Economic incentives are instruments that use financial means to motivate polluters to reduce the health and environmental risks posed by their facilities, processes, or products. These incentives provide monetary and near-monetary awards for polluting less and impose costs of various types for polluting more, thus supplying motivation for polluters to change their behavior. The report distinguishes seven basic types of incentives: Pollution charges, fees, and taxes; deposit-refund systems; trading programs; subsidies for pollution control, liability approaches; information disclosure; voluntary programs.
Economic incentives offer several advantages that make them attractive environmental management tools. First, economic incentives, in some circumstances, can be structured to achieve larger reductions in pollution than would result from traditional regulations. Second, economic incentives often can control pollution at lower costs than can traditional regulations. Third, the use of economic incentives, in contrast to that of traditional regulations, can more easily control pollution generated by a multitude of small and dispersed sources. Fourth, economic incentives can stimulate technological improvements and innovations in pollution control in situations where traditional regulatory mechanisms may not.
Progressive companies are shifting rapidly from an approach of compliance to one of proactive environmental management. The revolution in thinking has gone through three stages: 1) the widespread business practice in the 1960s and 1970s of coping with environmental crises as they occurred and of attempting to control the resulting damage; 2) the reactive mode in the 1980s of struggling to comply with rapidly changing government environmental regulations and minimizing the costs of compliance; 3) the proactive environmental management strategy in the 1990s, through which corporations began to anticipate the environmental impacts of their operations, take measures to reduce waste and pollution in advance of regulation, and find positive ways of taking advantage of business opportunities through total quality environmental management.(4) For many firms, environmental values are now becoming an integral part of their corporate cultures and management processes. In a growing number of companies, environmental impacts are being audit...
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...id- to late-1980s executives in many larger corporations began to realize that waste reduction saved money. The forces described earlier began to push many firms into strategies that went beyond compliance.
In the late 1980s proactive environmental management and the total- quality-management movement began to converge. TQM initiatives gave firms unexpected insights into how to make environmental management cost-effective and market-driven. By the beginning of the 1990s, waste minimization programs had been adopted by a diverse group of U.S.- based MNCs, among them Allied Signal, General Dynamics, Dow Chemical, Chevron, Boeing, AT&T, Amoco, General Electric, IBM, Polaroid, and Xerox.(15) Many successful businesses were voluntarily performing internal environmental compliance audits to identify and correct their environmental liabilities, demonstrate good-faith effort, and reduce government pressures. More importantly, the voluntary audits forced businesses to evaluate operating systems, identify the actual cost of controls, and develop environmental performance strategies to eliminate liabilities altogether.
http://environ.uiuc.edu/epareport.htm
With forward movement in society, it is important to consider not just what will propel most toward success, but also what will help to sustain the environment along the way. What may have been considered appropriate decades ago, may no longer be socially acceptable due to the changes observed in both the business world and the environment (Fiske, 2010). Therefore, it is important for organizations thriving in today?s economy to consider how they may capitalize most effectively from their product or service of choice while minimizing or eliminating any damages along the way (Knoke, 2012).
With annual revenue of US $19.02 billion, Chevron Corporation is the 16th largest integrated oil and gas energy company in the world. Globally they account for a workforce of approximately 62,000 (Forbes 2011). In 2010, the company produced 2.763 million barrels of oil per day (Chevron 2012). Corporations as large as Chevron owe a great amount of responsibility towards the society and environment above and beyond the economic and legal obligations. The industry is strongly linked to environmental scandals and companies make various efforts to address these issues (Farache and Perks 2010, 235). The following thesis will review the Environmental performance of Chevron in terms of fulfilling social needs within society and stakeholders.
“Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska” (Perry Page 2). Everyone was excited to have a baby boy born into the family, except Malcolm’s father, Earl Little, because he was ashamed that Malcolm had light skin, blue-green eyes and ash-blonde hair. Malcolm’s mother, Louisa was the same complexion as Malcolm, which is where he got his looks from. Louisa’s father was Scottish, and this made her complexion so light that she passed as white. Earl was very into his color. He was a strong believer of being proud to be black. “Earl was a disciple of Marcus Garvey and was elected president of the Omaha branch of Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. Louisa also joined the UNIA, which emphasized that blacks should be proud of their blackness and their African heritage. It urged them to free themselves from their dependence on whites, economically and otherwise. Garvey taught that instead of integrating whites, blacks should establish their own sovereign nation” (Perry Page 3). Garvey’s philosophy influenced Malcolm’s beliefs. “Malcolm’s father reportedly decided to leave Omaha after Ku Klux Klan horsemen brandishing firearms and blazing torches besieged the Littles’ home, shattering the window panes with their gun but...
