废物管理是一个巨大的产业|Management Essay

这是一个不可否认的事实，因为世界人口以指数的速度增长，所以产生的废物量。与其他经济公司相比，垃圾管理公司面临着一个独特的问题，因为公司背后的基础本身就是一个道德困境，，“我们怎样才能最好地处理浪费？”从消费者把产品扔到垃圾桶直到垃圾处理设施最终处置的时候，垃圾管理公司面临的大多数行动和决定都会导致他们陷入道德困境。
废物管理公司面临的第一个困境涉及到环境。如果公司选择通过垃圾填埋处理废物，水污染，空气污染，以及美观。另一方面，如果公司选择焚烧废物，它可以是一个能量的来源，会有空气污染。即使是经营不善的回收设施产生的外部环境如空气和水的污染。无论处置方法，总是有有害的化学物质和副产品，可以污染环境。

It is an undeniable truth that as the world population grows at an exponential rate so does the amount of waste produced. Waste management companies face a unique problem compared to other economic firms because the foundation behind the company is itself an ethical dilemma, "How can we best dispose of waste?" From the time a consumer throws a product in the trash until its ultimate disposal at a waste management facility, most actions and decisions a waste management company is faced with lead them to an ethical dilemma.

The first dilemma facing waste management companies relates to the environment. If the company chooses to dispose of waste via landfill there is potential for water pollution, air pollution, and poor aesthetic appearances. On the other hand, if the company chooses to incinerate waste, which can be a source of energy, there will be air pollution. Even mismanaged recycling facilities can produce environmental externalities such as air and water pollution. Regardless of the method of disposal, there are always harmful chemicals and byproducts which can pollute the environment.

Next, waste management companies need to acknowledge human health as a concern. Employees are involved with every aspect of waste management, from handling and processing all the way to ultimate disposal. This means employees are frequently exposed to potentially toxic and infectious chemicals. Examples of dangerous substances employees encounter include bodily fluids and greenhouse gases. Prolonged exposure to these chemicals can increase the chances of coronary disease, allergic pulmonary disease, parasites, hepatitis, and many more diseases.

To protect employees from diseases and infections, waste management companies can focus time on prevention, protection, and analysis. First, require vaccinations for employees to prevent the contraction of life-threatening conditions. Second, supply and require the use of protective gear such as: gloves, masks, boots, and even bio-hazard suits if necessary. Lastly, have management record employee health on a regular basis to track conditions within facilities.

Waste management companies can also improve the environment within the facilities to protect employees. They can start by creating strict policies which allow only authorized personnel near waste. For this to work well, both employees and upper management must work to prevent animals, children, friends, and family from getting near contaminates. Next, they can have air monitoring tools installed inside the facilities. The air inside facilities can become polluted by greenhouse gases andother byproducts. This can cause side-effects such as headaches, loss of consciousness, or even death. Hopefully these air monitoring measures would help prevent these side-effects.

Lastly, waste management companies have to make an effort to provide sustainability. This means making decisions today which will not burden future generations. For example, some chemicals can remain toxic for a prolonged period of time. As a result they can be expensive and time consuming to dispose of properly. If a company chooses to save a little money and dispose of such chemicals with a cheaper alternative then they are burdening future generations by forcing them to deal with the externalities of the toxic chemical as well.

Overall there are many ethical issues that the waste management industry must consider. With good planning and the proper time and resources, firms in the industry can make ethical decisions that benefit the environment and the economy.

Pressures Facing the Industry
There are many activist organizations that are pushing companies to be more sustainable and to act more ethically. Specifically groups such as Greenpeace, who push any major company to better their products for the environment. An example of this is how they evaluate companies such as Apple. They look specifically at how their products are made. They may choose one of Apple's product, such as the iPhone, to follow where and how its parts are made. Then they produce a report showing how truly green a product is. This is an example of how these groups are able to indirectly impact the waste management industry; first by working to ensure that the products are produced with as little environmental impact as possible, and second by ensuring that when the product is thrown away, at the end of its life, the waste it produces is minimal and will not have detrimental impacts on the environment.

Over the years the industry as a whole has received great pressures from various groups as well. Once again leading the front as the largest independent environmental organization is Greenpeace. One specific direction they are going is to prevent chemical disasters. They keep a detailed chart of companies and locations across the country where people are at risk of being affected by a chemical disaster due to poor waste management. They work with volunteers who go out in the field and work very hard protesting to get things done in a better and safer manner. A specific example of what they do is their battle on toxic chemical storage and disposal. Greenpeace presents the fact that nearly one in three people live within a range of a chemical disaster. This is presents an example of how an activist organization can go after a cause.

