Environmental Issues and Business Ethics

OCR GCSE A293

WHAT ENVIRONMENT ISSUES CAN YOU THINK OF?

Team activity: who can think of the most environment issues?

Example: climate change

How many did your team get?

WHICH ENVIRONMENT ISSUES MIGHT LATHOM’S DAIRY BE INTERESTED IN?

Possible Issues for Lathom’s

• Air pollution from methane gas – causing greenhouses gasses and therefore global warming

• Manure disposal – could be an excellent crop fertilizer

• Looking closely at animal feed to prevent nitrates (through manure) leaking into the ground

• Flushing urine down drains with high pressure jets could pollute the nearby rivers.

Cows and flatulence

• Farming is responsible for about 14% of the world's greenhouse gases.

• A large amount of these emissions come from methane, which, in terms of its contribution to global warming, is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

• The world's 1.5 billion cows and billions of other grazing animals emit dozens of polluting gases, including lots of methane.

• Two-thirds of all ammonia comes from cows.• They belch more than they emit flatulence – fact!

Link includes 6 min audio

Cows and manure

• There is the potential to convert manure into biogas which can generate electricity, or (with a little modification) and fuel vehicles.

How consumers have responded to pressure for greater environmental responsibility

• Consumers can use their power to protect limited natural resources

• Customers choices drive the marketplace

• See the Directgov website (click the ie pix) for greener funerals, weddings, travel, home, garden and leisure.

Link to direct.govIntroducesprecycling

Consumer responsibility• Reduce

– Less packaging

• Reuse– Milk bottles and bags for life

• Recycle– Blue and brown bins

Watch this slideshow to see many examplesOf where packaging has been reduced.There are lots more that

you can add to this list. Create a table with three columns and lets put some detail in...

Result of consumer responsibility

• Reduction in demand for raw materials

• Using recycled materials to make new products uses less energy and fewer emissions

• Reduction of waste going to landfill

CAN YOU GUESS WHO ARE THE MOST ADMIRED BRITISH BUSINESSES?

(FOR THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY?)

How business has responded to pressure for greater environmental responsibility

Cadbury’s environmental commitments

• In 2008, we launched the award winning Eco Egg range; yummy Easter eggs wrapped simply in foil. The range includes Cadbury Treasure Eggs, with a 68% reduction in packaging and the Cadbury Egg Heads, with a 39% reduction.

• Water is a scarce commodity and we have looked at ways to reduce water consumption across the business.

M&S Plan A

• “The five pillars represent the key areas where we believe we can tackle the biggest challenges facing us as a retailer.

• These five areas are: Climate Change, Waste, Sustainable Raw Materials, Health and being a Fair Partner”

Environmental policy

To avoid the risk of dangerous climate change, it is generally accepted that it will be necessary to limit the concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

This will require substantial reductions in global emissions over the coming decades.

Unilever’s Environmental policy

• Environmental responsibility underpins our activities wherever we operate, such as product and packaging innovation, promoting greater use of recycling, teaching children and contributing to conservation.

Climate change – co2 emissions and global warming

• Climate change is the term used to explain the changing weather patterns the earth is experiencing.

• Because of climate change, the UK is seeing hotter summers, milder winters, higher sea levels and increased flooding.

Climate change – co2 emissions and global warming

• Human activity is contributing to climate change through the production of greenhouse gases.

• These gases - particularly CO2 - are being released into the earth's atmosphere, where they form a layer, which prevents heat from escaping, causing a warming effect.

Climate change – co2 emissions and global warming

• Businesses can help to tackle climate change by reducing the levels of greenhouse gases they produce.

• Some businesses, particularly those that are energy-intensive, will have requirements to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the UK's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol.

• How are extra greenhouse gases produced? Extra greenhouse gases are produced through activities which release carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). These activities include:

• Burning coal and petrol, known as 'fossil fuels'

• Cutting down of rainforests and other forests

• Animal waste which lets off methane

Global warming what could happen?

If Earth gets hotter, some of the important changes could happen:

• Water expands when it's heated and oceans absorb more heat than land, so sea levels would rise.

• Sea levels would also rise due to the melting of the glaciers and sea ice.

• Cities on coasts would flood. • Places that usually get lots of rain

and snowfall might get hotter and drier.

• Lakes and rivers could dry up. • There would be more droughts

making hard to grow crops. • Less water would be available for

drinking, showers and swimming pools.

• Some plants and animals might become extinct because of the heat.

• Hurricanes, tornadoes and other storms which are caused by changes in heat and water evaporation may get more common.

How can the consumer help stop global warming?

• There are ways you can help cut greenhouse gases and help stop global warming. They are simple things, but can make a difference if everyone does them!

• Re-cycle glass bottles, jars, newspapers and magazines and tin cans. Save them and take them to local re-cycling centres.

