STEN 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Resource Depletion, Resource Management, Water Cycle
20 Jun 2018
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CHAPTER 4 – THE ENVIRONEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
PRACTICES
Fundamentals of economic growth:
Organizational Growth
But growth also..
Leads to changes in organizational structure and
hierarchy
Separates owners form day-to-day operations as
complexity increases
Leads to increasing the role differentiation and
specialization
Increases complexity of operations requiring
professional managers
Increases the needs for resources
Results in separation of ownership-management
The Consumption Journey
Industrial Revolution – marked societal shift toward technology and scientific methodologies
- Beginning of consumption-based marketplace
- Intensification of destructive pressure on our environment
Lack of regulations governing business behaviour – prosperity measured by activity and
monetary gain, not by environmental stewardship
Environmental stewardship (fig 4.1)– the
integration of sustainability values into the managing
of environmental resources
Degradation – the deterioration of the environment
through the depletion of resources and the destruction
of ecosystems
For business and the planet to survive, organizations
must make the transition from a compliance/eco-
management approach to a sustainable strategy
approach.
The goal is to design and redesign business processes in a way that, while allowing for increased
wealth and enhanced competitive advantage, incorporates the principles of humankind and
resource protection and sustainability for the future.
The Sustainability Challenge [L2]
Five Great Sustainability Challenges (fig. 4.5)
1. Climate change
- Climate degradation is on-going, but our
ability to respond to the climate change trends
is diminishing, estimates of 40 years to make
drastic changes to stop this downward spiral
- Climate Change Special Initiative – Building a
Reduced-Carbon Economy (fig. 4.6)
1. Improving energy efficiency (ex. low energy lighting)
2. Decarbonizing the energy supply (continuing to use alternative
sources of energy – wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, hydro, nuclear)
3. Transportation innovation (ex. more fuel efficient vehicles,
manufacturers to set fuel economy as top priority)
4. Biodiversity
5. Human behaviour modification
- “Green carpet” – forests, trees and plant life
- Deforestation a huge threat – contributes to carbon
emissions, affects water cycle and Earth’s average temperature
- Success lies in our ability to change human behaviour as much as it lies in the
development and application of new technologies
- Kyoto Protocol – 1997 (effective 2005) international agreement that binds
participating nations into stabilizing and reducing greenhouse (GHG) emissions, by
at least 40% below 1990 levels
- The Copenhagen Accord – 2009 agreement that set targets for the reduction and
mitigation of greenhouse gases for 2020, Canada likely to not reach goal (likely
only 50% of goal of reduction)
! Although such governmental and regulatory policies and initiatives will up the
compliance scale, it is managers and individuals who need to take climate change
responsibility into the business operation to ensure the behaviours exhibited reflect a true
integration of environmental sustainability practices into organizational and corporate
changes.
2. Pollution and health
- Toxins air, water sources, dumping of chemical waste
- Blacksmith Institute – top 6 toxic threats (lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic,
pesticides, radionuclides)
- Alberta’s Oil Sands – huge economic benefits but major environmental concerns
(sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions, uses large amounts of water)
3. The energy crunch
- Energy demands have grown continuously and will continue to grow in areas such as
China, India and the Middle East, despite the implementation of sustainability
initiatives
- BTU = British thermal units – a measure of heat required to raise the temperature of
one of water by 1°F
Document Summary
Chapter 4 the environement and sustainable business. Leads to changes in organizational structure and hierarchy. Leads to increasing the role differentiation and specialization. Separates owners form day-to-day operations as complexity increases. Industrial revolution marked societal shift toward technology and scientific methodologies. Lack of regulations governing business behaviour prosperity measured by activity and monetary gain, not by environmental stewardship. Environmental stewardship (fig 4. 1) the integration of sustainability values into the managing of environmental resources. Degradation the deterioration of the environment through the depletion of resources and the destruction of ecosystems. For business and the planet to survive, organizations must make the transition from a compliance/eco- management approach to a sustainable strategy approach. The goal is to design and redesign business processes in a way that, while allowing for increased wealth and enhanced competitive advantage, incorporates the principles of humankind and resource protection and sustainability for the future.