One of the main goals of groups like Greenpeace is to get these large companies to remember that the environment is here for humans to enjoy. They work to help us as consumers, along with numerous industries, to remember that if we do not manage things properly, we may lose that which we value. Waste management may be frequently looked at as not a big deal;  but when you step back and think about everything that we use that will eventually be disposed of, we must work to ensure that these items will not destroy our environment when that day comes.

As of recently many groups have gone about pressuring Obama to take advantage of some specific wording in the Clean Air Act. Through this he would be able to better regulate the storage and disposal of toxic waste along with the chemicals used in products. All of these movements are to better products so that they contain less toxic materials, which will affect the waste management industry down the road. It is very important for groups to help keep these companies be ethically and socially active.

When it comes to profitability and shareholder value, there are able to see a few things to consider. When negative information comes out about a company, you can expect to see a drop, both in profits and shareholder value. This holds true within the waste management industry as well. Fortunately for investors, waste management is an industry that is very stable and won't go away, but may evolve. This offers increased value to the shareholders. They may find themselves being okay with some short term losses because they know that the need for waste management is continuing to grow.

Corporate Social Responsibility Activities
Corporate Social Responsibility has recently begun to emerge as a focal point for many waste management companies. Companies such as Waste Management and Republic Services have been at the forefront of this trend towards comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. It is important to examine these companies and their policies to determine their overall contribution to the betterment of society.

The first company, Waste Management, is the largest waste management company in the United States. Waste Management has a realistic and comprehensive CSR plan that projects their goals through the year 2020. One viable solution they have implemented is the utilization of liquefied natural gas that can be extracted during decomposition in landfills. Waste Management currently produces enough liquefied natural gas to power one million homes, the goal being to double that number by 2020. Another initiative they have in place will increase the tonnage of recycled materials from 8 million tons to 20 million tons. The final program that Waste Management has in place is a wildlife conservation initiative. They plan to increase wildlife facilities from 24 to 100 by 2020, resulting in 25,000 acres overall for wildlife habitats.

Republic Services, a west coast based waste management company also has a diversified plan for corporate social responsibility. Their main initiative is also the utilization of liquefied natural gas.  Republic Services has taken it a step further by using the natural gas produced to power a portion of their fleet. This practice is highly sustainable because it incorporates vertical integration in the form of fuel for powering the vehicles that pick up waste, thus completing a viable cycle. The second way that Republic Services is socially responsible is through its community outreach and education program to inform the community about sustainability. Republic Services frequently host community events that are entertaining and provide useful information on the importance of recycling and sustainability.

The largest companies in the US are the industry leaders for CSR mainly because of their exposure and ability to spend money on CSR policies. Although many companies are being proactive, there are still regional examples of improper handling of waste. It is important that we continue to apply pressure on the industry to ensure that great care is used when handling waste. Companies such as Waste Management and Republic Services have done a good job with their CSR policies, but there is always room for improvement. Continuous improvement is very important in order to effectively manage our waste while doing it in a manner that is beneficial for society.

Social/Ethical Investment Policy Recommendations
Any business who does not take Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into account before making a business decision would be naÃˉve. Many great institutions and businesses have floundered due to their failure to thoroughly research a company before investing to understand both their finances and their ethics. We do not want Virginia Tech to fall into this category. Therefore, Virginia Tech needs to take into consideration CSR and ethical issues pertaining to industries and individual firms when making investment decisions. The reasons for considering CSR are both financial and ethical.  There is strong historical evidence that unethical companies do not survive in the long term.  If a company falsely markets an inferior product, the consumer will ultimately take their money elsewhere. If they are treating their workers unfairly, there will ultimately be strikes or negative publicity that can destroy their goodwill in the marketplace. Therefore, investment in an unethical company can prove to be financially foolish. This raises the question of why not invest for the short term to make a quick profit regardless of CSR? Still the response should be no. Investors should have an inherent desire to invest in areas/products that will improve society. This provides a positive feeling that can lift up the investing organization or individual investor. The knowledge that you are part of something good, can positively impact all of your actions. If this positive energy is not enough, the threat of negative publicity should deter potential investors. If unethical actions ofthe investor become known, the investors may also be targeted for ridicule. So, it would generally always be appropriate for an institution such as Virginia Tech to be willing to sacrifice some expected financial return for ethical reasons. Therefore, there may be perfectly legal companies that generate very high profits, who should be avoided for ethical reasons.  It is the responsibility of investors for institutions like Virginia Tech to thoroughly research the companies in which they plan to invest.

