Environmental Ethics and Sustainability: A Casebook for Environmental Professionals

265 Pages·2013·3.495 MB·English

by  H J Taback

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING T
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ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS R
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A Casebook for Environmental Professionals
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“Sustainable value creation requires an ethical framework that guides the strategy and N
behavior of organizations. This book offers a convincing case for why business must embrace V
purpose as well as profits if we are to safeguard our planet’s natural resources. Through diverse I
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case studies, as well as a holistic survey of ethical theory and practice, the authors provide a O
valuable framework for how our institutions—and ourselves—can be their best.” N
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—Dipak C. Jain, INSEAD Chaired Professor of Marketing and former Dean of INSEAD,
France and former Dean of Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Illinois, USA E
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“This book is compelling reading. Hal and Ram have deftly examined and discussed T
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the complex tapestry of ‘environmental ethics’ with a unique perspective. The expanded
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and overarching connection of ‘ethics’ as the fourth component to the traditional triple
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bottom-line (people, planet, and profit) of sustainability is fascinating. The 51 attention- T
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grabbing real world ‘on-the job’ conflict and judgment-decision case studies are persuasive,
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and offer practical insights and solutions to environmental practitioners and students.” C
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—Krish Ravishankar, Director, Worldwide Environmental Affairs & Social Responsibility,
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Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Houston, Texas, USA n
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Environmental Ethics and Sustainability: A Casebook for Environmental Professionals
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introduces a decision-making model constructed from the viewpoint that ethics are not about T
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the way things are, but about the way things should be.
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The authors of this book explore the notion that doing the right thing is not a natural human A
instinct, and that the techniques needed for resolving an ethical dilemma require training. The B
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book defines ethics as “the difference between what a person has the right to do and the right L
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thing to do!” It details a framework for understanding and resolving various ethical claims
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and concentrates on providing hands-on practical training for environmental practitioners Y Hal Taback • Ram Ramanan
and students aspiring to become environmental leaders and professionals.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
and SUSTAINABILITY
A Casebook for Environmental Professionals

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
and SUSTAINABILITY
A Casebook for Environmental Professionals
Hal Taback • Ram Ramanan
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2014 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
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Version Date: 20130619
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To
Joyce
Hal Taback
To
Charu, Bala, Raj, and Jana
Ram Ramanan
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Contents
Preface ...................................................................................................................xiii
Acknowledgments .............................................................................................xvii
About the Authors ..............................................................................................xix
Section I Environmental Ethics—Genesis and
Challenges
1. Natural Instincts and Learned Behavior ...................................................3
1.1 The (Un)ethical Culture .......................................................................5
1.1.1 Women of Valor and Whistleblowing ...................................7
1.1.2 Short-Term Focus—Shareholder Value Devastation ...........8
1.2 Making Ethical Decisions—Six Pillars of Character .....................10
1.2.1 Definition of Ethics ................................................................11
1.2.1.1 Morals ......................................................................11
1.2.1.2 Ethical and Ethically Neutral Values...................12
1.2.2 Making Ethical Decisions .....................................................12
1.2.2.1 Why Act Ethically When It’s Not in Our
Self-Interest? ............................................................14
1.2.2.2 How to Recognize if a Situation Involves an
Ethical Dilemma .....................................................16
1.2.3 Six Pillars of Character ..........................................................17
1.2.3.1 Trustworthiness......................................................17
1.2.3.2 Respect .....................................................................19
1.2.3.3 Responsibility .........................................................20
1.2.3.4 Justice and Fairness ................................................21
1.2.3.5 Caring ......................................................................22
1.2.3.6 Civic Virtue and Citizenship ................................22
1.3 Ethics, Philosophy, and Religion .......................................................23
1.3.1 Religious Values .....................................................................24
1.3.2 Christianity .............................................................................24
1.3.3 Judaism ....................................................................................25
1.3.4 Hinduism ................................................................................26
1.3.5 Buddhism ................................................................................28
1.3.6 Islam.........................................................................................29
1.3.7 Enlightened Self-Interest, Agnosticism, and Atheism .....31
Endnotes ..........................................................................................................34
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC vii
viii Contents
2. Environmental Ethics and Public Policy .................................................37
2.1 Human Beings and the Environment ..............................................37
2.1.1 Anthropocentrism .................................................................38
2.1.2 Biocentrism .............................................................................39
2.1.3 Nature ......................................................................................40
2.1.4 Balancing Human Need and the Planet .............................41
2.2 Environmental Economics .................................................................42
2.2.1 Economic Theories and Public Goods ................................42
2.2.1.1 Myth of Markets .....................................................42
2.2.1.2 Market Externality .................................................43
2.2.1.3 Classification of Goods ..........................................44
2.2.1.4 Tragedy of the Commons ......................................45
2.2.1.5 Property Rights to Overcome Externality ..........45
2.2.2 Economic Instruments and Regulatory Policy ..................46
2.2.2.1 Valuation and Cost–Benefit Analysis ..................47
2.2.2.2 Risk Management and Resource
Prioritization ......................................................50
2.2.2.3 Malthusian and Solovian Hybrid ........................51
2.3 Environmental Advocacy and Select Mega-Issues ........................53
2.3.1 Advocacy and Activism ........................................................53
2.3.2 Climate Change, Renewable Energy, and Carbon
Share .....................................................................................55
2.3.2.1 Consensus of Scientists and Global Treaties ......55
2.3.2.2 Carbon Share—The Prime Environmental
Ethics Dilemma ......................................................55
2.3.2.3 Government Intervention to Contain Global
Warming ..................................................................56
2.3.2.4 Climate Change, Power Generation, and
Renewable Energy ..................................................57
2.3.3 Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Chemicals in Products ......58
2.3.4 Biodiversity—Aspect of Bioethics .......................................60
2.3.5 Water Stress ............................................................................62
Endnotes ..........................................................................................................63
3. Environmental Ethics and Corporate Governance ................................67
3.1 Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ......................67
3.1.1 Advent of Corporate Social Responsibility ........................68
3.1.2 Morphing from Basic to Strategic Corporate Social
Responsibility .........................................................................70
3.1.3 Serving and Seeking Fortune at the Bottom of the
Pyramid ...................................................................................72
3.1.4 Transforming from CSR to Creating Social Impact
(CSI) ......................................................................................73
3.2 Framework for Reasoning to Make Ethical Decisions ...................75
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC