Environmental Management

&
Corporate Social Responsibility

BBA II SEMESTER
Module I
• Introduction to Environment and its components
• Introduction to Environmental Crisis
• Climate change: Cause, Consequences, measures and strategies deployed by companies
• Environment Degradation : Meaning & Types (Natural & man induced), Role of Business in
Environment Degradation
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)-Three Core Values of EIA, EIA in India, Strategic
Environmental Assessment
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Introduction to Social Issues, Crises, Challenges
• Role of Business in Social Degradation
• Responsibility of Business in Social Development
• Global Environmental Management-Sustainable Development Goals, Business Sustainability
• ESG Framework: Measurement & Reporting
• Recapitulation
What is Environmental studies
Environmental studies is an applied science as its seeks practical answers to making
human civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite resources.
Q1. What is environment?
Everything that surrounds or affects an organism during its life time is collectively
known as its environment like people; place and things which can be either natural or
man-made.
‘The term environment is used to describe, in the aggregate, all the external forces,
influences and conditions, which affect the life, nature behavior and the growth,
development and maturity of living organisms’ (Douglas and Holland).
‘Environment refers to the sum total of all conditions which surround man at a given
point in space and time’ (C.C.Park)
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT
Abiotic environment :
Biotic environment
Main ABIOTIC elements of the environment:
• Lithosphere- The crust, the earth’s topmost layer, is composed of several minerals.

Mineral matter

Soil water

Soil atmosphere

Micronutrients and
macronutrients
 Atmosphere
• The mixture of gases
• Covers the earth’s area
comprising of water and landmass
to a height of many kilometres.

• Nitrogen 78.05%
• Oxygen 20.95%
• Carbon dioxide 0.03%
It is a gaseous layer that surrounds the planet
It spreads up to 300 km. above the earth’s surface.
Apart from gases there are water vapor, industrial gases, dust and smoke particles in
suspended state, microorganism etc.
• Hydrosphere-
It includes all types of water bodies found on Earth
71%of planet surface is covered with water
Freshwater- 2.53%
BIOTIC components
Biosphere - All areas of the planet where life is present
Producers: Includes autotrophs. They produce food on their own using light energy,
such as plants, green algae, and other organisms.
Consumers: Includes heterotrophs. They rely on producers for food, whether directly
or indirectly. Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and parasites are additional
categories for consumers.
Decomposers: These include saprophytes, which use dead materials and its decay as
food
ENVIRONMENT CRISIS
“There were houses, open fields and stretches of farmlands, it all disappeared one by
one.”
Ghoramara is a tiny island 150 km south of Kolkata in the Sundarbans Delta.
Over hundreds of years, they were formed by clay and silt brought into the Bay of
Bengal by the mighty rivers of South Asia – the Ganges and the Brahmaputra.
At its mouth lies the Sundarbans mangrove forest, known for its beautiful tigers and
deers.
Those living there live from fishing, honey collection, and some farming.
Rising sea levels have already submerged approximately 70 per cent of its land.
Predictions estimate that by 2050, the island will be fully underwater.
Reasons for the erosion and sinking of the islands:

• The sea level is going up, and this is caused by climate change

• Coastal mangroves were cut down for farming, which helped bind the soil.

• The farmers dug wells to get fresh water for irrigating their fields, but the underground reservoir
emptied and collapsed.

• Due to climate change, the rainfall shifted to the post-monsoon period, affecting food production.

All these changes are affecting local species like tigers and cheetal deer.

Some species of mangrove are at the point of extinction due to increased salinity and pollution
from industrial effluents.

The climate crisis is causing tropical storms and other weather events such as hurricanes, heatwaves
and flooding to be more intense and frequent than seen before.
.

Environmental Crisis is a dramatic, unexpected, and irreversible worsening of the environment

leading to significant welfare losses.
Global Warming and Climate change
Green House Gases
CO2
CH4
N2O
CFCs
Water vapor
Ozone
Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere
and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally this
radiation would escape into space, but these pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the
atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter.
Global Warming From Fossil Fuels:
•2023 was the hottest year on record, with global average temperatures at 1.46C.
•CO2 levels in the atmosphere are more than double what they were before the onset of
the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Rick
Spinrad, “the steady annual increase is a direct result of human activity,” mainly from
the burning of fossil fuels for transportation and electricity generation but also from
cement manufacturing, deforestation, and agriculture.
Poor Governance
• The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggests that
carbon taxes are not harsh enough on coal production, although it has proved to be
effective for the electricity industry.
• A carbon tax has been effectively implemented in Sweden; the carbon tax is U$127 per
tonne and has reduced emissions by 25% since 1995, while its economy has expanded
75% in the same time period.
Food Waste
Biological Diversity Loss
Biodiversity loss refers to the decline or disappearance of biological
diversity, understood as the variety of living things that inhabit the planet.
In Antarctica, climate change-triggered melting of sea ice is taking a heavy toll on
emperor penguins and could wipe out entire populations by as early as 2100,
according to 2023 research
Effects of biodiversity loss
Extinction of species
Threat to human beings
Proliferation of pests
Increase in CO2 emissions
Plastic Pollution
• In 1950, the world produced more than 2 million tons of plastic per year. By 2015,
this annual production swelled to 419 million tons.
• If no action is taken, the plastic crisis will grow to 29 million metric tons per year by
2040.
• Considering that plastic takes 400 years to decompose, it will be many generations
until it ceases to exist.
Air Pollution
World Health Organization (WHO) shows that an estimated 4.2 to 7 million people
die from air pollution worldwide every year and that nine out of 10 people breathe air
that contains high levels of pollutants.
Deforestation
Every hour, forests the size of 300 football fields are cut down. By the year 2030, the planet might
have only 10% of its forests; if deforestation isn’t stopped, they could all be gone in less than 100
years.

Fires
Infrastructure
Farm land

Impacts:
Increased greenhouse gas emissions
Disruption of water cycles
Increased soil erosion
Disrupted livelihoods
Melting Ice Caps and Sea Level Rise
The climate crisis is warming the Arctic more than twice as fast as anywhere else on
the planet.
In the Arctic, the Greenland Ice Sheet poses the greatest risk for sea levels because
melting land ice is the main cause of rising sea levels
Ocean Acidification Is Increasing
• Our oceans absorb about 30% of carbon dioxide that is released into the Earth’s
atmosphere.
• Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters
has increased by about 30%.
• The smallest change in the pH scale can have a significant impact on the acidity of
the ocean.
• Ocean acidification has devastating impacts on marine ecosystems and species, its
food webs, and provoke irreversible changes in habitat quality.
• Once pH levels reach too low, marine organisms such as oysters, their shells and
skeleton could even start to dissolve.
• Biggest environmental problems from ocean acidification is coral bleaching and
subsequent coral reef loss.
Agriculture
Crop production releases greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide through the use
of fertilizers.
60% of the world’s agricultural area is dedicated to cattle ranching, although it only
makes up 24% of global meat consumption.
Switching to a more plant-based diet would dramatically reduce the carbon footprint
of the conventional agriculture industry.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide
and methane) that are generated by our actions.
The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the
highest rates in the world.
Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons.
Land
A key contributor to soil erosion is over-tilling: although it increases productivity in the
short-term by mixing in surface nutrients (e.g. fertilizer), tilling is physically destructive to
the soil’s structure and in the long-term leads to soil compaction, loss of fertility and surface
crust formation that worsens topsoil erosion.
Fast Fashion and Textile Waste
Fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emission. Microplastics from clothing
materials such as polyester, nylon, polyamide, acrylic and other synthetic materials, is
leeched into soil and nearby water sources.
Overfishing
Over three billion people around the world rely on fish as their primary source of protein.
Cobalt Mining
A key component of battery materials that power electric vehicles (EVs), cobalt is facing a
sustained surge in demand as decarbonization efforts progress. Energy
Soil Degradation
Soil degradation refers to the loss of organic matter, changes in its structural
condition and/or decline in soil fertility and it is often the result of human activities,
such as traditional farming practices including the use of toxic chemicals and
pollutants.
Urbanization
Population:
 Water and Sanitation:
Biological Bacteria: Cholera,
dysenteries
Water soluble inorganic Acids, Salts, Mercury, Lead
chemicals Minamata Disease caused by
mercury
Organic Chemicals Pesticides & Oils
Oxygen demanding waste Organic waste decompose by
bacteria which deplete water
from its oxygen causing death
of fishes and aquatic plants

Sediments or suspended Insoluble particles that are

matter suspended and cloud water
which reduces photosynthesis
of aquatic plants
Radioactive elements Causes cancer, birth defects,
genetic damage
 Evidence for rapid Climate Change
Global Temperature Is Rising
The Ocean Is Getting Warmer
The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat. Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in
the ocean

The Ice Sheets Are Shrinking

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity
Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice
per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.

