Business and Protection of the Environment

One of the most significant dimensions of a business's social responsibility today is its obligation towards protecting the natural environment. Industrial and commercial activity can generate air and water pollution, hazardous waste, depletion of natural resources, and loss of biodiversity — costs that are often borne by society and future generations rather than by the business itself, unless the business is made to internalise them.

A socially responsible business is expected to: comply fully with pollution-control and environmental laws (such as the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, administered through State and Central Pollution Control Boards); adopt cleaner production technologies and pollution-control measures that go beyond the legal minimum where feasible; use natural resources efficiently and responsibly, minimising waste; and properly treat and dispose of effluents and hazardous waste rather than discharging them untreated. …