Factors the Organisation Should Consider to Determine the Environmental Sustainability of Its Products - Literature review Example

FV2102 Assignment Brief Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Instructor Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date PART 1 Factors the organisation should consider to help determine the environmental sustainability of its products With today competitive business environment, organizations need to ensure their services and products promote environmental sustainability. Ruffing (2007) maintain that, companies can profit considerably from efficient waste management and efficient resource use and therefore organizations need to understand the various factors that assist in managing resources more efficiently. The first factor that organizations need to incorporate to enhance environmental sustainability is engaging all value chain members. Ruffing (2007) maintain that, this factor is considered to be accelerating sustainability in a company value chain. Engaging all the value chain members enable companies to improve on both the social and environmental impacts of their own operations. The second factor that organizations need to consider enhancing their environmental sustainability is effective communication on sustainability goals throughout the company. This factor enables each and every organizational employee to regard each of their roles is linked to the organizational sustainability vision. Further, organizations need to embed sustainability in their organizational culture. Finally in the climate change age, companies need to ensure they are in a position to mitigate as well as adapt to climate change within all its operations (Ruffing 2007). Key environmental stakeholders might be for JTF For JTF a stakeholder is any individual actively company that is actively involved in JSF operations of supplying fabricated steel. JTF clearly need to effectively engage various stakeholders so as to understand what environmental and social issue affects then in their performance so that they can improve accountability and decision making. JSF business operations have two types of shareholders namely the primary and second stakeholders. Ruffing (2007) maintain that, the primary stakeholders in JSF are involved largely in the company economic transactions. The foremost stakeholder is their clients. Customers play a very important role in a business as enhancing their engagement enable the company produce goods that enhances customer satisfaction. Involving customers in JSF stakeholders will enhance in building the organization brand reputation and equity. Ruffing (2007) maintain that, the other stakeholder that JSF need to be involved is the oil and government agencies. Involving these stakeholders will ensure that JSF are able to make informed decision making through generating business intelligence and at the same time reducing risks. The involvement with oil agencies will ensure the company is able to reducing the organization exposure to the risks involved in handling oil. Further, JSF can involve other suppliers of fabricated steel items. This is very important as this allow diverse perspectives developing rooms for innovations as well as creativity. Further, involving these companies can also play an important role in reducing environmental impacts especially on their motor vehicle fleet (Blewitt 2008). Finally, the larger community needs to be involved in the company stakeholder involvement. From the plan, the JSF plant is near a school and therefore the school management as well as the community needs to be involved in JSF decision making processes. Evidently, engaging the community promotes ownership of various issues affecting the community and the company. Further, involving the community allows the company to manage their business operations thus creating opportunity to expand their markets (Blewitt 2008). Significant global and local environmental impacts of the company’s With increased debates on climate change, there has been an increased recognition on how company’s inputs, operations and output impact the environment on both a global and local level. It is clear that company inputs, operation and outputs continue to create environmental uncertainty thus affecting decision on minimizing effects of climate change globally (Blewitt 2008). Like many economic activities that increase the use of infrastructures, transport can be considered to be an important factor of any company operation. There is a strong relationship between the quality and quantities of transport as well as its impact on the environment. While the transport sector provides both economic and social benefits it impacts the environmental at a global and local level. Operations from the transport sector have a major impact on the environment due to the fact that it is the major user of the world energy creating air pollution and global warming through increased emission of carbon-dioxide. The production of goods and service is one o the key input as well as output of organization. Increased production of goods continues to impact the environment in a global and local level. Production of good involved increased generation of wastes and emission of solvent gases (Blewitt 2008). The emission of the solvent gases pollutes the airs. Further these green houses gases result to global warming and thus increased global climatic changes. Waste generated contain chemical that affect soil fertility and small amounts of these chemicals can end up in water system thus polluting water sources. PART 2 Could JTF be at risk of civil litigation from their operations? . Defra (2006) maintain that, civil litigation is defined as the process in which different civil matters are resolved in a court of law. Civil matters can be regarded as situations dealing with relationships