Tolani College of commerce

Andheri (east)
Semester V
2010-2011

Subject:
Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

Topic:
Environmental ethics

Guide:
Prof. Vijay Kapoor
 Group Members

Sr.no Roll No Name Sign

1. 03 Chirag Bhatt

2. 22 Elston Menezes

3. 39 Pravin Poojari

4. 52 Hemant Vyas

pg. 2
 ACKNOWLEGMENT

We immensely thank Prof. Vijay Kapoor sir for

providing us this opportunity of learning something new and
exploring new avenues of Business Ethics and also for guiding us
throughout and suggesting changes wherever necessary. Without
sir’s help this Project would stand incomplete and less valuable.

pg. 3
 INDEX
Sr.no Content Page no

1 What is Environmental Ethics ? 5

2 Origins of Environmental Ethics 5

3 Why Is Environmental Ethics Important? 6

4 Environment Challenges 7

5 What is Deep Ecology? 8

6 Principle of Deep Ecology 9

7 Ethical Decisions In Respect To Environment 10

8 Different Approaches to support Environment 11

Responsibility
9 Environmental issues in Western Countries 12

10 Remedial Measures To Control Problem 13

11 Environmental Issues In India 14

12 Effort taken by the Government Of India 16

13 What is Green Initiative? 17

14 Reason for adopting Green Initiatives 17

15 Companies adopting Green Initiatives 19

16 Bibliography 25

pg. 4
What is Environmental Ethics?
Environmental ethics is a branch of environmental philosophy, that
studies the ethical relationship between human beings and the environment.
Environmental ethics believes in the ethical relationship between human beings and
the natural environment. Human beings are a part of the society and so are the other
living beings. When we talk about the philosophical principle that guides our life,
we often ignore the fact that even plants and animals are a part of our lives. They are
an integral part of the environment and hence have a right to be considered a part of
the human life. On these lines, it is clear that they should also be associated with our
guiding principles as well as our moral and ethical values.

Origins of environmental ethics

Many people associate the beginnings of today's environmental ethics with the first
Earth Day held on April 22, 1970, in the United States. On that day (and every April
since), organizers around the country rallied and demonstrated to make people and
political leaders aware of the importance of caring for and preserving the
environment. That first Earth Day launched the beginning of an environmental
awareness in the United States and later around the world. It made many people
realize that some sense of environmental responsibility should be developed and
applied to our daily lives.

Most movements do not just suddenly happen out of nowhere; they are usually
preceded by many other influential events. In the environmental movement, perhaps
the earliest of these was the 1949 publication of a book by American naturalist Aldo

pg. 5
Leopold (1887–1948). Leopold had fallen in love with nature as a youngster and
eventually joined the newly established U.S. Forest Service in 1909. As a game
management expert, he came to appreciate and understand how deeply humans
affected the natural world. A year after he died, his landmark work, A Sand County
Almanac, was published. It contained not only his strong defense of the environment
but his argument that what was needed was a new philosophy about man and nature,
or what would come to be called an environmental ethic. This idea was carried on by
others when, two decades later, the first Earth Day was held.

Why Is Environmental Ethics Important?

 Humans are slowly depleting all of our natural resources that other
generations need for their future

 Our world was created for us to live and thrive on and we are slowly killing it

 Sustainability for the environment is crucial so that we do not destruct the

world that God created

pg. 6
Environment Challenges
1. Pollution.
2. Consumption of non renewable resources like oil.
3. Use of renewable resources such as water above the rate of natural
replenishment.
4. Change in the universal balance in the ecosystem through the artificial stellar
activities.
5. Inviting climatic change through the rapid felling of trees and fast removal of
forests.
6. The outlook of winning a war against the nature through the scientific
activities.
7. Toxic waste.
8. Contamination of ground water.
9. Oil spills destroying the seashores.
10. Fossils fuels producing carbon dioxide resulting in green house effect.
11. Usage of fluro carbons that deplete the ozone layer.

pg. 7
What is Deep Ecology?
Deep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy that recognizes the inherent

worth of other beings aside from their utility. The philosophy emphasizes the

interdependent nature of human and non-human life as well as the importance of

the ecosystem and natural processes. It provides a foundation for

the environmental, ecology and green movements and has fostered a new system

of environmental ethics.

