Deck 9: Business and Environmental Sustainability

Question 1

Conduct a web search for ecological footprint analysis. You should be able to find a self-administered test to evaluate your own ecological footprint. If everyone on earth lived as you do, how many earths would be required to support this lifestyle?

Answer 1

Environmental sustainability in business stands for the responsible decisions that a firm undertakes by reducing the negative effect of business practices taking over the environment. The basic motive of environment sustainability is to make decisions and take actions that are in best interest of the natural world.
Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) stands for the analysis wherein a comparison is made of the consumption and lifestyles of people against the nature's ability to provide for this amount of consumption. This analysis determines whether current lifestyles are sustainable or not.
The EFA of Mr. Y could be described by stating that Mr. Y lives an average life wherein he tries to save water, electricity, and other natural and man-made resources so as to lead an environment-friendly lifestyle leaving limited ecological footprints. He is aware and takes actions and decisions that prevents negative impact over the environment.
If everyone on earth lived as Mr. Y do, then there would only one earth be needed in which everyone lives at present to support the kind of lifestyle they live. This is because if every human being saves the resources available to them, then there will never be scarcity of anything for anyone and all will be able to obtain and avail the required resources leading a good and environment-friendly lifestyle.

Question 2

Research corporate sustainability reports. How many corporations can you find that issue annual reports on their progress towards sustainability? Can you research a company that does not and explore why they do not (perhaps through its critics), or whether it has plans to change?

Answer 2

Corporate sustainability stands for the business actions that aims and creates long-term value for shareholders by providing opportunities and management of risks that provides for economic, environmental and social developments.
There are several firms that has come up and posted with sustainability reports online mentioning the actions that the firm has undertaken towards achieving sustainable business activities and the plans the firm possess for continuous and better sustainable actions in future. This could be because undertaking sustainable business actions is the need of the hour and every firm needs to contribute towards this.
And, there is hardly any firm that is not into sustainable business actions and does not undertake business actions that are environment-friendly. This is the reason there was no such firm online that skips sustainable development business actions and does not posts a report of the same.

Question 3

A movement within the European Union requires that business take back their products at the end of their useful life. Can you learn the details of such laws? Discuss whether or not you believe such a law could be passed in the United States. Should the U.S. have similar laws?

Answer 3

Life-cycle of product generally starts from introduction of the product in the market, followed by its growth, maturity, and then the product faces a decline stage wherein the product stops receiving more amount of growth, and as a result the product becomes obsolete from the market that is it disappears.
It is mentioned that one of the movements in EU (European Union) requires the firms to take back its products once the useful life of that product ends. The details of this law could be described by stating that under EPR (extended producer responsibility), the manufacturer of a product bears a responsibility- financial or physical to treat or dispose the consumer products after that product is being completely utilized by the consumer. In this, the producer of the product has to channelize collection, storage, transportation etc. of the used product in an environment-friendly way and recycle and dismantle the product effectively.
Such a law could be passed in USSS Country because there are large number of products that are manufacture din the country, and after the life cycle of the product ends, the product is not disposed or recycled properly which increases residues in the environment harmful for the nature as a whole.
Thus, on this basis it could be said that such a law should exist in USSS Country which will handle large amount of wastes and residues in the environment and will facilitate clean surroundings and less amount of industrial as well as finished goods waste.

Question 4

Apply the concept of sustainability to a variety of businesses and industries. What would sustainable agriculture require? What are sustainable energy sources? What would sustainable transportation be? What would be required to turn your home town into a sustainable community?

Question 5

Investigate what is involved in an environmental audit. Has such an audit been conducted at your own college or university? In what ways has your own school adopted sustainable practices? In what ways would your school need to change to become more sustainable?

Question 6

Do you believe that business has any direct ethical duties to living beings other than humans? Do animals, plants, or ecosystems have rights? What criteria have you used in answering such questions? What is your own standard for determining what objects count, from a moral point of view?

Question 7

Investigate LEED (Leadership in energy and Environmental Design) building designs. If possible, arrange a visit to a local building designed according to LEED principles. Should all new buildings be required by law to adopt LEED design standards and conform to the LEED rating system?

Question 8

As a research project, choose a product with which you are familiar (one with local connections is best), and trace its entire life cycle. From where does this product originate? What resources go into its design and manufacture? How it is transported, sold, used, disposed? Along each step in the life cycle of this product, analyze the economic, environmental, and ethical costs and benefits. Consider if a service could be exchanged for this product. Some examples might include you local drinking water, food items such as beef or chicken, any product sold at a local farmer's market, building materials used in local projects.