between individual in our case between JSF and the children. The fact that environmental legislations are constantly evolving, it is evident that JTF could be at a risk of civil litigation from their operation. From the JTF plan, their water treatment is linked to a river therefore some possibility that some chemical get into the river. This may result to litigation due to the fact that the school management seeks for damages as the water in their school may be contaminated. Environmental law requires organization to zone their sites especially when their sites are in residential area a case that is not being observed by JSF management. From the case study, it was reported that children were on the site on Sunday. These children face risks of being harmed by the company operation and therefore their parents may argue that despite the chain link fence, there are holes in various points due to the reluctance of the company management. How would the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 govern the organisation’s operations? . Defra (2006) maintain that, the environmental protection Act and the Environmental permitting (England and Wales) recognise that organization operations could harm both human health and human health and therefore the need for these operations to be governed. While the environmental permitting regulation act requires organizations to obtain permits, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 set out a regime for both licensing and regulating the acceptable disposal of controlled waste on land by organizations. From the case study, it is evident that both the environmental Act 1990 and environmental permitting regulation of 2010 will govern the JSF operations. Firstly, the site has a heating oil tank supplier and therefore there is likelihood that JSF has waste generation from oil. Oil spills have great negative impact on the environmental and therefore the Environmental Protection Act allows control disposal of the oil on land (Defra 2006). For excessive disposal of oil, JSF is required to look for better oil waste disposal methods. Defra (2006) maintain that, environmental permitting requires that every company to put up measures to ensure that their operation do not cause any harm to the human health. The fact that the site is enclosed on three sides by a two metre high chain fence, it is necessary for the company to ensure that damages such as the holes on various points are corrected. JSF operation trough this Acts strengthen the various pollution control and thus integrating best practicable environmental operational options within the company. The JSF plan gives regulated facilities carried on at a site. The regulated facilities by JSF shows facilities of different classes with some facilities shown as carried on as part of the operation of the other while other stand alone. Who might regulate the organisation and which part of the company’s operation they might be From the case study plan, the site has various regulated services and therefore its regulators are both the local authority and environment agency. These regulator need to work swaft for recycling oil and other general waste. Here, the environment agency regulated all the waste operations within the organization (Defra 2006). Also JSF has a treatment plant that is connected to the river; the regulator will regulate all water discharging operation within the organizations. The local authority is required to regulate installation of the company waste operations and water discharge activities. This regulation ensures that all installations compile with the environmental permitting Act. The Environment Protection Act indicates that if the operator in this case JSF management fails to comply with an approved competence scheme either the local authority or the environment agency may revoke its permit (Defra 2006). Further, while these two regulators works together, the environment agency can be involved in setting minimum standards for permit regulated by the local authority. How might these regulators enforce the relevant environmental legislation? According to Tromans (1991), eenforcement of environmental legislation is important in improving as well as in the protection of the environment. The regulators are involved in gathering as well as analysing evidence so as to identify and define barriers to effective and efficient enforcement of environmental legislation. After analysis these regulators are able to come up with ways that will assists in overcoming the different barriers (Tromans 1991). The regulators ensure their regulated activities are placed in a more systematic and structured manner. This enables them to identify the specific offences and penalties for the operator offences. Further, the regulators work using a multi agency so as to ensure maximum enforcement of the environmental legislation. Here, the regulators work is system that largely supports communication as well as collaboration ensuring offenders not to get a way to make fraudulent application. Finally, the regulators work closely with the community in the enforcement of environmental legislations (Tromans 1991). The community is normally involved in the assessment and monitoring of the effectiveness of current enforcement by regulators. This is important as the regulators are able to upgrade their enforcement system with an aim of securing compliance by organizations. References Blewitt, J. 2008, Understanding Sustainable Development. London: Earthscan. pp. 21-24. Defra, K., 2006, Contaminated Land: Environmental Protection Act 1990. London: The Stationery Office Ruffing, K. 2007, "Indicators to Measure Decoupling of Environmental Pressure from Economic Growth." In: Hak et al. (2007) pp. 211–222. Tromans, S. 1991, Environmental Protection Act, 1990: Text and Commentary. London: Sweet & Maxwell. Read More