Glaciers Are Retreating

Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps,
Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa.8 Image: Miles Glacier, Alaska Image credit:
NAS
Snow Cover Is Decreasing
Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased
over the past five decades and the snow is melting earlier..
Sea Level Is Rising
Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate in the last two decades,
however, is nearly double that of the last century and accelerating slightly every year.
Arctic Sea Ice Is Declining
Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades
Extreme Events Are Increasing in Frequency
The number of high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low
temperature events has been decreasing,
Ocean Acidification Is Increasing
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about
30%. This increase is due to humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being
absorbed into the ocean.
DOOMSDAY CLOCK
• In 1947 by a group of atomic scientists, including Albert Einstein, who had worked
on the Manhattan Project to develop the world's first nuclear weapons during World
War Two created Doomsday Clock.
• A Chicago-based non-profit organization called the Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists updates the time annually based on information regarding catastrophic
risks to the planet and humanity.
• It is a design that warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world
with dangerous technologies of our own making.
• The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board made up of scientists and other experts
with deep knowledge of nuclear technology and climate science
How Do Governments Combat Climate Change?
Carbon taxes: Coal-fired power plants—to pay for the damage they cause. Sweden,
Argentina, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and Ukraine
Cap and trade: California launched one of the United States’ first cap and trade
programs. As a result, the state’s emissions fell by 10 percent between 2013 and 2018.
Clean energy standards: Laws that encourage utility companies to generate a certain
percentage of their electricity from low-emission energy sources, such as solar or
wind power.
International agreements: Kyoto Protocol
Minimizing financial risks of climate change
Tech investment:
Renewable energy
Nuclear energy
Carbon capture
EnvironmentalImpactAssessments

It is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development,

taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural, and human-health impacts, both beneficial
and adverse.
Objectives of Environmental Impact Assessment
1. Identifying, predicting, and evaluating economic, environmental, and social
impacts of development activities.
2. Providing information on the environmental consequences for decision making.
3. Promoting environmentally sound and suitable development by identifying
appropriate alternatives and mitigation measures.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Process
 Process Details in Brief
Screening Which projects need a full or partial assessment study is decided in this stage
Scoping •Which impacts are necessary to be assessed is decided in this stage.
•Alternative solutions that avoid or at least reduce the adverse impacts of the project are
also studied in this stage
•Investigation of alternate designs or sites that avoid or mitigate impact takes place

Assessment & Evaluation of Environmental impacts of the proposed project are analyzed and light is thrown upon the
Impacts and Development of alternatives present to such projects
Alternatives
EIA Report also called An environmental management plan (EMP) and also a non-technical summary of the
Environmental Impact project’s impact is prepared in this stage
Statement (EIS)
Decision Making The fate of the project is decided. Whether the project is to be given approval or not and if
it is to be given, under what conditions
Monitoring, compliance, Monitoring whether the predicted impacts and the mitigation efforts happen as per the EMP
enforcement and environmental
auditing
Environmental Impact Assessment In India
EIA started in India in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission directed the
Department of Science & Technology to assess the river valley projects from the
point of view of the environment.
This was extended for all those projects that required approval from the Public
Investment Board.
Then, in 1986, the government made the Environment (Protec­tion) Act which made
EIA statutory.
The other main laws in this regard are the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972), the
Water Act (1974), the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act (1981), and the
Biological Diversity Act (2002).
In 1982, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change set up
the Environmental Information System (ENVIS) to collect, organize, store,
retrieve and disseminate information related to the environment sector.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is process that ensures that significant
environmental effects arising from policies, plans and programmes are identified,
assessed, mitigated, communicated to decision-makers, and monitored and that
opportunities for public involvement are provided.
Particular benefits of SEA include:
• To support sustainable development
• To improve the evidence base for strategic decisions
• To facilitate and respond to consultation with stakeholders
• To streamline other processes such as Environmental Impact Assessments of
individual development projects.
Steps to an SEA
1.Consideration of whether the policy, plan and programme (PPP) formulation
process requires SEA
2.Establishment of PPP objectives and alternatives
3.Identification of key impacts, indicators and environmental standard
4.Predication and evaluation of impacts and assessment of alternatives
5.Consideration of mitigation measures
6.Review and decision making
7.Monitoring of impact of PPP on objectives
 Environmental issues and concerns that should be considered under the SEA :
• biodiversity, fauna and flora
• population and human health
• soil
• water
• air and climatic factors
• material assets
• cultural heritage, including architectural and archaeological heritage
• landscape
• energy efficiency
• use of renewable and non-renewable resources
• adaptation to climate change
• transport demands, accessibility and mobility, etc.
Special concern is the inclusion in the SEA of the marine zone and up-stream impacts on areas beyond the
coast.
Integrated Coastal Zone Management has been a tool for implementing sustainable development
in coastal areas.
One litre bottle of water found to be hiding 2,40,000 tiny plastic fragments
(msn.com)
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-a-rank-up-now-7th-on-climate-chan
ge-performance/articleshow/105849591.cms?from=mdr
Thank you