has its main refinery located in Beaumont, Texas. Each year, the residents of Beaumont/Port Arthur have to contend with the 39,000 pounds of pollution spewed each year by the Exxon refinery. Exxon’s emissions are 385% above the state refinery average. In 1999, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Committee (TNRCC) allowed the plant to increase their emissions, without allowing the public to have a say in the matter. Interestingly, 95% of the people living near the plant are of African American descent and are in the poverty range. Some believe that this, along with the lack of education in the area, allows Exxon to get away with such high emissions. Residents in nearby neighborhoods have been complaining of headaches, nausea, eye, and throat irritation for years. Since 1997, Mobil has repeatedly violated health standards in its emissions of two key air pollutants: sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, These “rotten egg” smells are so strong, one can smell it through a car driving past the refinery. After numerous complaints and one record of a refinery worker becoming unconscious because of the fumes, the EPA awarded Exxon with a $100,000 environmental justice grant in October of 1998. Hopefully, Exxon has put the money to good use and cleaned up their emissions.
With annual revenue of US $19.02 billion, Chevron Corporation is the 16th largest integrated oil and gas energy company in the world. Globally they account for a workforce of approximately 62,000 (Forbes 2011). In 2010, the company produced 2.763 million barrels of oil per day (Chevron 2012). Corporations as large as Chevron owe a great amount of responsibility towards the society and environment above and beyond the economic and legal obligations. The industry is strongly linked to environmental scandals and companies make various efforts to address these issues (Farache and Perks 2010, 235). The following thesis will review the Environmental performance of Chevron in terms of fulfilling social needs within society and stakeholders.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates air pollution through various policies passed through the Supreme Court. The scope of this paper is to investigate the Clean Air Act of 1970, and to analyze the impact it has on businesses and society. It provides a rationale for the policy, and contains a brief overview of governmental involvement in regulating air pollution. Further investigation identifies key stakeholders in business, government, and society, and assesses the pros and cons of regulating air pollution. Finally, the paper concludes with limitations of this analysis and recommendations for future action.
A business should make sure its methods of production are not negatively affecting its employees and that all the people in the business are happy and willing to work. Also, a business should make sure that its methods of production are not producing any waste on land or water or air pollution, for these negatively affect society. A business that cares about it’s influence on the environment, and its consumers is bound to make a difference. For example: General Mills wants to reduce the amount of energy it uses. In order to do this, they had energy monitors installed into some of their equipment in one of their manufacturing plants. The result: General Mills saved around six hundred thousand dollars (James). Profit can be obtained faster by a business that is looked upon as a positive influence on the environment and its employees. Overall, a business should be careful about how it produces its products and think about society’s health before it makes a decision, for if it doesn’t, the liability for damage is a much greater price to
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was established in 1972 to oversee air, water, and noise pollution and to pass regulations to control actions that could cause them.
Zsolnai, L. (2011). Environmental ethics for business sustainability. International Journal of Social Economics, 38(11), 892-899. doi: 10.1108/03068291111171397
At the four year mark of the Deep Water Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows British Petroleum (BP) to drill for oil in the gulf once again. Many consumer advocate groups, chiefly Public Citizens, have voiced concerns over this decision. The lack of corporate accountability and oversight makes this decision seem unethical to these advocates groups. However, the company agrees to follow the agency’s ethic and safety procedure given the new leases. Yet, a series of accidents on its infrastructure makes reform seem doubtful for the company.
The problem with pollution prevention is that it requires people to understand more than the intimate details of the production process; they must also understand the technical possibilities. Many corporations have environmental managers, which are generally responsible for helping corporations comply with the law. According to the case study, the work of environmental managers often expose them to many pollution prevention solutions, but they often have trouble getting access to production areas. Production often sees Environmental Managers as "the compliance police".
For my paper I chose the case of Avco Environmental. The case is fictitious and can be found on the businessethics.ca linked provided in prezi. The facts of the case are Chantale Leroux, a clerk for Avco Environmental Services, which is a toxic waste disposal company, has found evidence that Avco might be disposing medical waste in the local municipal landfill. I feel this case violates seven of the ten primary traps and eight of the ten prima facie duties. In reading the case, you can separate Chantale the person from Avco Environmental the company and see who has violated what traps.
Currently, businesses are facing a growing societal pressure to perform responsibly and sustainably. Western cultures have become more aware of the effect their consumption has on the environment. Furthermore companies are being put under pressure to treat labour, and where applicable, animals with greater care. However this is to an extent optional and it is often argued that corporate social responsibility is taken up voluntarily by the business and that following laws regarding ethical trading is just a prerequisite to “fulfilling the responsibility of enterprises” (Enderle, 2014, pp 723 - 735). Some businesses have monopolised on the added value of ethically sourced products, through promoting a positive brand
“Unless humanity is suicidal, it should want to preserve, at the minimum, the natural life-support systems and processes required to sustain its own existence” (Daily p.365). I agree with scientist Gretchen Daily that drastic action is needed now to prevent environmental disaster. Immediate action and changes in attitude are not only necessary for survival but are also morally required. In this paper, I will approach the topic of environmental ethics from several related sides. I will discuss why the environment is a morally significant concern, how an environmental ethic can be developed, and what actions such an ethic would require to maintain and protect the environment.
The notion of ethics deals with people’s behaviors within a company. Social responsibility involves a company’s moral obligations and the manner in which the organization makes its decisions. Although ethics and social responsibility are similar on a conceptual basis, each has its own unique characteristics that express their differences and its independence of the other. Ethics and social responsibility have to be present and coincide with one another for a business to be ethically sound.
...emonstrated above each group identified has a chance to police and control the operation of these facilities. They all can choose to pass the buck and blame someone else; or they can step up and take control. We all have an ethical responsibility to do what is right. We need to protect the environment while ensuring human prosperity. The Government is here for us, they work for us and we must ensure that they do what we want, not what is best for industry or big business.
Mondi also protects high conservation value ecosystems, including wetlands. Social Responsibility- Mondi engages with communities in and around their plantation forests and mills. Their social investments help drive development by focusing on health, education and local enterprise. Business ethics-