Best Answer
To start this essay, we would begin by identifying ways that business could impact the environment. Next, we would want to identify the businesses we wanted to highlight in the essay, focusing on their specific environmental impact. We would want to select at least two businesses with different reputations for their environmental impact. Companies that are known for having good environmental initiatives include Disney, Johnson and Johnson, Nike, eBay, Fisher Investments, Hewlett-Packard, Starbucks, and Ford Motor Company. Companies have a bad reputation in terms of their impact on the environment include AES, PPL, ConAgra Foods, Coca Cola, Nestle, and Unilever.
For each company, we would examine the different ways that their activities could be impacting the environment. Many companies in various different industries contribute to air pollution through emissions in their manufacturing process and even through their delivery systems. Common industrial air pollutants include organic solvents, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide. Air pollution can be both a health hazard and a nuisance. Water pollution can occur in multiple ways and may be surface water pollution or ocean pollution. The primary way surface water pollution occurs is through wastewater, which may be treated or not treated, and then discharged into surface waters, which can impact surface and groundwater; agriculture is a major contributor to this type of pollution. Soil pollution occurs when substances that do not belong there are leaked or dumped onto land, and is frequently the results of chemical manufacturing or processing or the oil and gas industry. These sights can end up being toxic and may require millions of dollars to clean.
One of the areas that we think deserves particular focus is the solid waste. Many companies may operate in otherwise environmentally friendly ways, but package their products in ways likely to increase stuff in landfills. Even recyclable materials frequently end up in landfills, so companies should be reducing packaging whenever possible to reduce their negative impact on the environment.
