How to Go Green - Research Paper Example

 HOW TO GO GREEN Introduction The environmental protection concerns have been increasing within the last few years. Although the companies are rapidly getting aware of their corporate social responsibility however, business leaders have always been opposing the environmentalists. If the aim of environmentalists is to save the environment then the purpose of business leaders is to increase the profitability of their businesses. The concepts of business ethics related to environment are assisting the business leaders to maintain a balance between the environmental protection and growth and profitability of their businesses. This research paper discusses one aspect of business ethics and that is related to environment. It focuses on the types of programs and practices of the companies to go green and to establish green businesses. Therefore, the research question that will be explored in this research paper is, “How to go green?” It’s not easy being green however, there are many strategies that businesses can adopt to become environment friendly. In order to go green, the business executives should understand the aspects such as pollution of land, water and air; global warming; biodiversity; chemical and nuclear spills; waste disposal; deforestation and desertification (Freeman, Jessica, & Richard, 1998).1 There has been always a conflict between business and ethics therefore, most of the times leaders face difficulties in choosing the business decisions that may fit between the businesses profitability and ethics. In the previous years, business owners did not think about the environment whilst making business decisions, unless, there was some regulation that restricted the specific business strategy. In short, business runners have been neither motivated nor dispirited to consider the environmental concerns seriously. The situation has changed now because the increasing corporate social responsibility of the organizations is becoming a competitive advantage for the businesses. This paper describes the history of green business and increasing awareness of the companies to go green. Through the examples of the companies, it discusses the practices and programs through which businesses can go green. Apart from that, it also evaluates the importance of the concepts of business ethics in enforcing the businesses to go green. Details Green business is considered as a recent phenomenon and some people consider it as an “overnight sensation”. The history of green business dates back to 1960s, when notion of pollution control was increasing. The law related to pollution of air and water was introduced in the United States and other countries when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came in 1970. In 1980s, many companies complied with the mandates of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, they were just following the mandates for the fulfillment of laws. Soon the companies realized that waste reduction could enhance their efficiency. The companies started to redesign their processes and management systems such as 3M initiated its pollution prevention program. The development of environmental management systems and ISO 14001 also contributed to increase the awareness of the companies. In the race of going environment friendly, some companies looked at the full environmental influence of their products. Finally, the companies learnt about the concepts such as Sustainability, “firms do not harm”, “doing well by doing good” and “green is green”.2 There are incidents in the history that also enforced the companies to think about the impact of their processes on the environment. The damages caused by Valdez incident signify an important milestone in the history of business. On March 24, 1989 the super tanker, Exxon Valdez released millions of gallons of oil into the ecosystem and the Exxon executives, officials were subjected to unique public inspection. Various other such incidents enforced the environmentalists to design the policies, laws and regulations that may protect the environment from the wrong practices of businesses. One major dilemma for any business is that if its ethical responsibility to the environment goes beyond obeying the environmental law then to what extent it should go. What criterion it should use to justify its actions?3 Therefore, all businesses have defined their own criteria to contribute to the environmental protection beyond the laws. Disney World comes is one of the top organizations, which give a great focus on their corporate social responsibility. In order to achieve its aim, “Disney go green”, Disney World has been making great efforts. In 2008, Disney World developed a plan to eliminate toxic cleaning products from all of its parks and hotels. On 29 October 2008, Disney released the “Health Cleaning Policy” and produced more than 3,000 postcards and photos. Each year Disney organizes such campaigns that promote environmental protection and safety.4 In order to go green, the businesses have to focus on various aspects of environment such as global warming, ozone depletion, organic waste disposal, resource depletion etc. Since every business has different sorts of processes therefore, different strategies have to be adopted to contribute to environment protection. Sometimes the companies do not agree to sacrifice their profitability for the protection of environment and they intentionally ignore the importance of green business. Once of the cases is that of DuPont Company, which was the manufacturer of fluorocarbons. It was the largest producer of Fluorocarbons in the United States and it faced huge oppositions when the concerns of depletion of ozone were raised. “In June 1974, two California chemists, Mario J. Molina and F. S. Roland, announced that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) being added to the atmosphere might decrease the ozone layer surrounding the earth by 10 percent within the next fifty to eighty years.”5 However, DuPont production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) continued until late 1980s. It was argued that even if the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) was stopped still its amount present in the atmosphere would continue destructing ozone for the next 40 to 50 years. The case of DuPont Company appeared as one of the major dilemmas in the history of business ethics (Velasquez). Sometimes business ethics become ethical dilemmas but such cases are very few. It is not necessary that only companies can adopt the strategies to go green. Government also plays an important role in encouraging the companies to go green. For example, in 2007, the Canadian government made land conservation agreements in the heart of the Canadian Boreal Forest to protect 25.5 million acres.6 In order to avoid any industrial plan in this area, this agreement was announced. Governments of various states implement such regulations to avoid the destruction of environment and to promote the need of green business among the companies of the state. Some other examples of the companies that are seeking to go green include Nike, which is focusing to reduce its foot waste, L’Oreal, which is trying to reduce waste generated per unit, (GHG) emissions and water use and many others. Furthermore, the concept of social audit in business ethics deals with a regular measurement of the influence of a corporation’s activities upon society and all of the companies are encouraged to conduct social audit on regular basis. Based on these audits, the companies can get a better idea about its processes, which are negatively influencing the environment. A company can do a cost benefit analysis to determine the impact of its actions on environment. Suppose, if a company plans to initiate a project and it finds that if it starts the project then it will gain huge profits however, environmental concerns will rise. If a company pursues ethical business practices, then it will not start the project unless, all environmental threats will be minimized. According to World Watch Organization, the aim to go green can be only achieved if the entities go for less energy consumption, water consumption, gas consumption and focus on energy efficient processes.7 In short, nowadays, companies are becoming more socially responsible and there are various strategies can be pursued by the companies to go green. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that business ethics play a very important part in assisting the businesses to play their role in the protection of environment. In order to attain a balance between business profitability and social responsibility, businesses have to go beyond the laws of protection of environment. As there are many strategies, which can be adopted by the companies to go green therefore, businesses should play their part as much as possible. Furthermore, the concepts of business ethics such as social audit, cost benefit analysis etc. can always help the companies to determine their influence on the environment and to design their policies to go green. Works Cited 10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2009, from WorldWatch Institute : http://www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green Canada Protects Over 25 Million Acres of Boreal Forest Wilderness: One of Largest Conservation Actions in North American History. (2007, November 21). Retrieved November 1, 2009, from Borealbirds: http://www.borealbirds.org/landnov07/ Disney go green. (2009). Retrieved November 1, 2009, from Business Ethics Network: http://businessethicsnetwork.org/article.php?id=2915 Freeman, E. R., Jessica, P., & Richard, D. (1998). Shades of Green: Business, Ethics, and the Environment . In L. Westra, The business of consumption: environmental ethics and the global economy (pp. 338-350). Rowman & Littlefield, 1998. Hoffman, W. M. (2004). Business and Environment Ethics . In B. S. Rae, & L. K. Wong, Beyond integrity: a Judeo-Christian approach to business ethics (pp. 367-374). Zondervan. Makower, J. (2008). From a Movement to a Market – The History of Green Business. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from Buy-Environmental: http://www.buy-environmental.co.za/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=31 Velasquez, G. M. Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases. Pearson Prentice Hall . Read More