a) Firms and Industries should
become more efficient in using natural resources because of the
following reasons:
- Natural resources are always
limited, and it becomes very important to use them judiciously. For
example, any country has limited land and water availability. If
these resources are not used properly, it could lead to a situation
where they become scarce.
- Natural resources are the true
wealth of a nation or society and have a large impact on the
economy. Any inefficient use of natural resources by firms and
industries may adversely affect the economy.
- By using natural resources
efficiently, firms and industries can reduce their costs and
improve their performance.
b) Businesses have the following
ethical responsibilities towards the environment:
- They should ensure that their
actions do not have an adverse impact on the flora and fauna in the
regions where they operate.
- They should ensure that they do not
pollute the environment. For example, Industries should keep a
check on their emissions so that the environment is not
polluted.
- They should ensure that any
process-waste, industrial-waste, scrap is disposed of in an
environment-friendly manner.
- They should not prioritize business
over the environment, and should never indulge in actions that may
harm the environment.
Environmental responsibilities like
the reduction of carbon footprint, increased use of renewable
sources of energy, etc are generally universal in nature. However,
for better and stricter implementation, every country needs to have
its own action plans for the same. A country may come up with
strict penalties for not following the environment-related norms as
per the action plan. With their own plans, countries will have
better control over the implementation of these plans. This will
make all businesses and individuals to take these plans seriously
and implement them correctly, without fail.