Sustainable Development of Production of Cars - Essay Example

Sustainable Business Development Essay Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Conclusion 6 Essay 2 7 Introduction 7 Literature Review 8 Analysis of the environmental impacts of the product/service 12 Discuss how the environmental impacts can be mitigated 15 Type of actors involved 15 Measures to reduce the environmental impacts 15 Technological innovation 16 More efficient product or services 17 Regulatory measures 17 Need to diminish consumption of the product/service 18 Conclusion 18 References 21 Introduction Sustainable business development is a critical aspect in current scenario with growing concern towards environmental protection. This study would be centred towards identifying such product or service which has a significant impact on environment. The production as well as consumption stage shall be taken into consideration to analyze well overall environmental impact. It has been observed that Car production and consumption causes serious impact on external environment. A new car production results into equivalent carbon pollution in relation to its consumption. Zipcar can be taken as a service which causes such environmental implications. It is a car sharing club located in United Kingdom. Discussion Production of cars accounts for immense carbon footprint. The overall production process of this product has been highlighted in figure 1. Figure 1: Production flow of Cars (Source: Harrington and McConnell, 2003) As per figure1 there exists series of steps to be focused on while manufacturing cars. In this process metals has to be extracted and ores need to be dug from the ground. These raw materials are then transformed into parts. There are other parts that are transported to assembly unit like paint, rubber tyres, plastic dashboards, etc. The entire transportation process encompasses consumption of energy. A medium size car production results into emission of approximately 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The major environmental impacts caused by car production are in terms of waste water discharge, solid waste generated in manufacturing units which is disposed to landfill, emission of volatile organic compounds to air, energy consumption, large amount of waste generation, etc. Greenhouse gases are strongly emitted during the production phase of Cars (Harrington and McConnell, 2003). It has been witnessed that waste is generated in large amounts starting from extracting of raw materials to final packaging. Car consumption emits major air pollutants along with creating noise pollution. The production rate of Car as per certain countries has been elaborated in figure 2. Figure 2: Car production statistics (Source: Kagawa, 2011) Figure 2 clearly states that production volume country wise has increased over a given time frame. This sudden increase in volume has caused drastic impact on the environment. On the other hand, enhanced consumption rate is another aspect which has contributed towards production increase. However in recent scenario level of Car sales has returned back to normal level as denoted in figure 3. Figure 3: Consumption Rate (Source: Kagawa, 2011) The consistent demand towards Car consumption has caused drastic impacts on environment. In overall context, the major pollutants discharged by Cars are greenhouse gases. Burning of fuel within Car emits large amount of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere which is harmful for human body as well as atmosphere. Global warming is the final result of such emissions (Kagawa, 2011). Noise pollution is also another factor related to Car consumption that tends to disrupt biodiversity. These factors can be regarded as negative implications created by cars on environment. However the major area of focus in this study is Zipcar consumption. This form of service has reduced environmental implications since individuals share common car facility. The pollution rate is controlled to a great extent through such service as individuals do not utilize single car facility. In comparison to Zipcar production, consumption rate has been able to reduce environmental implications. Hence product consumption is linked with positive environmental implications (Zipcar Inc, 2015). Conclusion As per this study, certain products or services causes environmental implications throughout their lifecycle. Global warming or climatic change is an alarming issue closely knitted with such environmental implications. This study majorly highlights production and consumption stage of Cars. It has been identified that Zipcar production results into higher rate of pollution in comparison to its consumption. Air, water and noise pollution are strongly associated with Zipcar production and it has been reduced significantly in its consumption stage. Essay 2 Introduction Sustainable business practices are a major area of concern for many organizations. These practices when incorporated within an enterprise results into minimum negative impact on local or global environment, economy, community or society. These businesses can be defined as those which are aligned with the approach of triple bottom line. Green or sustainable businesses cause less environmental impact. Environmental friendly products or services are high in demand in present scenario due to rising awareness about environmental regulations and protection. Sustainability principles are included within every organizational practice. These principles align a business towards adopting greener activities and ensuring that manufacturing activities or processes meets environmental concerns without compromising on profit margins. Green business is a mediator in context of economic-environmental relations. It causes negligible effect on atmosphere in terms of decreasing level of carbon dioxide or other pollutants. Green business can be directly associated with clean energy or a means to reduce the percentage of green house gases from the atmosphere. This study mainly focuses on a particular service which has certain environmental impacts during its production stage but it has been able to eradicate such impacts to a great extent in consumption stage. The reason