College of Business Administration

1) Richard Welford and Richard Starkey state that the goals of business and environment seemed hopelessly irreconcilable for years. As we saw during the commons game, what helps one would almost certainly harm the other. Nearly a decade of green initiatives in the world’s corporations has given rise to a more optimistic mind-set, which promises the ultimate reconciliation of environmental and economic concerns. In this new world, both business and the environment can win.

Do you agree? Do you believe being green is still a huge cost to business?

2) Do you think a company can gain a competitive advantage through the application of strict environmental policies?

3) A large chemical company committed itself to an environmental management program but soon found that it was loosing a large amount of capital due to its environmental spending. Managers in this company began to understand that the economic forces at work in the industry were making it increasingly difficult to find win-win solutions. As such, the company considered reducing its commitments to the environment. As environmental challenges become more complex and costs continue to skyrocket, win-win solutions become increasingly scarce.

How do companies overcome this situation?

4) “Yet the authors choose to treat this challenge, and the lack of framework for managers to address it, as somehow different from other business challenges that result from changes in the business environment, such as the quickening global economy, a shrinking labor pool or changing technology.” -Richard A Clark

Do you think that the environmental problems businesses face are different than the problems they faced before?

5) “In regard to environmental policies Frances Cairncross states, “Companies that can already meet high standards may lobby to make them mandatory to keep out competitors… The higher standards of the licensing scheme required extensive capital investment, which small ‘cowboy’ companies could not afford.

Do you think that strict legal regulations will push small businesses out of the market?

6) Some of the opponents of EMS base their argument on the protection of the economy and that EMS and regulations will slow down businesses. But Richard Clark states, “A strong global economy is sustainable only if it integrates economic, social, and environmental strategy.” This statement also supports Sonya’s thinking that we are all a part of an inseparable web, but she also states that we must change our view of the world simultaneously.

Do you think that education on environmental management systems could assist in a simultaneous change and incorporate an economic, social, and environmental perspective?

7) “In addition to high cost, the current system of environmental regulation in the United States often deters innovative solutions or renders them impossible.” Does U.S. environmental regulation place U.S. based companies at a disadvantage to foreign competition?

8) How can managers accelerate their companies’ progress towards a more competitive environmental approach?

9) Can the adoption of formal EMS procedures produce more sustainable enviromental and economic outcomes?

10) Environmental Management Systems have been promoted as a strategy for achieving sustainable use of the environment by business themselves – “governance without government.” Can environmental management systems replace the need for regulatory oversight?