Environmental and Business Ethics

Course Specification• Issues in Environmental Ethics

– The issue of how humans should relate to the environment, its resources and species;

– secular approaches– the Gaia hypothesis; • Issues in business ethics:

– The relationship between business and consumers; – the relationship between employers and employees; – the relationship between business and the environment; – business and globalisation;

• The application and the different approaches of the ethical theories listed above to environmental and business ethics.

How do environmental and business ethics relate to one another?

• A farmer in the UK decides to increase the yield of his wheat by giving a high dosage of nitrogen fertilizers. This, in turn, leads to a greater multiplication of pests which attach this crop. The wheat is more vulnerable to disease as it is genetically uniform. This is the consequence of artificial breeding to wild strain. If he tried to grow a wild strain the yields would be much poorer, but it would be less subject to disease. He decides to spray the crop with pesticides in order to keep the yields high. The market pressure to produce cheap wheat is high since there are other competing sources from Canada and the USA. The public demands for cheaper food keeps the prices down with a low profit margin. Unfortunately, the high level of nitrates originating from the fertilizer runs into the river water nearby and means that it is no longer acceptable for human consumption. Also pesticides have killed a large number of fish so that local fisherman go out of business.

• Whose interests are at stake in this case? How should they be weighed against each other?

Humans impact on the environment• Human beings compete with other living

things for resources and space. As the world’s population continues to increase, and standards of living improve, there is serious danger of a permanent change to the global environment.

• Human activities have led to the pollution of the environment, and a reduction in the amount of land available for other animals and plants, which makes it difficult for some species to survive. There is a need to achieve a level of development that also sustains the environment for future generations.– non-renewable energy resources, such as coal,

oil and natural gas, are being used up rapidly– raw materials are being used up rapidly– more waste is being produced– more pollution is being caused

What are the consequences of industrial growth for the environment?

Human beings and societies

need industrial growth.

Industrial growth can

bring devastating

ecological harm.

Natural habits can be

destroyed as factories are

built.

Growth leads to energy

demands and to the building of more and more power stations.

Pollution is often a

consequence of industrial growth.

What possible models do we have for the relationship between humans and the environment? Whose needs

do they prioritise? Anthropocentric, human centred, "light green"

Biocentric, life centred, "mid green"

Ecocentred, planet centred, "deep green"

How have Christians traditionally understood their relationship with the environment?

God’s abundance

Human’s special

position

Stewardship

Eschaton

To what extent could Christian environmental theology be blamed for our environmental crisis?

• What is White’s perspective?• What do you think?