Before that happens, it might be a good idea to look at the government's track record in running economic enterprises. It is terrible. In , for instance, thinking it was being overcharged by the steel companies for armor plate for warships, the federal government decided to build its own plant. You may change your billing preferences at any time in the Customer Center or call Customer Service. You will be notified in advance of any changes in rate or terms.
Government agencies are prioritizing public-private partnerships, acknowledging that the public sector alone has neither the know-how nor the resources to solve social challenges and deliver services on their own.
There are, of course, instances when it makes no sense to partner. Today, we can no longer afford this mentality. The challenges facing the world—the issues that affect businesses, government, and civil society in equal part—are real, and they are urgent: too much so for any sector to go it alone. Read more stories by Deirdre White. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to otherwise browse this site, you agree to the use of cookies.
Does reward outweigh risk? Ahsiya Mencin, director of the PULSE Volunteer Partnership at GSK, a company with a long track record in collaboration in areas such as training frontline health workers and widening access to vaccines: Global health challenges cannot be tackled by one organization or sector alone—it takes partnership between governments, business, and civil society with complementary resources and knowledge.
According to van Weerelt: The discussion should no longer be about whether private and public sector should work together—rather it should be about how can we make sure we build on the strongest elements of both. To fight the pipeline, some opponents have used legal strategies such as court challenges in Nebraska, where regulators have not yet approved its route through the state.
Other methods include tactics learned in the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline, in which protestors blocked equipment, occupied construction sites, and fought company employees and law enforcement officers. Protestors have vowed to use the same tactics against the Keystone XL. Opponents of projects such as Keystone XL are not always divided along political party lines, geography, age, or other demographics.
The TransCanada Oil Company told him it planned to dig up three miles of his land to lay a section of the Keystone XL pipeline and bulldoze another two and half miles for an access road. He fought the pipeline from the beginning and lobbied the state government for several years, but he and the others may lose their legal challenges.
Environmentalists now face a conundrum. Should they accept the pipeline and its potential for harm? Or should they advance to more aggressive tactics such as destroying property to forestall it and hope that a candidate friendlier to environmentalists is elected in ?
Is nonlethal violence justified in the pursuit of environmental justice? When discussing the topic of sustainability as a function of responsible and sustainable business conduct, we consider not only environmental health but also public health.
Polluting the environment is bad for public health, but so too are a wide variety of inherently dangerous products from alcohol to tobacco to guns to drugs.
The World Health Organization estimates that alcohol is the cause of close to 7 percent of all deaths each year globally, or about 3. The question is whether society should allow businesses to market, sell, and profit from a product that causes so many deaths and creates a significant public health problem. The same question can be asked about tobacco, on which businesses make over half a trillion dollars annually and which the United States has struggled to regulate for years.
Some businesses are acting on their own to rein in the sale or use of harmful products. In , CVS, a drugstore and health care giant, chose to stop selling tobacco products, because such sales do not support its corporate mission. Few issues are the source of as much public debate as guns, but it is clear that gun violence in the United States is a major public health challenge. There are about 35, deaths per year in the United States due to firearms, and another 75, nonfatal firearm injuries.
However, thousands of businesses profit from gun sales. Based on these facts, should the sale of guns remain relatively unregulated, or, in the interest of public health, should the government increase regulatory efforts in this area?
On the corporate front, after the most recent fatal mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, several companies took action without waiting for the law to change.
Walmart has announced it will no longer sell guns to anyone under twenty-one years of age. Another pressing social issue is opioid abuse. In , there were approximately sixty thousand deaths due to drug overdoses, almost double the number of gun deaths. Some local government entities are suing opioid drug manufacturers,. While opioids are legal and often legitimately prescribed for pain management, a large part of the problem is that they are also overprescribed.
Given these facts, should pharmaceutical corporations be allowed to profit from this product? What ethical or legal responsibilities do those in the medical community have for the problem? Although sustainability discussions justifiably focus on the protection of human life and public health issues, a related ethical issue close to the hearts of many citizens is animal rights. Businesses have begun to take notice of public demands in this area, as evidenced by a Fortune article about the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group.
After a survey of its customers showed that a significant majority want the company to forgo fur products, it decided to forbid the use of fur in its entire line. Related developments are taking place in the cosmetics and food industries.
Many cosmetics companies have announced cruelty-free product testing policies for products ranging from makeup to hairspray. In the food industry, the U. Department of Agriculture recently reported that cage-free eggs account for approximately one-quarter of the wholesale shell egg market.
Sales and profits are the answer, along with sustainability. Such changes are often prompted, if not driven, by the influence of informed consumer stakeholders who are demanding the products they want to buy. Government has played a pivotal role in spurring innovation throughout American history.
Think of the national train system in the s, in which federal authorities mediated among a small group of monopolies to establish a standard gauge for all railroads so rolling stock could be shipped anywhere in the US, from one line to another. Or consider the basic research grants that enabled the invention and development of the semiconductor, with the Defense Department serving as the initial risk-taker and customer.
Today, the stakes are high; the health of our planet and our economy depend on innovation occurring on a massive scale.
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