A good example of this is, Monsanto: A sustainable agriculture company that looks very well rounded from the outside. Their website lists their financial records from 2009 through 2011. Monsanto's net income and net sales both have increased since 2009(Financial Highlights, Monsanto.com). As well as their stock prices, which are back on the rise after a recent drop in 2010 (Stock Performance, Monsanto.com). Their website even hosts a link for investors to receive answers for their frequently asked questions. Considering that Virginia Tech is a large agriculture school anyways, this company would appear to be a great way for us to get more involved in the agriculture industry. So, why wouldn't Virginia Tech invest with Monsanto? They are a leader in America's food chain, their stock is on the rise, they are earning profits, they invest millions of dollars in research and development; Monsanto seems like a great possibility.

However, upon further inspection we come to find that Monsanto is not giving all of their information on their website. Monsanto uses strong arm tactics and threats to intimidate small farmers. They have received several patents on their genetically modified seeds that have been engineered to resist their company's "Round Up" weed killer. These genetically modified seeds are heavily guarded by, what small farm owners refer to as,  "seed police". These "seed police" use mafia tactics when it comes to protecting Monsanto's seeds. Monsanto does not allow the reuse of their seeds and will threaten any farmer who would otherwise plant the naturally formed Monsanto seeds for next year's crops or to sell to others. This is counterproductive to the history of basic farming practices where seeds are reused and recycled versus being thrown away (Barlett, Steele, VanityFair.com).

Further, Monsanto is a chemical giant that produces toxic substances that have polluted the earth. Now they control a large portion of our food supplies through these legal patents over their seeds. The genetic modification of a seed and the granting of patents are allowing these corporate giants like Monsanto to take over the world's food supply. These unethical practices and lack of corporate social responsibility for the community in which Monsanto operates in are reasons why Virginia Tech should not invest in a company or industry like Monsanto. Virginia Tech must think about both the financial strength of a corporation and the nature of their ethics before deciding whether to invest.

Ethics and profits both must come together for long term survival in the marketplace. A company can earn substantial profits for their stockholders and can succeed tremendously in the short run; however, if that very same company is using unethical practices to earn those profits they will not be able to withstand the market forces for the long run. Virginia Tech needs to take an industry's CSR, ethics, and finances into consideration before making a decision of whether to invest or not. If a company has a solid profit potential and has ethical practices in place, Virginia Tech should consider investment. If either of these are not part of an industry, then Virginia Tech should not invest.

Investment Recommendations
Based on our analysis of the waste management and recyclable industry, we believe that Virginia Tech should invest. After taking into consideration the ethical and corporate social responsibility issues, like world population growth creating more waste and the pollution that comes along with waste disposal, we conclude that investing in the waste management and recyclable industry would be a smart decision.

It would be a wise choice to invest because these are issues that Virginia Tech is already attempting to address because of their importance to society. Additionally, based on our recommended social and ethical investment policy of considering both the finances of an industry and their ethics, the waste management and recyclable industry would be an excellent choice. As we concluded, they adhere to ethical standards and take the concerns of activist groups into consideration; there is no evidence showing that they treat their workers unfairly; and lastly, their focus on corporate social responsibility will play a huge role in both the present day and the future.

We believe that Virginia Tech should look more closely at the socially responsible firms within the waste management and recyclable industry, who are proactively looking to increase their sustainability and corporate social responsibility activities, for its investment portfolio. Since the industry is doing well overall in terms of their finances and profits, Virginia Tech should look for those firms that are placing higher emphasis on social responsibility if they want to make the greatest impact through their investment. We would suggest investing in firms like "wTe Corporation"(primarily located in Massachusetts), or otherwise known as "Waste to Energy Corporation", because of their new technologies and innovations of turning waste, like plastics and metals, into energy. Their focus on recycling materials and social responsibility are reasons as to why we should choose to invest there rather than other firms like "Bay Area Disposal", located near Maryland, who are doing just the minimum to control and dispose of waste and show no indicators of being proactive in new, more environmentally friendly technologies.