Deep ecology's core principle is the belief that, like humanity, the living

environment as a whole has the same right to live and flourish. Deep ecology

describes itself as "deep" because it persists in asking deeper questions concerning

"why" and "how" and thus is concerned with the fundamental philosophical

questions about the impacts of human life as one part of the ecosphere, rather than

with a narrow view of ecology as a branch of biological science, and aims to avoid

merely anthropocentric environmentalism, which is concerned with conservation of

the environment only for exploitation by and for humans purposes, which excludes

the fundamental philosophy of deep ecology. Deep ecology seeks a more holistic

view of the world we live in and seeks to apply to life the understanding that

separate parts of the ecosystem (including humans) function as a whole.

pg. 8
 Principles of Deep Ecology

1. The well-being and flourishing of human and non-human life

on Earth have value in themselves (synonyms: intrinsic value,
inherent worth). These values are independent of the usefulness of
the non-human world for human purposes.
2. Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realization
of these values and are also values in themselves.
3. Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity
except to satisfy vital needs.
4. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a
substantially smaller population. The flourishing of non-human life
requires a smaller human population.
5. Present human interference with the non-human world is
excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.
6. Policies must therefore be changed. These policies affect basic
economic, technological and ideological structures. The resulting
state of affairs will be deeply different from the present.
7. The ideological change will be mainly that of appreciating life
quality (dwelling in situations of inherent value) rather than adhering
to an increasingly higher standard of living. There will be a profound
awareness of the difference between bigness and greatness.

8. Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation

directly or indirectly to try to implement the necessary changes

pg. 9
Ethical Decisions that Human Beings
make with respect to the Environment.

For example:

 Should we continue to clear cut forests for the sake of human

consumption?
 Should we continue to propagate?
 Should we continue to make gasoline powered vehicles?
 What environmental obligations do we need to keep for future
generations?
 Is it right for humans to knowingly cause the extinction of a species
for the convenience of humanity?

pg. 10
Different Approaches to support Environment
Responsibility

1. Anthropocentrism approach
It focuses on the utility that human beings can derive by protecting the
environment. Since the survival and well being of human beings depends on
the environment, it is the moral responsibility of human beings to support and
preserve the environment.

2. According to the axiological approach

It is the moral responsibility to protect animals. It implies the responsibility of
environment with regard to preservation of animals and animal’s rights. This
approach states it is essential for human being to have a moral standing
towards the animals.

3. Eco-centric approach
It is considered to be a radical approach to the environmental responsibility.
The theory states that, environment has to be influenced from direct moral
consideration but not the one which is derived from human interest. The term
direct responsibility means doing activities, which aim at preserving the
inherent nature and environment.

pg. 11
 Although different approaches have been put forward to support
environmental responsibility, but a successful foundation for environmental
ethics should fulfill the following tasks:-
It has to explain how human beings have degraded the environment crisis,
It must explain how human beings can protect the environment.
Environment degradation can be better understood by examining some of the
events that had a major impact on the environment like the Bhopal disaster
and shell oil spill

Environmental issues in Western Countries

As business expands, the issues concerned with the environment start gaining
importance. Most Western Countries have faced problem due to environmental
degradation. For example:

 Netherland had faced industrial pollution due to the dumping of industrial

waters and the release of hazardous chemicals into the rivers.

 In Spain, pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents
from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity
nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification

 In Australia, soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development,

urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of
poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens
the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier
Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened

pg. 12
 by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh
water resources

Remedial Measures to Control Problem

NRA (National Rivers Authority):

NRA investigated air, water and soil pollution in 1991. The NRA classified the
severity of pollution incidents according to farm, industrial to farm, industrial, oil,
sewage and water industry. Reports revealed that the chemical industry recorded the
highest percentage of environment pollution. The most industrial polluter was the
mineral industry followed by the chemical industry. The NRA also dealt with
pollution by court action, if any firm was found to be irresponsible towards the
environment or causing damage to the environment. NRA imposed fines against
such offenders and issued a formal caution notice.

European Legislation:

The European Legislation took an initiative to protect the environment and has
proposed more than 120 different acts based on a three-pronged policy:

Promoting the benefits of pollution prevention.

Customizing legislation to meet the requirement of European member states.

pg. 13
Developing and enforcing a ‘polluter’s pay policy’ with an aim to impose fines for
the defaulters.

Initiatives by Governments:

Programs like green agendas initiated by several governments have encouraged

many organizations to participate in conservation programs. Some organizations
initiated environment protection measures such as installation of desulphurization
plants and introduced energy savings measures.

Environmental Issues in India

The rapid growing population and economic development is leading to a number
of environmental issues in India because of the uncontrolled growth
of urbanization and industrialization, expansion and massive intensification
of agriculture, and the destruction of forests.

Major environmental issues are Forest and Agricultural land degradation, Resource
depletion (water, mineral, forest, sand, rocks etc.,), Environmental degradation,
Public Health, Loss of Biodiversity, Loss of resilience in ecosystems, Livelihood
Security for the Poor[1].

pg. 14
It is estimated that the country’s population will increase to about 1.26 billion by the
year 2016. The projected population indicates that India will be the first most
populous country in the world and China will be ranking second in the year 2050[2].
India having 18% of the world's population on 2.4% of world's total area has greatly
increased the pressure on its natural resources. Water shortages, soil exhaustion and
erosion, deforestation, air and water pollution afflicts many areas.

