Download Middlesex University: Environment and business ethics

Climate Change
Stern Review (2006):
 Scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change
present very serious global risks and it demands an urgent
global reponse
 Scientific evidence points to increasing risks of serious,
irreversible impacts from climate change associated with
business-as-usual paths for emissions
Source:
 Climate change threatens the basic elements of life for
http://www.worldviewofgl
people around the world: access to water, food production, obalwarming.org/pages/g
laciers.html
health, and use of land and the environment
 The damages from climate change will accelerate as the world
get warmer
 The impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed – the
poorest countries and people will suffer earliest and most.
 Climate change may initially have small positive effects for a few
developed countries, but the much higher temperature increases
are likely to be very damaging
(Blowfield and Murray 2008:pp. 238)
The tragedy of the commons
“There was once a village on the shore of a great ocean. Its
people made a good living from the rich fishing grounds
that lay offshore, the bounty of which seemed
inexhaustible. Some of the cleverest fishermen began to
experiment with new ways to catch more fish, borrowing
money to buy bigger and better equipped boats. Since it
was hard to argue with success, other copied their new
techniques. Soon fish began to be hard to find, and their
average size began to decline. Eventually, the fishery
collapsed, bringing economic calamity to the village. A
wise elder commented, ‘You seen, the fish were not free
after all. It was our folly to act as if they were.’”
(cited in Lawrence & Weber 2008)
Sustainable Development
 “Sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.”
(World Commission on Environment and Development [Brundtland Commission] 1987)
Intra-generational justice/equity: fair
distributions across the present population of the
world, in terms of quality of life, measured,
perhaps, by comparative standards of living or
benefits from sharing the resources of the planet
(Blowfield & Murray 2008:pp. 235)
Inter-generational justice/equity: bring in views,
preferences and interests of future generations
(Fisher & Lovell 2009: 344)
see Rawls’ ‘veil of ignorance’
Sustainability
“Sustainability refers to the long-term
maintenance of systems according to
environmental, economic and social
considerations.” (Crane & Matten 2007:23)
Business can only be sustainable if the wider
social, economic and environmental systems in
which they operate are sustainable
supports ‘systems thinking’
Corporate Responsibility
Hart (1997) ‘Beyond Greening’
Pollution prevention
environmental management systems such as ISO
14000
Product stewardship
minimising environmental impact of product
Clean technology
Sustainability vision
Industrial Ecosystems Kalundborg industrial ecosystem
ASNAES
POWER PLANT
Fly ash &
limestone gunk
GYPROC
WALLBOARD
Fly ash
Used
steam
Surplus
heat
NOVO NORDISK
ENZYME PLANT
CITY OF
KALUNDBORG
Waste as
fertilizer
Used
steam
Steam
for heat
Low-grade
cement
CEMENT
COMPANY
High
sulphur gas
Chemicals
CHEMICAL
PLANT
Wastewater
for cooling
FARMS
STATOIL
REFINERY
FISHERY
Heavy oil
Source: Shrivastava 1995, cited in
Crane & Matten 2007:pp. 395