For Mill, the freedom that enables each individual to explore his or her own particular way of life is essential for a generous and diverse development of humanity. The only source of potential within society to further continue human development is the spontaneity or creativity that lies within each individual. Mill has a utilitarian view on freedom. He was especially keen on individual liberty because it allowed the greatest measure of happiness. His concern is not to declare liberty as a natural right but to rather set out the appropriate constraints within ‘Civil or Social liberty’. Civil liberty is defined as the limit society can exert its legitimate power over each individual and social liberty has much to do with a political principle
As soon as Europeans brought Africans to America to be slaves, the Africans were seen as an inferior race. Their inferiority meant they did not deserve the same rights as the white people they belonged to, nor did they deserve to be treated as people. These African Americans worked hard as slaves and were viewed as a physically capable race, so when slavery was abolished in the South, whites saw these capabilities as a threat and were frightened by the African Americans. Whites let their fear of African American strength run wild, thus the beginning of racial stereotypes. African Americans were also seen as a lesser species because of their skin color and people began to treat them differently solely because of that reason, beginning the racial
In today’s society there are many stereotypes surrounding the black community, specifically young black males. Stereotypes are not always blatantly expressed; it tends to happen subconsciously. Being born as a black male puts a target on your back before you can even make an impact on the world. Majority of these negative stereotypes come from the media, which does not always portray black males in the best light. Around the country black males are stereotyped to be violent, mischievous, disrespectful, lazy and more. Black males are seen as a threat to people of different ethnicities whether it is in the business world, interactions with law enforcement or even being in the general public. The misperceptions of black males the make it extremely difficult for us to thrive and live in modern society. Ultimately, giving us an unfair advantage simply due to the color of our skin; something of which we have no control.
This case focuses on corporate obstacles to pollution prevention. Pollution prevention can complex especially for large corporations. There are many different forms of pollution prevention including emissions control devices and incremental changes in existing technology. The author reviews the impact of emissions controlled devices, however the focus of the case study is on incremental changes in existing technology. Incremental changes include substituting one or two steps in a production process or relationship changes between production steps. One example of incremental changes that was provided by the author was eliminating chlorofluorocarbons and saving energy by replacing a refrigeration process with a heath exchanger that can exploit waste cooling from another part of the process. There are three critical decision-making stages for incremental changes; identifying a pollution prevention opportunity, finding a solution appropriate to that opportunity, and implementing that solution. The author discusses the three aspects of an organization (culture, ability to process information, and its politics) and how they impact the decision-making stages.
Racism against African American began in the American society during the seventeenth century, when the practice of slavery started to flourish in the South. Racism is “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.” (Dictionary.com) Over the centuries, efforts have been made to equalize the lives of African Americans to their White counterparts. Though acclaimed that the days of racism against African Americans are over, it is infused in all parts of American life and therefore still affecting the victimized. The stratification of racial classes of olden days has left a mark in today’s society. African American racism though said not to be present today has influenced discrepancies in economic classes, self-esteem, and perception of one another, and stereotypes that affected the victimized.
Pollution is a major problem for all of us. People need to recognize this situation so we can start making a difference to this problem. In order to start making a difference, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar a gallon. Fifty percent of this dollar will go towards public transportation, since passenger cars and trucks are a major contribution towards air pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A (10/4, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/emsns.html). Due to the expected increase after this is put forth, the remaining fifty percent of the dollar will go towards safety on these transits. When public transportation increases, air pollution will decrease, which will lessen the harmful health risks towards the environment.
Protecting the environment has become an important issue in today’s society. There is no longer any doubt that businesses should consider their social responsibility and the impact of their activities on their stakeholders. In addition, firms are beginning to realize that corporate sustainability can prove to be a win win. There are multiple benefits of sustainability linked to costs, revenues, community relations, and more. The decision to strive for sustainability is obvious, but this process is easier said than done. Developing a sustainability strategy is difficult in itself, but the most challenging factor is the actual implementation. Marc J. Esptein, the author of Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environments, and Economic Impacts, provides companies with tactical methods and approaches, as well as real life examples and personal advice in order to assist in helping companies with achieving corporate sustainability.
Malcolm’s negative view of white people began at a young age; he saw his childhood home burned down by the Ku Klux Klan. He vividly recalled the sound of the of the pistol shots
The initiative recognized that nurses have the opportunity to change health care, as we know it, and transform it to meet the needs of the ACA. The barriers that were identified include “outdated policies, regulations and cultural barriers” (IOM, 2011, p. 85). While increasing the scope of practice for APRNs was a large part of this key message, cultural diversity, gender diversity, and the aging workforce were also highlighted.
The larger a company becomes, the larger their global footprint. IBM recognized that they were susceptible to devastating the environment with both their manufacturing and services. In order to become environmentally sustainable and remain an environmental leader, they developed the Global Environmental Management System in 1971 which identified impact projections. Some of the major sources that attributed to environmental impact were the use of chemicals and water-intensive processes. IBM focused on a means to more efficiently manage these processes, from storage, use and disposal. Furthermore, they went on to create more eco-friendly products that could be recycled. The EMS policy focuses on employee well-being as well as resource conservation and creating products that have less of an impact on the environment. These responsibilities and expectations are seen on a company wide spectrum, where IBM employees have a commitment to environmental leadership. Training is provided to all employees, who are consistently being updated and certifying their compliance with IBM’s expectations.
One of John Stuart Mill’s principles was that of individual freedom, which he speaks of in On Liberty. As we use our own thought to base our feelings of concepts and ideas, we are utilising our individual freedom. The freedom no one can take from us is the liberty to think as we would like. Expressing those thoughts, however, is a different story, for not everyone in this world is as free to express as they are to think without certain consequences. Our thoughts are the beginning of everything: from a simple thought grows an idea. It’s like having a seed to a plant and knowing what will grow of it, but not how it will affect those around it.
In this environment conscious world, there is a growing argument about the ways in which a business should run its activities that should not have any negative impact on the environment overall. Raderbauer, M. (2011) A research done at the University of Exeter indicated that Industry has been the perpetrator behind ruining the environment for fulfilling its short-term profits instead of long-term environment consequences. Many businesses have understood the importance of preserving the environment and thus it is in the betterment of its own business, keeping in mind the long-term profits they can have while making environment responsible decisions. Business are more affected by environment because they run with the help of all the raw materials