behind choosing Zipcar is its innovative operational procedures and its constant focus on reducing environmental impacts. Zipcar is a well known car rental company located in United States. It was founded in 2000 by Robin Chase and Antje Danielson. The mechanism of this unique service is that it offers automobile reservations to large base of members. Zipcar service is usually billable by day or hour basis. Members of Zipcar are able to access service automatically through access cards. There is advanced technology utilized in car in order to provide superior quality service to customers. This service has been chosen since it’s a new concept and expanding at a rapid rate across the globe. It is important to analyze environmental impact caused by such new business operations. On the other hand, there is less research studies conducted on this service which is being easily replicated by other companies. This study would be divided into various sections so as to analyze well the concept of sustainability in relation to Zipcar services. Firstly a thorough analysis shall be exhibited in context of environmental impacts caused by Zipcar service. Secondly there will be a section addressing different mechanisms through which environmental impacts initiated by Zipcar service can be appropriately mitigated. Literature Review As per Dyllick and Hockerts (2002), sustainable development is an action plan for immediate replication activity so as to achieve greater level of sustainability. This plan is often witnessed to coincide with human development and economic growth. It is all about continual development even after the scope for economic development. Sustainable development is centred towards maintaining finite resources in the planet which would be required by future generation. Through this mechanism a situation is reached where human needs are properly addressed without disrupting beauty, integrity or stability of biotic systems. In broader context sustainability can be defined as maintaining normal procedure by utilizing resources that does not result into degradation of biotic systems (Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002). According to Hasna (2007), sustainability is more precisely stated as function of ecological, social, technological and economic themes. Sustainable development is derived from terms on older forestry. The previous term for this approach was sustained yield. Sustainability science comprises of various concepts related to environmental science and sustainable development. Present generation needs to be more cautious regarding improvement and maintenance of planetary resources for future generation. Sustainable development is collaborates natural system’s present capacity with that of economic, political or social challenges witnessed by human beings. ‘Our Common Future’ a report structured by Brundtland Commission on 1987 highlighted the significance of sustainable development. The definition of sustainable development was firstly coined by this commission. It stated sustainable development focuses on meeting widespread needs of present without any form of compromises on future generation’s needs. UN Commission working on this approach has incorporated sustainable development practices in UN system (Hasna, 2007). As stated by Lynn and Kahle (2014), there are certain limits imposed on Earth’s natural resources which restrict any economic growth dependent on these resources. Since 40 years a small debate on environmental concern has taken a major turn where companies as well as government are focused on developing sustainable strategies. Many strategists, politicians in 1972 stated that physical growth in the planet would collapse due to natural resources depletion and unbounded growth of pollution and population. Brundtland Commission emphasized on major areas that could help to sustain life on Earth such as economy, society and environment. Economic growth has many benefits in the form of high profit and growth for nations and businesses. This eventually results into more jobs, superior quality of life and resources for individuals. However economic growth is supported through massive utilization of Earth’s natural resources. On the other hand, technological advancement results into extraction of energy from earth’s surface. Economic growth and sustainability issues are strongly correlated with one another. Alternative actions have to be implemented so as to strike a balance between sustainability and economic growth. Resource depletion can be reduced only through using alternative sources of energy. High rate of natural resource consumption reduces the level of available resources in future years. Consumption and production can be directly associated with environmental stress. Sustainability can be incorporated within the environment only when consumption rate is being efficiently managed. Rising market demand gives birth to high consumption rate which in turn depletes the level of environmental sustainability (Lynn and Kahle, 2014). This shall cause a drastic impact on needs and wants of future generation. According to Dasgupta (2007), global concern has been continuously raised on non-renewable resources exploitation, employment of poor policies and structure in terms of energy consumption, etc. Energy efficiency is a critical factor when it comes to accomplishing sustainable objectives. This factor mainly relates to different technologies, strategies and policies which are inclined towards resolving issues related to energy usage. Energy efficient mechanism facilitates reduction of greenhouse gas emission that causes global warming. Global statistics reveals that 1.4 billion people across the globe did not have electricity. This percentage is significantly higher in rural areas. Apart from this factor there are challenges faced by different industries which leads to utilization of energy sources. Greenhouse gas emissions are enhanced due to unsustainable distribution networks. Negative environmental impacts have to be taken into consideration by stakeholders and countries whether caused by exhaustible or non-exhaustible substances. Efficiency is enabled through adoption of non-renewable energy sources that can