India's water supply and sanitation issues are related to many environmental issues.

Population growth and economic development are contributing to many serious

environmental calamities in India. These include heavy pressure on land,land
degradation, forests, habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity. Changing
consumption pattern has led to rising demand for energy. The final outcomes of this
are air pollution, global warming, climate change, water scarcity and water
pollution.

Environmental issues in India include various natural hazards, particularly cyclones

and annual monsoon floods, population growth, increasing individual consumption,
industrialization, infrastructural development, poor agricultural practices, and
resource misdistribution have led to substantial human transformation of India’s
natural environment. An estimated 60% of cultivated land suffers from soil erosion,
water logging, and salinity. It is also estimated that between 4.7 and 12 billion tons
of topsoil are lost annually from soil erosion. From 1947 to 2002, average annual per
capita water availability declined by almost 70% to 1,822 cubic meters,
and overexploitation of groundwater is problematic in the states of Haryana, Punjab,
and Uttar Pradesh. Forest area covers 18.34% of India’s geographic area
(637000 km²). Nearly half of the country’s forest cover is found in the state of
Madhya Pradesh (20.7%) and the seven states of the northeast (25.7%); the latter is

pg. 15
experiencing net forest loss. Forest cover is declining because of harvesting for fuel
wood and the expansion of agricultural land. These trends, combined with increasing
industrial and motor vehicle pollution output, have led to atmospheric temperature
increases, shifting precipitation patterns, and declining intervals of drought
recurrence in many areas.

Effort taken by the Government of India

The Government Of India(GOI) has adopted a comprehensive policy to protect

public health, forest, and wildlife. But the policy has an important limitation that no
court can enforce it. some of the measure such as :

THE INDIAN FOREST ACT, 1927

WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT,1972

Animal Welfare Board of India Act, 1962

Environment Protection Act, 1986

The Environment Protection Act(1986) focused on reducing industrial pollution.

The report stated that the estimated annual cost of environment degradation is
4.5%of GDP(average).

pg. 16
Green Initiative
Companies are becoming more environment conscious and are adopting
green policies. Green initiatives in business range from Environmental friendly
technological, green tourism, green community and environmental campaigning and
environmental counseling e.g. .An from Environmental friendly technology innovation
such as recyclable toner cartridges in laser printers reduces wastage.
Environmental friendly technology encourages the development and use of
technology that will reduce waste and pollution. Green tourism is aimed at preserving
the landscape. Green community aims at transparency of environmental activities of
organizations. Environmental counseling programs are conducted to voice their ideas
and opinion on environmental issues.

Reason for adopting Green Initiatives

1. Economic benefit from increased efficiency: By reducing the wastages the firm
can decrease handling expense, fines and costly input, this reduces the cost and
make more economical.

pg. 17
2. Opportunity: In India, around 25% of the consumers prefer environmental-friendly
products, and around 28% may be considered healthy conscious. Therefore, green
marketers have diverse and fairly sizeable segments to cater to. The Surf Excel
detergent which saves water (advertised with the message—"do bucket paani roz
bachana") and the energy-saving LG consumers durables are examples of green
marketing. We also have green buildings which are efficient in their use of energy,
water and construction materials, and which reduce the impact on human health and
the environment through better design, construction, operation, maintenance and
waste disposal. In India, the green building movement, spearheaded by the
Confederation of Indian industry (CII) - Godrej Green business Center, has gained
tremendous impetus over the last few years. From 20,000 sq ft in 2003, India's
green building footprint is now over 25 million sq ft.
3. Social Responsibility: Many companies have started realizing that they must
behave in an environment-friendly fashion. They believe both in achieving
environmental objectives as well as profit related objectives. The HSBC became the
world's first bank to go carbon-neutral last year. Other examples include Coca-Cola,
which has invested in various recycling activities. Walt Disney World in Florida, US,
has an extensive waste management program and infrastructure in place.

4. Governmental Pressure: Various regulations rare framed by the government to

protect consumers and the society at large. The Indian government too has
developed a framework of legislations to reduce the production of harmful goods and
by products. These reduce the industry's production and consumers' consumption of
harmful goods, including those detrimental to the environment; for example, the ban
of plastic bags in Mumbai, prohibition of smoking in public areas, etc.

5. Competitive Pressure: Many companies undertake green initiative programme to

maintain their competitive edge. Efficient product ensures the usages of cleaner
technologies, process innovation and waste reduction.

pg. 18
6. Public images: consumers, investors and employees respond positively to
companies with a reputation for good environmental performance

Companies Adopting Green Initiatives

Judging by the number of large, small and mid-size Indian companies that are setting the trend
with green initiatives, India is serious about building environmental sustainability into her business
practices. The following companies who made it to the list of top 10 green Indian
companies prove the statistics right! Judging by the number of large, small and
mid-size Indian companies that are setting the trend with green initiatives, India is
serious about building environmental sustainability into her business practices.
The following companies who made it to the list of top 10 green Indian
companies prove the statistics right!

