Research Information System
in: Business Ethics, Fatma Zeynep ÖZATA, Editor, Anadolu University Press, Eskişehir, pp.61-88, 2020
Worldwide environmental difficulties have countless effects on business activities. The importance of the environment has increased and has become a stakeholder in industrial processes. The “costs” of production facilities, such as greenhouse
gas emissions, air pollution, groundwater pollution and depletion, soil erosion, and disposal of nuclear wastes are often covered by “external” parties (e.g. winds, neighbors, future generations). Some environmental problems experienced today have
the possibility to negatively affect the world and human life for the foreseeable future. Worldwide climate change, soil destruction and erosion, species extinction and nuclear waste could threaten human nature for an unlimited future.
The environmental responsibilities of organizations arise from their concerns as today’s people and forthcoming generations rely upon the natural environment to survive. People need clean air to breathe, abundant topsoil and seas to create nutrition, fresh water to drink, an ozone layer to scan solar radioactivity, and a biosphere that provides the sensitive climate stability that individual life can survive.
This chapter begins by examining the concept of natural environment and environmental sustainability. Then, we concentrate on the effects of organizations’ activities on the natural environment (such as climate change, energy, water, biodiversity,
air pollution, waste management, ozone depletion, oceans and fishery, deforestation). At last we will focus on environmental legislation, business response to sustainability issues, and environmental sustainability practices of businesses.