Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Weakness of doing nothing
1.
Dependence on nonrenewable energy
from fossil fuels is probably the major weakness of
the whole food system and food-processing industry for the following reasons:
Because nonrenewable energy comes from limited resources, energy prices will
eventually rise due to short supply.
●
Nonrenewable fuels are controlled by politically unstable countries, thus creating
volatility in prices and the potential disruption of the supply.
●
The biosphere has a limited capacity to accommodate the emissions from burning
fossil fuels. This may impose a constraint well before the resources are completely
exhausted (Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution [RCEP], 2000) with
unpredictable effects on climate and the production of raw materials.
●
2.
Reliance on nonrenewable resources
. Today the food industry is a strong consumer of
nonrenewable resources for the production of packaging, ingredients, chemicals, and so
on. If a disruption on the supply of nonrenewable resources occurs, there are no practical
alternatives for the substitution of the entire amount of nonrenewable resources
consumed.
3.
Potential disruption of the supply chain
. There is a potential for the disruption of the
supply chain due to adverse environmental impacts such as:
Depletion of natural resources including freshwater and minerals
●
Loss of agricultural land due to soil erosion and urbanization
●
Political instability. Even when not an environmental issue, disruption of the supply
chain may occur due to political problems in unstable countries where raw materials
are produced (Cohen, 2009).
●
4.
Lack of knowledge of environmental impact
(carbon footprint, food miles, and so on) is a
real weakness at the moment of discussion with customers and stakeholders. A corollary
of this weakness is that if people do know where they are, then they cannot come up with
a plan to improve the current situation.
5.
Development of a bad reputation
. In an era of high-speed communication, companies'
behaviors are dissected and disseminated by stakeholders in real time. Thus, a bad
reputation can be developed quickly by doing nothing, or doing too little, about the
company's impact on the environment.
6.
Increasing third-party pressure
. It is becoming a trend for companies to request suppliers
to fill out environmental scorecards on products they supply. The purpose of these
scorecards is to set a baseline on the environmental impact of products and services today
and set goals for the future.
7.
Rising levels of compliance and regulations
. Developed countries are working on
environmental regulations that will raise the current level of compliance. Taxes on
emissions or carbon cap and carbon trading systems are in the works in several
countries.
