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Environmental Issues and Corporate Social Responsibility - Prisha Mathur

1. The document discusses several key environmental issues including biodiversity loss, water pollution, deforestation, pollution, and climate change. It notes the threats these issues pose to both humans and the environment. 2. It then discusses corporate social responsibility and how companies are increasingly regulating themselves to address environmental and social issues through initiatives like being eco-friendly, promoting diversity, and ensuring ethical business practices. 3. IKEA and UPS are provided as examples of companies with strong corporate social responsibility programs, with IKEA focusing on sustainability in its wood sourcing, lighting, and waste reduction and UPS independently auditing its carbon emissions reductions.

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PRISHA MATHUR
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39 views3 pages

Environmental Issues and Corporate Social Responsibility - Prisha Mathur

1. The document discusses several key environmental issues including biodiversity loss, water pollution, deforestation, pollution, and climate change. It notes the threats these issues pose to both humans and the environment. 2. It then discusses corporate social responsibility and how companies are increasingly regulating themselves to address environmental and social issues through initiatives like being eco-friendly, promoting diversity, and ensuring ethical business practices. 3. IKEA and UPS are provided as examples of companies with strong corporate social responsibility programs, with IKEA focusing on sustainability in its wood sourcing, lighting, and waste reduction and UPS independently auditing its carbon emissions reductions.

Uploaded by

PRISHA MATHUR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

As the years go by, environmental issues keep climbing our global list of priorities, dwarfing all
other concerns. And each year, new problems and worries emerge. As a result, we’re constantly
having to triage, to decide which environmental crisis takes precedence over which other
environmental crisis.

So, where do we stand as we move towards 2023? Certainly, we’re at an historic advantage
over previous years, equipped with unprecedented political will and regulatory infrastructure.
For example, the UN plans ‘historic’ regulation of the plastics industry by 2024, regulation that
the Executive of the United Nations’ Environment Programme has called ‘the most significant
environmental multilateral deal since the Paris Accords.’ Clearly, then, the tide, strewn with
plastic waste as it may be, is turning.

1. Biodiversity

Biodiversity is, at once, both the most complexly precarious and the most vital feature of our
global ecosystem, supplying ecologies with both specialization and diversification, productive
fragility and reproductive robustness. Biodiversity is essentially every living thing and every
ecosystem that makes up what we commonly term ‘the environment’. Global warming,
pollution, deforestation, intensive agriculture – all of these developments are slashing
biodiversity down to worrying dimensions.

2. Water

Water pollution is, of course, a significant concern, as our dependence on water forms one of
our most crucial interactions with the natural environment. Not only does the pollution of our
water-sources exert a tremendous financial strain upon businesses and governments, but it is
killing both humans and marine life, too. From oil spills to the leaking of toxic chemicals to an
abundance of plastic waste entering our waterways, we’re damaging the most valuable
resource.
3. Deforestation

It’s a truism that, nevertheless, remains under-appreciated: humans need plants to survive,
especially trees. Most obviously, plants supply humans with food, but they purify water, furnish
medicine and produce oxygen, too. We are placing trees under the most stress. Warnings have
emerged from all quarters that if deforestation races along at its present pace, we won’t have
much of the valuable forestry left.

4. Pollution

Now, we’ve already seen a spotlight on water pollution, but what of the other forms of
pollution besetting the natural environment? All 7 types of pollution – air, water, soil, noise,
radioactive, light and thermal – are all having a negative impact on our environment. The
environment is becoming hazardous on a daily basis.

5. Climate Change

As pointed out by a recent UN report, without ‘unprecedented changes’ in our actions and
behavior, our planet will suffer drastically from global warming in just 12 years. Greenhouse
gasses are the main cause of climate change, trapping in the sun’s heat and warming the
surface of the earth.
Corporate social responsibility is a type of business self-regulation with the aim of social
accountability and making a positive impact on society. Some ways that a company can
embrace CSR include being environmentally friendly and eco-conscious; promoting equality,
diversity, and inclusion in the workplace; treating employees with respect; giving back to the
community; and ensuring business decisions are ethical.
CSR evolved from the voluntary choices of individual companies to mandatory regulations at
regional, national and international levels. More and more companies are now going green!
There are many inspiring examples of companies around the world who are doing things right
by the planet. And good actions deserve attention and celebration because they make the
world feel a little brighter. So let’s shine a spotlight:

Swiss company IKEA has an encompassing CSR initiative called People & Planet, involving
specific and action plans to reach 3 their ambitious goals:
● enabling a healthy and sustainable living for over one billion people,
● creating a circular business that recreates all of the resources they use and
● ensuring a fair and equal workspace for every person in their supply chain.

The Climate and Energy actions they have undertaken so far have achieved astonishing results,
including the use of 100% sustainable wood suppliers, which they specifically select based on
their use of forestry methods that ensure renewable resources. Also, they have completely
shifted to LED light bulbs, which use 85% less energy than their incandescent predecessors.
Their “More for Less” philosophy also led to waste being minimized, by making production
smarter. Their full sustainability strategy covers the use of cotton, water and food.

Another great example of a green approach is UPS. Because their business is transporting
goods, carbon emissions are the main concern in terms of environmental impact. For a few
years, they have hired an independent auditing firm to keep track of their energy use and
carbon emissions reductions.

As important as CSR is for the community, it is equally valuable for a company. CSR activities
can help forge a stronger bond between employees and corporations, boost morale, and aid
both employees and employers in feeling more connected to the world around them.

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