• Re-use plastic shopping bags and envelopes, don't get new ones

• Persuade you mum or dad (or whoever does the gardening) to have a compost heap.

• Put a brick in a plastic bag into your toilet cistern, then the toilet will use less water each time you flush. Don't worry that's plenty of water to get rid of...

• Use paper on both sides. Try and buy products that don't use much packaging.

• Give unwanted gifts and clothes to a charity shop. • Only fill the kettle up with the amount of water

you need to boil that time. • Don't leave the TV or video on standby. • If you get lift to school in a car, take your mates

along for the ride. • Ask whoever does your washing to use the

machine at 40 degrees, this helps conserve power.

• Switch lights off when you're not in the room • Get a clockwork mobile phone recharger • Cycle to places! • Have showers instead of baths.

How many are you already doing? Who is the greenest in the class?

Ways a business can be more environmentally friendly

• As a group brainstorm as many ways as possible that you think a company can go “green”.

• See if you can beat the list on the next slide.

Going green....

1. Recycling ink cartridges2. Producing goods with less packaging3. Using solar energy4. Switching to energy saving light bulbs5. Using a smaller font (less paper)6. Using web based technology – less paper7. Becoming a paperless office8. Online marketing9. Switching off lights at night (shop windows)10.Using recycled batteries11.Buying vehicles of the business with less co2

emissions12.Using conference call instead of travelling to a

meeting13.Encourage staff to cycle to work or car share14.Switching to a wind turbine *see next slide as it

appears in the case study

Wind turbine (appears in the case study)• Producing your own energy could be

cheaper than buying it from energy companies. In addition, you can also sell any excess energy you generate to energy companies, using Feed-in Tariffs

• Wind turbines can have a life of up to 22.5 years but need service checks every few years to make sure they work efficiently.

• A 2.5kW system will cost around £14,900 to buy and install.

• You also have to consider conservation and planning issues, such as the visual impact and noise. You normally need permission from the local authority to install a system.

Social costs and benefits of business activity

Costs• Air pollution – you may

need to invest in lorries that emit less co2

• Water pollution – it is illegal to pollute rivers, streams, sea etc

• Soil pollution – you may need to invest in removal of toxins that leak into the soil

Benefits• Reducing your energy use can save you money. • Reducing your use of raw materials can cut

your costs, minimise your waste and lower your waste disposal bills.

• Reducing your water use can cut your water bills and also lower your waste water disposal costs.

• Recycling equipment and materials could make you money and save on disposal costs - you may be able to sell old equipment or parts to subsidise the cost of buying new ones.

• Taking steps to prevent environmental damage will reduce the risk of having to carry out potentially expensive repairwork in the event of an environmental incident. (BP)

• From Business Link

BP – oil spill• April 20 2010 BP drilling rig

(DEEP HORIZON) explodes kills 11 people

• 39 millions tonnes of oil spill into the sea

• Massive impact on the environment - birds

• Fishermen now becoming ill- blaming the dispersing chemicals

• Cost BP £3.1 billion to clean it up

(The fix) (Cost)What happened?

Environmental issues and the opportunities for business

1. Communication– Opportunity to

genuinely engage with consumers on green issues. People want east straightforward ideas that can make a positive green contribution.

Sainsbury's video 6 mins

Environmental issues and the opportunities for business

• Government– Huge opportunity for

Government - the countries biggest consumer – to make millions of smaller greener buying decisions

– Spends over £220 billion a year on goods and services

Environmental issues and the opportunities for business

• Waste– An opportunity to save

costs by minimising waste

– An oppprt7unity to gain sales by redesigning packaging – helping the consumers to go greener

Morrisons

One simple solutionHow many types of costsCan be saved?

Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY

• Living and working in ways that do not jeopardise our current and future social, environmental and economic resources

• social and environmental practices that protect and enhance the human and natural resources needed by future generations to enjoy a quality of life equal to or greater than our own.

Sustainable Development Commission

Ethical business behaviour

• Includes working towards the ending of child labour, forced labour, and sweatshops, and looking at health and safety, labour conditions and labour rights.

• The branch of ethics that examines questions of moral right and wrong arising in the context of business practice or theory

Bitesize ethical behaviour video 5 mins

Ethical business behaviour

Primark childLabour – Panoramaclip

Discussion Sheet toDownloadIn Word

ETHICAL TRADE• Ethical trade means that

retailers, brands and their suppliers take responsibility for improving the working conditions of the people who make the products they sell.

• Most of these workers are employed by supplier companies around the world, many of them based in poor countries where laws designed to protect workers' rights are inadequate or not enforced. Ethical Trade Initiative

ETI – the last decade

Specimen paper question

Answers and more questions

OCR specimen paper

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