The Impacts of Mans Activities on the Environment - Assignment Example

Environmental Sustainability Name: Institution: Environmental Sustainability Part 1 Environmental sustainability involves taking actions and making decisions that protect the natural world in order to create and preserve a good environment that will support human life. Many people are realizing the bad effects individuals and businesses can have on the environment if appropriate measures a lot not put in place. Hence, there is need for businesses to reduce eliminate or reduce negative impact on its environment. This can be achieved by consumption of less energy, reducing the amount waste, and by establishing various processes that will assist the organization to be more environmental friendly in future (UK Public Health Registrar, 2013). Nowadays, different governmental departments and the media have been widely discussing environmental sustainability. Thus, researches have being conducted with the aim of assessing the impacts of man’s activities on the environment. Hence, companies and other forms of businesses are expected to be the biggest contributors when it comes to environment conservation. Some of the damages that companies causes to the environment include; over-fishing and pollution of rivers, oceans, and lakes, pollution of the atmosphere by burning of fossils, damaging woodlands and rainforests through agricultural clearing and logging, and damaging prime cultivated and agricultural land via the use of destructive or unsustainable farming practices. For the past years, some companies have been assuming the negative impact of their activities to the environment. Consequently, many small and large organizations are guilty of polluting environment and also engaging in practices that endanger human live. Therefore, environmental sustainability forces these organizations not to concentrate on their short term gains, but control the long term impacts they often have on the natural environment. However, a good number of businesses are trying their best to conserve environment (Erdas, 2011). Just-in-Time Fabrications (JTF), a company that supplies fabricated steel items to the motor trade must come up with measures to ensure that the neighboring Fishing River, residential houses and offices, and school do not suffer from environment pollution caused by its waste products. One of the factors that JTF should consider to help determine environmental sustainability of its products is waste management. Waste management is achieved through application of sustainable water hierarchy of reuse, reduce and recycle. Therefore, in waste management, the total amount of waste generated annually should be reduced and divert the waste products from landfill through recycling and re-use initiatives. In addition, waste management aims at reducing cost of waste disposal and influence and encourage staff, visitors and students to strictly follow waste hierarchy principles (University of Exeter, 2010, p. 9). Furthermore, during product design, its environmental impact must be considered at every stage of its life cycle, from extraction of the raw material through to the end of the commodity’s life. There are various techniques and tools used to design environmental sustainable products depending on the company’s objectives and aims. For instance, if JTF wants to deal with steel metals that are environmental friendly, then it can opt to use low-carbon steel metals. Also, the company can start recycling materials that are used for packaging of the fabricated steel metals. Moreover, the organization can minimize the different materials used for the manufacture of the products and start producing a single material product (Donato, 2013). The dynamic and complex nature of environmental problems always requires transparent and flexible decision-making that encourages diversity of values and knowledge. Therefore, participation of stakeholders in environmental decision-making is increasingly being embedded into international and national policy. However, more benefits are claimed for stakeholders’ participation, hence disillusionment is fast growing amongst stakeholders and practitioners. Thus, participation of stakeholders benefits organization because they gather more information on how to solve a given environmental challenge. The most obvious stakeholders that influence JTF organization’s adoption of good practices to sustain environment are government bodies. First, legislation authorizes various agencies to enforce and promulgate regulations. Therefore, government plays a crucial role in organizations’ decision to conserve environment. They act as a coercive force that sends signal its environmental conservation endorsement. Local communities are also stakeholders of JTF that impose coercive pressure on organizations via their votes in national and local elections through environmental activism. In general, JTF company decision to embrace environmental management practices is to maintain or improve relations with the local community. Moreover, competitive and customer pressures may facilitate the need for environmental sustainability of JTF’s products. A healthy relationship between consumers and the organization is one of the factors that contribute to more sales (Delmas & Toffel, 2004, p.213). JTF requires raw materials, energy, and water in order to produce good quality products. However these inputs tend to have various impacts on local and global environment. Energy is used to power machines and other processes that are essential in fabrication of the steel sheets and metals. The most commonly used forms of energy include fossil, electricity, and oil. However, there is need for maximum utilization of the energy available in order to ensure that the natural sources used to provide energy are not exhausted, hence conserving environment (Alliance to Save Energy, 2012). Additionally, water is a crucial production material for various industrial sites. Increasing floods, droughts, competition over abstraction and changes in water quality and availability forces more companies to look for alternative sources (Pepsico International, 2004, p.8). When water contaminated with industrial chemicals is exposed to the environment, it becomes dangerous to human lives. Therefore, JTF must recycle water and use it for other industrial water needs such as fire fighting, irrigation, and cleaning. Further, goods produced by JTF, if not poorly used or stored can cause harm to people living around (Donato, 2013). Changing consumer expectations is one of the key drivers behind