Environmental issues - Business

Environment is the surroundings in which people live and business operate

As businesses manaufactur goods or provide services they mak us of the environment;

• They use up resources
• Create waste
• Create pollution
• Add to global warming
• Create transport difficulties and congestion

Number of pollution issues

• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Noise pollution

Variety of pressure groups that have been st up to combat these issues e.g. friends of the north

• Issues around workers smoking
• Use of mobile phone
• Dangerous fumes create din the production process requiring extreme health and safety procedures
• Need to wear protective clothing
• Costs involved in becoming compliant can impact profitability and lead to job cuts
• Higher awareness of environmental issues amongst workers impacts on recruitment

UK small country -> limited land space

This leads to:

• Land congestion
• Traffic congestion

Has led government to introduce various schemes to rduce traffic levels e.g. congestion charging in london, Durham and grant permission for commercial toll roads on M6 toll

• encourage train travel
• limited parking spaces and encourage use of public transport
• encourage shared rides

Kyoto agrement aims to limit greenhouse gases emissions

Impacts in business:

• Increase efficiency of machinery - limit emissions
• Changing production techniques and product designs
• Introducing policies of using less cars and more public transport

Society is increasingly aware of the depletion of our natural resources e.g. fuel sources - coal, oil etc.

Business can asopt various strategies to counter;

• use alternative power sources
• increase converstion methods
• replace natural resources with renewable ones

This can impact on employees as follows:

• retraining in use of new production techniques
• retaining use of new machinery
• new health and safety issues

looking at lowering emissions and improving fuel eonomy in its vehicles and also reducing landfill wastage at its plants. Toyotas 'green' complex in California is one of the largest commercial solar panel systems in the USA.

Social and ethical issues

Increasingly businesses have social responsibilities; beyong making a profit they have to take into account wider issues whih society feels are important. Ethics is about the 'right' or 'wrong' of any decisions. Many decisions are dictated by law hoever some are not ad a business needs to make an ethical decision.

Business Ethics

About making moral decisions in manufacturing or selling goods and providing services. In some areas legislation control or constrain businesses to act ethically:

e.g. minimum wage act 1988, food and safety act 1990