Conclusion

1. Ethics and the Legal Environment – Unit Six The Environment as a Stakeholder Prof. Dawn Courtright Topic Overview Seminar Conclusion

2. Topic Overview • UNIT SIX - The Environment as a Stakeholder • The environment—and the way businesses treat it—affects every living thing on the planet. • Increasing public awareness led to the enactment of the Clean Air Act in 1970 and the Clean Water Act in 1972. • The environment as a stakeholder casts a broad net; it includes the earth itself and everything on it, including human beings. • Because all humans are environmental stakeholders because of our reliance on the environment for our continued existence, environmental issues are not simply about trees and water and birds, but issues that affect all life.

3. Seminar This week's Seminar is about the environment as a stakeholder. For this seminar, all students will role play based on a fictitious company within a fictitious scenario. Students must remain in their assigned role throughout the seminar until the instructor states that the role-playing activity has ended and the final discussion has begun (approximately 15 minutes before the end of the seminar).

4. Seminar • Students whose last names begin with letters A through F will be employees with the Lucky Products Company. • As an employee with the Lucky Products Company, you know your company is considering an expansion into Mexico which would increase production, jobs, etc. • The good news is that you will now begin to work a 12-month year with no layoffs!

5. Seminar • Students whose last names begin with G through M will be managers with the Lucky Products Company. • Your company is considering an expansion into Mexico that would increase production and require the company to acquire more land within the next two years. • Jobs will increase, and there will be less environmental pressure from the U.S. government and the EPA. • However, environmental groups strongly discourage U.S. manufacturing companies from relocating to Mexico because of the environmental dangers in a country with few laws regarding preservation of the environment and no OSHA. • The company stands to gain 25 percent in earnings with such a move, mostly due to fewer environmental restrictions.

6. Seminar • Students whose last names begin with N through Z will be environmental activists. • You are aware of what Lucky Products Company wants to do in Mexico. You are also aware that the Mexican government will not enforce any environmental or health safety laws against U.S. corporations. • Currently in the U.S., Lucky Products Company is routinely in violation of EPA regulations and is seeking a move to Mexico to escape the EPA permit requirements. • You want to stop the expansion into Mexico.

7. Please begin your discussion. Seminar

8. Conclusion The environment is a unique stakeholder of every business because it is a stakeholder that is utilized and consumed by business, and although it cannot defend or advocate for itself, life on Earth depends on appropriate management of this stakeholder. The environment as a stakeholder casts a broad net; it includes the earth itself and everything on it, including human beings. All humans can be considered environmental stakeholders because of our reliance on the environment for our continued existence. Therefore, the environmental issues managers face affect all people, including the managers themselves.

9. Environmentally friendly behavior is no longer a fad. Increasing awareness of environmental issues, other stakeholders, especially consumers, produces a demand that businesses respond to the needs of the environmental stakeholder. Environmental issues affect the Earth, its vegetation, wildlife, atmosphere, and every inhabitant of the planet. The largest challenge comes from difficult choices regarding the handling, containment, and disposal of dangerous or toxic substances. Effective managers must be knowledgeable about the laws that govern environmental issues, and they must also use ethical principles and standards to guide their decision-making. Unethical choices in this area can lead to consequences far more damaging than poor quarterly returns or legal difficulties; they can lead to death. Conclusion

10. Conclusion Every effective manager must monitor the interests of the environmental stakeholder as well as the impact of the business’s actions on the stakeholder. All managers should be aware of laws that regulate the relationship between the environmental stakeholder and the business, yet the effective manger must also apply ethical decision-making processes to all actions and decisions. Even in the absence of legal liability, the ethical manager makes decisions that can stand up to the ethical theories.

11. Conclusion When the interests of the environmental stakeholder as well as the impact of the business’s actions on the stakeholder are ignored, the effect can be tragic. Consider the story of ASARCO in NPR’s “A Toxic Century: Mining Giant Must Clean Up Mess” by John Burnett. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122779177

12. Adjourn Have a great week… “See” you on the Discussion Boards