eliminate carbon based emissions and enhance sustainable growth. Efficiency has been transformed into technological terms where energy efficient devices are designed to yield maximum output. Zero carbon objectives or extraction of renewable natural sources can be facilitated only through usage of energy efficient devices. Exhaustible sources of energy like fossil fuels have to be substituted by wide array of green energy approaches like nuclear, biomass, tidal, photovoltaic, or wind energy in order to develop a sustainable environment for future generation. Many industrial projects are built on basis of solar energy (Dasgupta, 2007). This is because it is an effective renewable source of energy utilized for business operations. As per Brown (2011), life cycle assessment is one of the techniques utilized for environmental impacts assessment of services and products. It is executed through compiling material inputs, environmental releases and relevant energy sources. The technique assesses environmental impacts linked with releases and inputs. Results obtained through this assessment are interpreted so as to make structured decisions. There are four basic stages on which life cycle assessment is performed – scope and goal definition, impact assessment, interpretation and inventory analysis. It can be stated that major stages of this technique is to acquire raw materials, manufacture, production, waste management and maintenance. In current scenario the technique is based on advanced technology through which automatic results can be obtained related to total environmental impact caused by services or products. Production and consumption stage is usually evaluated separately by organizations. This is because environmental impact caused during production stage is completely different from that occurring at consumption stage. Raw materials impacts have to be assessed properly as it results into depletion of renewable energy sources. This impact is statistically evaluated along with its future impact. On the other hand, consumption is linked with emission of greenhouse gases (Brown, 2011). This is regulated through life cycle assessment technique in which rate of emission is outlined so that its negative effects can be minimized. These techniques are not based on common standards but it varies from one organization to another. Analysis of the environmental impacts of the product/service Environmental impacts are a major area of concern in modern world. Products or services cause certain environmental impacts which need to be mitigated properly. Zipcar service has been chosen to analyze significant environmental impacts. Over the years car production and consumption is considered to be a critical factor that enhances the level of pollution. There are new techniques adopted to reduce pollution level but still it needs to be incorporated in developing countries. Zipcar service has been able to address the problem of environmental pollution to a certain extent. In modern world Zipcar services is regarded as the largest car sharing service across the globe. The concept behind this approach is to enable car service to customers located in United States and nearby geographical areas. However some environmental impacts are closely knitted with the operations of Zipcar service. It can be stated that sustainable business practices is still not properly incorporated within this form of business operations. To be more precise Zipcar services has mainly focused on increasing its customer base rather than upgrading its level of technology. Service production does not cause any serious environmental impact which needs to be mitigated. Their production is only related to acquiring cars and aligning them with business strategy. Green business is the prime focus in current scenario and it helps to increase efficiency level of business operations. Zipcar services cause significant impact on environment in terms of pollution. Fuel combustion is a major source for this kind of pollution. There is more number of cars being introduced by this service in order to satisfy rising market demand. Consumption rate has become higher in comparison to rate of production. In such cases it is essential to utilize energy efficient devices that could reduce environmental impact along with satisfying market demand (Cohen and Winn, 2007). Zipcar services are an innovative mechanism for those who cannot afford cars and need to travel frequently. This service has proposed a membership program through which customers can easily access Zipcar. On the contrary, this form of service has a major loophole as it results into road congestion. Zipcars are usually parked on roads so as to enhance accessibility of members. However at times parked Zipcars are more in number and this result into increased road congestion. Vehicles on road need to witness traffic and this increases the rate of fuel combustion. In earlier studies it has been highlighted that greenhouse gas emissions results due to burning of fuel in automobiles, emissions in industries, etc. These kind of emissions often results into increased percentage of global warming. There is increasing environmental concerns due to climatic change, depletion of natural resources, more dependency on non-renewable energy sources, etc. Sustainability can only be achieved when present needs are addressed along with equal concentration on safeguarding resources for future generation. Climatic change is not a natural phenomenon and it creates long term impacts on environment. Greenhouse gas emissions are hazardous for the environment since it depletes the ozone layer which protects Earth from any form of harmful radiation. In overall context, ozone depletion ultimately results into increased temperature or sudden climatic change in the atmosphere. While road congestion increases due to parking of Zipcars it eventually increases the average waiting time period of vehicles. It has been observed that when vehicles are waiting in a queue the rate of fuel combustion increases and it results into discharge of greenhouse gases. This in turn is creating major negative impact on the environment. Faster movement of vehicles minimizes the discharge of air pollutants. On the