Case Study:
Corporate Social Responsibility
Institutional affiliation
In a business sense, environmental ethics is the study of how humans interact with nature. Particularly on the responsibilities companies have to care for the environment in which it operates. Environmental business ethics has been driven by public awareness of the damages human activities have on the environment (Ferrell &Fraedrich, 2015). Company response to government regulations is the key area of concern in environmental ethics.
According to Weiss corporations and companies have more than an economic duty to stakeholders; they also have a social duty which entails moral obligation and obligations that go beyond legal compliance and requirements. Companies should strive to reduce pollution by complying with the regulations that the government sets and also going an extra mile to ensure that they go green and use renewable energy sources. Companies should ensure that they also properly dispose of non-degradable waste and treat their waste before releasing it back to the environment in order to avoid pollution.
According to Carroll &Buchholtz the earth's resources are limited, and as such, it is the obligation of all human beings to make sure we conserve our environment. It in the best interest of companies and corporations to protect the environment since environmental damages can affect humans as a whole thus taking measures to ensure sustainability benefits all. Companies show that they comply with responsibility for environmental ethics by developing a corporate environmental strategy. The government has put into effect legislations that mitigate pollution by companies and corporations. Companies also are required to pay environmental tax which is an excise tax on pollutants or on goods whose use produce environmental pollutants. According to Weiss the adoption of green tax will reduce pollution in the least costly manner since it will encourage change in behavior in companies and organizations.
One such green tax that has gained favor over the last couple of years is the carbon tax. The carbon tax is an excise tax on the carbon-based content of any fossil fuel (petroleum, coal, oil, and gas) as a means to mitigate greenhouse gasses that cause climate change through global warming (Carroll &Buchholtz, 2014). The carbon tax will encourage the use alternative cleaner energy sources such as hydro, the wind and solar energy. In the United States, there is no apparent green tax but most environmental tax supporters term the gasoline tax as the ‘green tax' in America. There are however various taxes on the emission of conventional air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.
In my opinion, I believe that companies and organizations should strive for sustainable developments because adoption of sustainability effort mitigates business risk from potential disruption of normal operation or damage to its reputation. Companies should also strive for sustainable developments in order to adhere to the norms in the industry including transparency and environmental responsibility. By adopting sustainability efforts, the company can win current market shares and also establish a beachhead with its future clients. Also, by ensuring it strives for sustainable developments the company will be able to establish goodwill with its key stakeholders.
Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas:
Question 1. What legal and ethical responsibilities do companies have regarding the protection of the environment?
Question 2. Cite a legal or ethical guideline that has been enacted to protect the environment and the circumstances under which or reasons why it was written.
Question 3. Should firms invest money in sustainability efforts? Why or why not? Who are the stakeholders affected by this? Explain and defend your position in the discussion.
References:
Ferrell, O. C., &Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.
Carroll, A. B., &Buchholtz, A. K. (2014). Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education.
Weiss, J. W. (2014). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.