Environmental Concerns: Pressure Groups | Business Studies for GCSE/IGCSE - Year 11 PDF Download

Sustainable Development

• Sustainable development entails satisfying the current population's needs while safeguarding the potential for future generations to attain similar living standards.
• This approach encompasses various facets, including:
  • Restricting the consumption of non-renewable resources and minimizing detrimental emissions.
  • Preserving natural habitats and species facing endangerment.
  • Employing land and natural resources in an environmentally conscientious manner.
• Governments frequently promote business sustainability by disseminating knowledge, offering grants or loans at reduced interest rates, and occasionally enacting legislation to enforce more conscientious decision-making.

Environmental Pressures and Opportunities

Businesses have the opportunity to foster sustainable development through various means.

• By engaging in these practices, they stand to gain a better reputation, potentially attracting fresh clientele and bolstering sales.
• Embracing responsible practices can lead to cost savings for businesses, ultimately enhancing profitability.

How Businesses can Contribute to Sustainable Development

The Impact of Pressure Groups on Business

• Pressure groups are organizations or groups of people aiming to influence business or government policies and actions.
• Their main goal is to advocate for specific causes or agendas.
• Pressure groups seek company support for their causes or actions on particular issues. For instance, an animal rights group might urge a clothing company to halt the use of animal products in their clothing.
• Consumers possess the potential to be influential pressure groups.

Ways Consumers can Encourage Environmentally Sustainable Business Practices

Examples of International Environmental Pressure Groups

Pressure groups advocate for legislative measures mandating businesses to adhere to environmental standards and cease harmful practices by lobbying political representatives.

• Renowned international environmental pressure groups like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and Earthwatch engage in such efforts.
  • Greenpeace's direct action initiatives have been instrumental in prohibiting various environmental hazards, such as the global ban on commercial whale hunting in 1982, the prohibition on mining activities in Antarctica, and the UK's ban on microbeads in personal cleansing products in 2018.

Diagram: Logos of Environmental Pressure Groups

• National and regional pressure groups play a crucial role in influencing businesses to modify their practices or decisions.
  • In 2015, Buglife, a UK-based pressure group, effectively halted a construction project that posed a threat to a highly endangered insect species.
  • Another example involves Milieudefensie, a Dutch pressure group, which disrupted the construction of an international airport by strategically selling off parcels of land to the public.