Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01

11/16/2011 1

“Ethics is the difference between what a person has the right to do and the right thing to do – provides set of principles to guide choices to act responsibly.”

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Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01References and Agenda

1. Hal Taback and Ram Ramanan, “Environmental Ethics – a casebook for Environmental Practitioners, 2013, Taylor and Francis/CRC

Introductions 10 minSocial Contract 10 minSustainability 10 minEthics Basics 20 minBreak 10 minEthics Dilemma 60 min

Social Contract

Changing Ambiance

Triple Bottom-line

Ethics – the 4th Dimension

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Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01Sustainability Triple Bottom-line and the 4th Dimension

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“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every

man’s greed."

Father of a Nation, Mahatma Gandhi(1869 – 1948)

“The concern for man and his destiny must always be the chief interest of all technical effort. Never forget it among your diagrams and equations."

Scientist extraordinaire Albert Einstein(1879 – 1955)

01/30/2012

Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01Social Contract - Social Responsibility

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“Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species – man – acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world."

Poet and Nature Advocate

Rachel Carson(1907 – 1964)

01/09/2012

Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01Social Contract - Environmental Responsibility

Common man with an uncommon vision, Cree Indian (19th century)

“Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find you cannot eat money“

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"It takes twenty years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it."

World’s richest man & investment icon, Warren Buffet

Why go beyond compliance? To protect investments! To lead markets!

World’s largest retailer Wal-Mart’s CEO, Lee Scott

Wal-Mart’s three ambitious goals: • Use 100 percent renewable energy • Create zero waste and • Sell products that sustain Wal-Mart's

resources and the environment

http://www.scmr.com/article/CA6457969.html

01/09/2012

Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01Social Contract - Corporate Sustainability

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““I believe it is my duty to make money and still more

money and to use the money I make for the good of my

fellow man, according to the dictates of my conscience”

Oil Magnate, John D. Rockefeller, Sr.(1839 – 1937)

“Is the rich aware of how four billion of the six billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out, we’d want to get involved."

Software Magnate,Bill Gates(1955 – )

01/30/2012

Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01Social Contract - Corporate Philanthropy

Corporation

Shareholders

Employees

OthersCommunity

Government

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Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01Social Contract - Shareholder Primacy to Stakeholder Primacy

Social contract has changed:Principal driver of societal transformation is the recognition that business is no longer the sole property or interest of a very fewPublic interest in business ethics and social responsibility has been continually changing for 40 yearsCorporation is a centerpiece of a complex society; that proactively meets stakeholder expectations

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Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01– Changing Business Ambiance

Corporation

Globalization

Digital Connectivit

y

Resource Scarcity

Ecological Decline

Disparate Prosperity

Accelerated

Consumption

Globalization: e.g. Money flow across borders 3 times global GDPDigital Connectivity: e.g. Internet and Mobile phone users have grown to 2 and 5 billion respectively in 2010 Disparate Prosperity: Persistent poverty is bad for business, increases risksEcological Decline: e.g. Ecological damage US$2.15 trillion in 2008Accelerated Consumption: e.g. total energy consumption up 47% while population is up 26% to 7 billion Resource Scarcity: e.g. 4 billion people live in water stressed or water scarce areas

KPMG International, “Building Business Value in a Changing World”, accessed Dec. 2012 http://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/building-business-value.pdf

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Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01 – Global Sustainability Mega-forces

Climate Change

Energy and Fuel

Material Resource Scarcity

Water Scarcity

Population Growth

Urbanization

Wealth

Food SecurityEco-system DeclineDeforestation

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KPMG International, “Building Business Value in a Changing World”, accessed Dec. 2012 http://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/building-business-value.pdf

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• Internet music theft & shoplifting • Student athletes accepting bribes• Plagiarizing papers and reports• Parents choosing getting into a

good school over ethics• College students changing grades • Athletes taking performance

enhancing drugs• Fake facts & citations by

journalists• Lawyer’s overcharging• Contractors offering bribes

• Corporations cooking the books• Cops/Politicians taking bribes• Dishonest stock market pundits• Executives taking undue bonuses• Clergy bilking parishioners

• How can companies expect employees to act ethically when they have been exposed to a lifetime of cheating.

• Cheating creeps up like a Boa Constrictor

Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01 – The Cheating Culture and the Boa Constrictor

“The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead” by David Callahan, (New York: Harcourt Publishers, 2004)

• Trustworthiness• Respect• Responsibility• Justice & Fairness• Caring• Civic Virtue & Citizenship______________________________

Environmental Ethics - Participatory Workshop 01 – The Six Pillars of Character

“Making Ethical Decisions” by Michael Josephson, accessed December 2012, http://www.sfjohnson.com/acad/ethics/Making_Ethical_Decisions.pdf page 1

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