environmental sustainability. Consumers or users of JTF products are interested in eliminating negative impacts on the environment. Therefore, it is a role of the company to ensure that products produced are affordable and can be easily transported to the customers. Thus, the products should be environmental sustaining their product of causing pollution must be very minimal. The waste products must be properly disposed through burning, recycling, and any other method that would make them more useful in other areas (Small Biz Connect, 2013). Part 2 Litigation refers to a legal procedure where all involved parties present their ideas and arguments against one another before arbitrator or the judge. The parties involved in litigation process are called litigants. In the United Kingdom, civil litigation is governed by strict Civil procedure Rules. Litigants must follow a given protocol regarding court room procedures and pre-trial behavior. The process can be concluded through successful pretrial, court settlement, or formal court ruling. Litigation is a legal process, hence it requires legal advice from litigation solicitors before any resolution becomes a real possibility. JTF is at risk of civil litigation from its operations because the area where heating oil tanks that supplies a central boiler house for raising steam is located must be well confined and out of bound for small children. This is because, children can receive injuries or die if they play with or tamper any part of the plant. The site is confined on three sides using a two metre high chain link fence, but it is a company’s responsibility to ensure that holes that are present at various points are completely sealed. In addition public complaints about the smells from the paint spraying building and noise from vehicles has been raised. Noise and bad smell are both forms of pollution, which the company must control (Law Services, 2012). Pollution of the environment according to Environmental Protection Act is referred to as release of substances into water, air or land, hence harming human. The term harm is extended to all offenses of humans’ senses and any form of damage to any property. Therefore Environmental Protection Act discourages any form of pollution and those companies carrying out illegal operations are apprehended. Industrial processes such as metal or mining processes, chemical production, petroleum refining, waste disposal, and power generation are governed by Integrated Pollution Control. On the other hand, any other manufacturing process in industries is regulated by local pollution controls that are enforced by different local authorities. Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 states that any form of pollution that endangers the lives of human must be stopped and the right measures must be put in place. Thus, Environmental Protection Act and Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 governs JTF operations by ensuring that pollution caused by this operations is dealt with accordingly in order to ensure human live is not threatened in any way (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 2011). The leaders of JTF Company are fully responsible for all managerial operations undertaken within the premises. However, production processes are regulated by local authority that inspects all processes carried out in the premises and addresses any complaints raised by the public against the company. The local authority defines conditions to be met when depositing, storing, treating, and disposing waste products. In addition, the authorities ensure that the industry is fully responsible for any loss of human life or diseases that may occur as a result of pollution from the plant. Waste management licenses are issued by the local Environment Agency that plays a key role in ensuring that the products are disposed accordingly. Environment Agency keeps a record of all licence holders and any modifications made on the licenses. The licenses clearly define the requirements and terms of the operations being carried out in JTF Company. These regulators enforce the relevant environmental legislation by ensuring all requirements are meant before any operation is carried out. The organization has a right to carry out operations that matches their budgets, but the operations must meet legal requirements. If JTF Company wants to undertake any project, a project proposal is taken to the authorities who decide whether it meets the required standards (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 2011). There are many companies that are being established nowadays, therefore there is need for local authorities to ensure that they respect and follow environment conservation policies. References Alliance to Save Energy (2012). Industrial Energy Efficiency 101: The Basics of How Industry Uses and Conserves Energy. Retrieved from http://www.ase.org/resources/industrial-energy-efficiency-101-basics-how-industry-uses- and-conserves-energy Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (2011). Environment Protection Act. Retrieved from http://adlib.everysite.co.uk/adlib/defra/content.aspx?id=18388 Delmas, M. & Toffel, M. (2004). Stakeholders and environmental management practices: an institutional framework, 1, pp. 210-222. Retrieved from http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~huce/docs/faculty_pubs/toffel_stakeholders.pdf Donato, J. (2013). Design Products for Sustainability. Retrieved from http://www.bpf.co.uk/Sustainable_Manufacturing/Design/Designing_Sustainability.aspx Erdas, (2011). Importance of Sustainability and Recycling. Retrieved from http://www.erdas.co.uk/ Pepsico International (2004). Environmental Sustainability, 1, pp.1-39. Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Download/PepsiCoUKEnvironmentalSustainabilityReport.pdf Law Services (2012). The basics of civil litigation. Retrieved from http://www.law-services.org.uk/litigation/the-basics-of-civil-litigation.html Small Biz Connect (2013). Environmental Sustainability. Retrieved from http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/17/86/374 UK Public Health Registrar (2013). Environmental Sustainability & Public Health Training in the UK, 1, pp. 1-24. Retrieved from http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/Environmental%20Sustainability%20and%20Public%20 Health%20Training%20in%20the%20UK%20FINAL.pdf University of Exeter (2010). Environmental Sustainability, pp. 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/campusservices/sustainability/pdf/Sust ainability_Strategy_2010-2015.pdf Read More