other hand, adding more number of vehicles to Zipcar service tends to increase rate of environmental pollution. Road congestion is one of the major impacts caused by this form of service. Apart from air pollution generated due to congestion on road, there are other environmental impacts associated with this service. In some developed countries Zipcar service has gained significance due to its constant effort on improving operational standards. In present scenario this business is actively involved in promoting electric cars. It has reduced the percentage of fuel combustion and air pollution. Electric cars are another innovative concept introduced by Zipcar service and is mainly used in developed countries. On the contrary, in developing countries where such service is already present, there is no usage of electric cars. This forms a drawback for the company since its large number of fuel based vehicles creates high rate of environmental pollution. It is important for the company to currently focus on implementation of electric car concept in this region. This shall mitigate environmental impact to desirable extent. Developing countries have not been able to encompass the concept of fuel efficient cars and this is a major disadvantage for Zipcar service. It is observed that consumer demand is basically high in developing countries for car rental service in relation to developed countries. This high demand in consumer market enforces the company to supply more number of fuel based vehicles. There is a high rate of fuel combustion which is the major source of air pollution (Scerri and James, 2010). This is even accompanied by increased rate of noise pollution. It can be stated that profitability goal at times deviate a company from reaching its basic goal of reducing environmental impact. Zipcar service as a car rental company possesses specific parking locations across the city. Members need to travel all the way long to these parking locations while returning or during picking up the car. This extra miles being travelled also contribute towards environmental pollution. There needs to be proper ways incorporated which can efficiently reduce the time and pollution caused during such extra journey. Fuel combustion in developing countries is eventually enhanced when extra miles are travelled in order to reach parking areas. Discuss how the environmental impacts can be mitigated Type of actors involved The matter of environmental concern is a matter of far and wide concern area and involves many stakeholders (Philips, 2011). The point of concern of all stakeholders is to take into consideration in devising ways which can be used to mitigate the effect of Zip cars on the environment. Among the various stakeholders involved the main stakeholders who can have a stronger impact as compared to any other stake holders are the government, the customers and the NGOs. The NGOs can act as the first point in forcing the government in coming out with stronger norms that the company must follow to reduce the environmental impact of these cars. The NGOs can do so by campaigning for increased regulations to the government. After the NGO it comes to the government’s responsibility to institute strict laws that the company must follow in order to give the service in such a way which can have a minimal impact on the environment. The government can enforce the laws either by incentive method to incentivise for following environmental norms or by punitive measures that is to impose greater regulations in case rules are not followed. Another group of stakeholders who can have a strong influence is the customer themselves if they themselves force the company to implement sustainable measures (Phillips, 2003). Measures to reduce the environmental impacts Zip car as has been said before is a car rental service. In this method of car rental service, the customers of the company taking the rental cars in lieu of an annual subscription fees. The membership card allows the subscribers of the scheme to take any of the Zip cars that is parked at special points along the roads. The major problem with this type of method is that since the drivers of the cars are not owning the cars nor do they have to pay for the petrol that the cars uses so they aren’t concerned about driving the cars efficiently in order to reduce fuel consumption. So the pollution in this method will obviously be far greater than the method where the customers would have to pay for their own petrol. One way to mitigate this effect is by introducing the concept that the customers will be provided a fixed ration of petrol so that they are conscious of the amount of petrol that they are spending. Another change that can be introduced is that the driver would not be required to return the cars from the spot where they would have taken it and to just park in near their destination (Kagawa, 2011). Technological innovation The technological innovations that can reduce the environmental impacts are by introducing electric cars. If electric cars and hydrogen fuelled cars are introduced then a lot of pollution can be controlled. Another area where technological innovation can make this service more sustainable is the use of video monitoring to monitor how the driver is actually driving the car and advising him to drive the car in a certain way in order to reduce fuel consumption. Another technology that may be implemented is asking the driver about the destination he needs to travel to and then providing him the map of the shortest route free of congestion to reach the destination. Thus effectively reducing the travel path and thereby reducing the pollution caused. Still another area where technological innovation may come in handy to reduce the environmental impact is through implementing cars that run on auto pilot mode. Such cars will be technologically built in such a way that they reach the destination in minimum time and drive in a way to reduce the fuel consumption and there by pollution caused. Since these cars will be used far more widely than the normal the cars should be developed in such a way that they remain fuel efficient even after repeated use (Dauvergne, 2010). More efficient product or services More efficient