College of Business Administration

1) Sustainability was defined as “an economic state where the demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of the environment to provide for future generations.”

Do you think this can be done? Is it being done now?

Do you think start-up companies will actually apply this theory?

Could we ever get large established companies to change? If they do will consumers accept it?

2) Does the government have the right to intervene and create market conditions in which businesses could go a lot further toward sustainable behavior?

3) Can we really trust government to step in on behalf of citizens to prevent corporate abuses of the environment? What changes would have to occur?

4) Why do we feel it is necessary to have constant growth? Which is healthier, growth or development? How do we implement development?

5) Paul Hawken says, “Markets are superb at setting prices but incapable of recognizing costs.” Why are we so ignorant of the social and environmental costs of business?

6) “Big corporations take care of what they know how to take care of and that is other big things: factories, mass markets, mass production. In this respect corporations are the opposite of nature.” - Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce.

Is this true? Can business and the environment prosper together or is prosperity for one necessarily at the expense of the other?

7) Some argue that Pigou’s point is the equivalent of a “sin” tax. If this is true, are these types of taxes effective means of controlling industrial pollution? Is it okay for companies to pollute as long as they pay for it?

8) If you were a fiscal policymaker, how would you re-vamp the tax system to encourage constructive activities and discourage destructive ones? How would you sell your plan to the public?

9) What products or services have you come across that you consider “green”? Which ones do you actually buy and use, if any? Do you pay more, and if so, why?

10) For every right we assume there is a corresponding responsibility.” - Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce

If you agree with this statement, who should ensure that corporations are acting responsibly? If corporations do not act responsibly should they be reprimanded?

11) Brown says that the new eco-economy will create many new jobs, such as engineers to design products that can be recycled, watershed hydrologists, and environmental architects. Practically, how do we move from our current economy to one such as Brown proposes?

12) Compare Pigou’s solution to Lester Brown’s recommendation for restructuring the economy.

a. Do they cite the same reasons? Are their solutions the same or different? How?

b. Which would you recommend?

13) In “Footprints for Sustainability: The Next Step”, Wachernagle and Yount outline the footprint method of accounting for consumption.

a. If the suggested enhancements to the current model are implemented, do you believe that this method is viable?

b. How does it compare to Pigou and Brown’s methods of accounting for ecological damage on production?