The precautionary principle: A framework for sustainable business decision-making

Tickner, Joel; Raffensperger, Carolyn

doi:10.1016/s1066-7938(00)80085-8

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…General principles: A prominent version of the Precautionary Principle, as formulated at the Rio Convention 1992, demands that "when there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific uncertainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation" [50,51]. Uncertainty is inherent to the predictive approach of EIA; hence, there is scope for the application of the principle [9].…”

Section: Consequentialist Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical Analysis for Evaluating Sustainable Business Decisions: The Case of Environmental Impact Evaluation in the Inambari Hydropower Project

et al. 2015

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Abstract:We propose an ethical analysis as a method to reflect on how companies' decisions promote sustainable development. The method proceeds by first identifying the choice according to financial business interests, and by then scrutinizing this choice according to consequentialist and deontological ethics. The paper applies the method to the choice of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that a consortium of Brazilian companies (EGASUR) delivered as part of their project proposal for the realization of the Inambari hydropower dam in the Peruvian Amazon. We show that if an EIA is chosen based on the attempt to maximize the financial bottom line, it raises ethical issues both from a consequentialist perspective by involving negative consequences for various stakeholder groups, and from a deontological perspective by not complying with relevant rules, guidelines, and principles. The two ethical perspectives hence reveal where the consortium faces impediments to a genuine commitment to sustainability. Building on stakeholder interviews, observations of the project developments, and the executive summary of the actual EIA, we provide indications that EGASUR has indeed made a choice that resembles a decision based on financial interests.

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Section: Consequentialist Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical Analysis for Evaluating Sustainable Business Decisions: The Case of Environmental Impact Evaluation in the Inambari Hydropower Project

et al. 2015

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“…Tickner and Raffensperger (1998) trace the origin of the precautionary principle to Germany, where it was introduced in response to human health concerns from the environment in the 1970s. Although this idea has been variously defined over the past 30 years, the precautionary principle is typically expressed that "when an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not established scientifically."…”

Section: The Precautionary Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting precautionary measures in agriculture through pathway analysis: the case of the Environmental Farm Plan

Summers

Plummer

FitzGibbon

2008

IJARGE

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Stewardship programs are an important element of agroecosystems management. These programs are confronted with the difficult challenges of demonstrating their positive impacts on the environment. This paper argues that under the precautionary principle, evaluation of stewardship programs should be aimed at identifying risks mitigated, as opposed to actual changes in environmental conditions. The Ontario Environmental Farm Plan Program is presented as a case study. A pathways model is developed and applied to the case. It demonstrates the types of risks mitigated, a way to account for preventative actions, and insights into how future evaluations based on the precautionary principal can be undertaken.

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“…TURA in essence seeks to advance precautionary decision making and the simple idea that decision makers should act in advance of scientific certainty to reduce environmental hazards as much as possible (Tickner & Raffensperger, 1998). TURA does not ask 'how much is safe?'…”

Section: Overview Of Turamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory planning for environmental innovation: evaluating regulatory mechanisms for toxics use reduction

O’Rourke

Lee

2004

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management

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The precautionary principle: A framework for sustainable business decision-making

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Ethical Analysis for Evaluating Sustainable Business Decisions: The Case of Environmental Impact Evaluation in the Inambari Hydropower Project

Ethical Analysis for Evaluating Sustainable Business Decisions: The Case of Environmental Impact Evaluation in the Inambari Hydropower Project

Accounting precautionary measures in agriculture through pathway analysis: the case of the Environmental Farm Plan

Mandatory planning for environmental innovation: evaluating regulatory mechanisms for toxics use reduction

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