Business Ethics and the Natural Environment

Business Ethics and the Natural Environment examines the present status of relations between corporate enterprise and the natural environment in the world today. What obligations does the corporation bear to protect the natural environment, to respect entities that are not human and not protected by law, to be concerned with humans that will not exist for decades into the future, and to seek more environmentally friendly ways to do business? The author argues that the search for “green” innovations in business practice yields dividends beyond expectation, and that the competitive firm in this century will be the firm whose practices protect and enhance the natural environment. An excellent resource for students, this book provides a full background in ethics, an overview of business ethics, environmental legal issues and environmental philosophy, and an account of the problems associated with globalization and the response of nongovernmental organizations.

Preface. Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Ethics: Terms and Forms of Reasoning. Case 1: New England Fisheries. 2. From Ethics to Business Ethics. Case 2: Hooker Chemical and Love Canal. 3. From Ethics to Environmental Ethics. Case 3: Great Apes as Bushmeat. 4. The Law and the Natural Environment. Case 4: Pacific Lumber. 5. Green Strategies and New Opportunities. Case 5: Ben & Jerry’s. 6. Globalizing: Environmental Problems Abroad. Case 6: Shell Oil in Nigeria. 7. The Role of Civil Society Organizations. Case 7: Monsanto and the GMOs. 8. Sustainability: The New Directions for Business. Case 8: The Bronx Community Paper Company. Bibliography. Index

Lisa H. Newton is Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Program in Applied Ethics, and Director of the Program in Environmental Studies at Fairfield University; she is also an Associate in Medicine at Yale Medical School. Her work includes Ethics and Sustainability: Sustainable Development and the Moral Life (2003), Wake Up Calls: Classic Cases in Business Ethics (2nd edn., 2003), and Taking Sides: Controversial Issues in Business Ethics and Society (8th edn., 2004).

“With business’s renewed focus on sustainable growth, Newton’s hopeful book comes at the right time, providing us theoretically sound, eloquently presented, and practically wise frameworks and conclusions.” Dennis J. Moberg, Santa Clara University, and President, Society for Business Ethics “This excellent book perfectly balances philosophical and case study analysis to help students explore within today’s political and legal framework the responsibilities of business and of individuals to the natural environment.” Mark Sagoff, University of Maryland