product or service can be obviously designed based on future innovation in the field of technology. Improvement in technology will ensure that the cars that will be used in future by the model will be more efficient in terms of fuel, the technology that they use to navigate the streets, the concept of introducing auto driven cars or the concept of remote controlling of the cars. The more efficient product or service is likely to be developed based on the grounds that the government forced by the Ngo and customers demand will focus on building more stringent rules and regulations which the company would have to follow in matter of sustainability. Another area which may force the company to increased efficiency in product or service is the gradual pressure to earn more profit. It should be noted that the companies these days are not only responsible to the shareholders but are responsible to the whole family of stakeholders. In this respect it should be noted that by developing the cars that are fuel efficient the company is actually increasing its own profitability levels and at the same time caring for the views of the stakeholders. So a more efficient service is obviously in store for the future. Regulatory measures Regulatory measures could obviously be helpful in incentivising the implementation of sustainable concept in the service model. The point is very simple. Under the pressure of regulation the company will be under pressure to adhere to the rules as because not adhering to them may attract penalty for the company. Another point that is to be noted over here is the fact laws rules and regulations are in themselves ineffective till the point they are implemented correctly. There is no point in creating laws if they cannot be implemented successfully. Not only the laws should be implemented but there should be a way to measure whether the laws are being followed or not. This means there should be proper measurement. After measurement another important component to ensure that the laws are adhered to is the process of devising measures that either gives rewards for the laws being followed or reprimands in case the laws are not being followed. There are actually two ways to ensure that the laws are being followed. One is by giving rewards to the company for following the laws in terms of tax benefits, carbon credits. Other way to ensure that the laws are implemented is through devising punitive measures if laws are not followed. Need to diminish consumption of the product/service The product or service seems a good one and it seems that there is no need to diminish the consumption of this particular service. If the company can implement the changes that have been recommended in this paper like going in for cars which run on hybrid technology or electricity or hydrogen as the fuel source, then there is no need to discard the service of the company. One thing to be noted over here is that if the company follows these recommendations then one can imagine a less polluted environment (McCarthy, 2007). It is always easier to monitor a single company than millions and if most of the individuals start driving zip cars then the pressure of exhaust will reduce provided the company follows the recommendations of the paper. However another thing to be noted over here is the fact that the least polluted scenario would be to use the public transport like train or busses as that will reduce the pressure on the roads and keeps the pollution at the same time to the lowest level. Conclusion As per this study, sustainable development is an essential component in business operations. Sustainable development is not only about implementing green practices in an organizational system but it is inclined towards adopting measures through which demands of future generation can be effectively addressed. Brundtland Commission had firstly introduced the concept of sustainable development. It was about using resources in an appropriate manner so as to ensure that future generation is able to explore necessary resources. Economic growth has wide array of benefits which it offers to individuals as well as nations. However such growth is strongly related to approach of sustainability development. Sustainability cannot be accomplished to desirable level if focus is only on economic growth and development. Economic growth encompasses maximum utilization of natural resources in order to gain maximum productivity. This is not an appropriate mechanism in context of sustainability development. Depletion of natural resources causes an imbalance in biosphere which is not good for future generation. All companies should combine the concept of environmental impact and goal of achieving profit margins. Organizations should be able to deliver productive results not only in terms of revenue margins but also through its business operations. Advanced technology needs to be incorporated not only in business operations but also in reducing impact on external environment. Zipcar service had been chosen to analyze its probable environmental impact. This company has been able to acquire large portion of market share through innovative measures in terms of providing car rental services. These services are unique since members can easily access Zipcar through their access cards and travel to their preferred location. In United States it was an innovative concept and had been expanding at a faster rate in nearby locations. Zipcar has certain environmental impacts which need to be mitigated. This has occurred mainly because of its operations in developed and developing countries. In developing countries the concept of electric car is not well-known in comparison to developed countries. The increased rate of fuel based cars has enhanced the rate of air pollution and noise pollution. Fuel combustion is the major source for air pollutants. Zipcar is contributing to a certain level in context of fuel combustion. On the other hand, its parking lots are also creating road congestion which is increasing the rate of air pollution in the city. Technological advancements and usage of electric cars might help to mitigate environmental impacts to a great extent. 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