Suzlon One
Suzlon Energy
Earth Global
The world’s fourth largest wind-turbine maker is among the greenest and best
Headquarters in
Indian companies in India. Tulsi Tanti, the visionary behind Suzlon, convinced
Pune - India’s
the world that wind is the energy of the future and built his factory in Pondicherry
greenest
to run entirely on wind power. Suzlon’s corporate building is the most energy-
building 
efficient building ever built in India.

pg. 19
 

ITC
ITC Limited
Papekraft’s
ITC strengthened their commitment to green technologies by introducing ‘ozone-
premium range
treated elemental chlorine free’ bleaching technology for the first time in India.
of eco-friendly
The result is an entire new range of top green products and solutions: the
business paper
environmentally friendly multi-purpose paper that is less polluting than its
traditional counterpart.

Tata Metaliks Limited (TML)

Every day is Environment Day at TML, one of the top green
firms in India. A practical example that made everyone sit
up and take notice is the company’s policy to discourage
working on Saturdays at the corporate office. Lights are also
switched off during the day with the entire office depending
on sunlight.

“Everybody is motivated to do  
somethingabout reducing carbon
footprints”, says Harsh Jha,  
Managing Director – TML
 

pg. 20
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL)
Aerial view of
Adjudged the best performer in the 2009-2010 Green Business Survey, TNPL
TNPL
was awarded the Green Business Leadership Award in the Pulp and Paper Sector.
The initiatives undertaken by this top green firm in India includes two Clean
Development Mechanism projects and a wind farm project that helped generate 2,30,323 Carbon
Emission Reductions earning Rs. 17.40 Crore.

Wipro Technologies
The list of top 10 green Indian companies is never
complete without Wipro which climbed to the top five
brand league in Greenpeace's 'Guide to Greener
Electronics' ranking. Despite the global financial crisis,
Wipro held fast to its commitment towards energy
efficiency and was lauded for launching energy star
Wipro broadens its green IT initiatives
compliant products in the market.
through its participation in "The Green
Grid"  

HCL Technologies
This IT major may be considered as the icon ofIndian green
initiatives, thanks to the “go green” steps taken in solving the
problem of toxics and e-waste in the electronics industry. HCL is The HCL Green Bag

committed to phasing out the hazardous vinyl plastic and campaign that aimed at
tackling e-waste 

pg. 21
Brominated Flame Retardants from its products and has called for a Restriction on Hazardous
Substances (RoHS) legislation in India.

Oil and Natural GasCompany (ONGC)

India’s largest oil producer, ONGC, is all set to lead
the list of top 10 green Indian companies with
energy-efficient, green crematoriums that will soon
replace the traditional wooden pyre across the country.
ONGC’s Mokshada Green Cremation initiative will
save 60 to 70% of wood and a fourth of the burning
ONGC’s green projects contribute to
time per cremation.
increased environmental awareness among
local communinities

IndusInd Bank
Green banking has been catching up as among the top Indian
green initiatives ever since IndusInd opened the country’s first
solar-powered ATM and pioneered an eco-savvy change in the
Indian banking sector. The bank is planning for more such IndusInd’s solar-powered ATM
initiatives in addressing the challenges of climate change. expects to save around 1,980
Kw of energy annually
 

pg. 22
 

IDEA Cellular
One of the best Indian companies, IDEA, paints India green with its national
‘Use Mobile, Save Paper’ campaign. The company had organized Green Pledge
campaigns at Indian cities where thousands came forward and pledged to save
paper and trees. IDEA has also set up bus shelters with potted plants and tendril
climbers to convey the green message.

IDEA’s green
bus shelter in
Mumbai

Hero Honda Motors

Hero Honda is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in India and an equally
responsible top green firm in India. The company’s philosophy of continuous innovation
in green products and solutions has played a key role in striking the right balance between
business, mankind and nature.

pg. 23
Hero Honda Green Ambassadors: winners of the

international inter-school environment quiz competition

Bibliography

pg. 24
http://www.scienceclarified.com/El-Ex/Environmental-
Ethics.htmlhttp://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-
environmental/
http://daphne.palomar.edu/calenvironment/ethics.htm
http://gadfly.igc.org/e-ethics/Intro-ee.htm
http://www.ethicsweb.ca/resources/environmental/issues.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194023/ethics
http://www.ethicsweb.ca/resources/environmental/index.html

REFERENCE TEXT BOOKS

VIPUL’S PRAKASHAN-ANITA BOBADE
HIMALAYA PUBLISHING HOUSE-RIYA RUPANI

pg. 25