Environmental Concerns: Pressure Groups (CIE IGCSE Business)

• Sustainable development meets the needs of the present population without compromising the ability of future generations to achieve a comparable standard of living
  
  • It may involve several aspects
    • Limiting the use of non-renewable resources and reducing harmful emissions
    • Protecting natural habitats and at-risk species
    • Using land and natural resources in an environmentally responsible way
      
      

• Governments often encourage business sustainability by providing information as well as grants or low-interest loans and sometimes legislate to enforce more responsible decision-making

• Businesses can contribute to sustainable development in several ways
  • By doing so, they can benefit from an improved reputation, which can attract new customers and increase their sales
  • Business costs may be reduced by adopting responsible practices, and this can help improve profits
     

 How Businesses can Contribute to Sustainable Development

Contribution	Explanation	Example
Recycling	Re-use scarce resources and purchase recycled raw materials and components Use recycling services  Encourage customers to return items for reuse or recycling	M&S's Buy Anywhere, Return Anywhere reusable packaging scheme involves customers buying certain products in reusable packaging in exchange for deposit They can return empty containers which have been washed and sanitised, refilled and put back in supermarkets for new consumers to use
Limiting resource use	Adopt lean production techniques to minimise resource use and wastage Encourage customers to consume products responsibly	Coca-Cola aims to replace all water used in creating their drinks back to the environment to ensure water security by 2030
Use renewable energy sources	Invest in renewable energy sources such as solar panels Replace equipment with energy-efficient technology to minimise carbon footprint	Unilever is using 100% renewable electricity across all its factories, offices, warehouses and distribution centres They also generates their own power with on-site solar installations in 23 countries
Innovation	Design products that are durable, reusable and recyclable Implement eco-friendly practices in production, packaging and distribution to reduce the environmental impact	IKEA's Take-Back programme allows customers to return furniture to be repurposed or recycled

• Pressure groups are organisations, or groups of people, that seek to influence the policies and actions of businesses or governments
• Their primary objective is to promote a specific cause or agenda
• Pressure groups want the company to support their cause or take action on an issue
  • E.g. An animal rights group may want a clothing company to stop using animal products in their clothing
• Consumers have the ability to be one of the most powerful pressure groups

Ways Consumers can Encourage Environmentally Sustainable Business Practices

Purchase products that are eco-friendly and have minimal environmental impact, such as FairTrade or USDA Organic	Use social media platforms to congratulate and share details of sustainable businesses	Communicate directly with businesses to express concerns about their environmental practices
Support campaigns that promote sustainability and put pressure on companies to make positive changes	Boycott businesses with poor environmental records	Contact political representatives to request stronger environmental laws and policies at local, national and international levels

 

Examples of international environmental pressure groups

• Pressure groups also lobby political representatives to enact laws that require businesses to meet environmental standards and cease environmentally-damaging practices
  • Well-known international environmental pressure groups include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Earthwatch
    • Greenpeace's programme of direct action has led to the outlawing of many environmental threats including the 1982 worldwide ban on commercial whale culling, the prohibition on mining in Antarctica and the 2018 UK ban of microbeads in personal cleansing products

Diagram: Logos of Environmental Pressure Groups

Powerful international pressure groups can have a significant impact on business activities
 

• National or regional pressure groups can also achieve significant targeted success in persuading - or forcing - businesses to improve their practices or change decisions
  • In 2015 UK-based pressure group Buglife campaigned successfully to stop a building development which had threatened a critically endangered species of insect

  • Dutch pressure group Milieudefensie bought land on which a new international airport was to be constructed and sold small pieces of that land to many individuals, making it impossible for the development to continue