Business Ethics: Analyzing Sustainability Issues and Ethical Problems

This essay examines the critical issue of nonrenewable energy source scarcity within the framework of business ethics. It begins by outlining the environmental, social, and economic elements associated with this sustainability challenge, highlighting the detrimental impacts of fossil fuel depletion and the ethical problems surrounding resource allocation and environmental degradation. The essay delves into ethical theories, such as deontological and utilitarian ethics, to critically evaluate the issue, emphasizing the responsibilities of current generations towards future ones. It also analyzes the potential opportunities and threats this scarcity poses to businesses, particularly the rise of renewable energy alternatives versus the challenges of production costs and operational adjustments. The essay concludes by proposing solar power as a sustainable solution, emphasizing its environmental benefits and long-term economic viability, advocating for its ethical implementation to mitigate the effects of nonrenewable energy depletion.

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS
Business ethics
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
In the recent time, one of the major sustainability issues being emerged in the global
scenario is the scarcity of the non renewable sources of energy. This can be treated as a
sustainability issue due to the reason that non renewable sources of energy are limited in nature
and it is fast depleting (Weinstein, Turner and Ibanez 2013). Thus, the availability for the future
generation is a major concern. However, it is also to be noted that there are number of other
issues from the perspective of social, economic, environmental and ethical contexts can also get
emerged.
This essay will discuss about the social, economical, environmental and ethical elements
of the identified sustainability issue. In addition, this essay will also discuss about the major
ethical problems associated with the identified issue and will be evaluated with the help of
ethical theories. The impact of the identified issue on the business will also be discussed along
with discussing an effective solution that can help in overcoming the issue.
Environmental elements
The identified ethical issue of scarcity of nonrenewable sources of energy is having major
environmental elements involved. Nonrenewable energy sources are mainly the fossil fuels and
burning of the fossil fuel is the major sources of degradation of environment in the recent time.
Using of nonrenewable sources of energy is causing air pollution in the form of emission, water
pollution in the form of wastage (Shafiei and Salim 2014). On the other hand, rapid exploitation
of the fossil fuels is enhancing the risk of change in ecosystem and biodiversity. Thus, it can be
concluded that using of nonrenewable sources of energy is not only depleting the available
resources but also degrading the environment also.

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Social elements
There are number of social elements also being involved and associated with the
identified global sustainability issue. One of the major social elements involved with the issue of
scarcity of nonrenewable sources of energy is global population. The major impact for the
scarcity of nonrenewable sources of energy is faced by the average population. This is due to the
reason that the scarcer will be the energy sources, the more will be price of the fuels. This will
cause more cost for the population (Capellan-Perez et al. 2014). It is also to be noted that price of
every consumer goods are determined by the fuel price. Thus, increase in the price for fossil
fuels will cost more for the population in their daily living.
Another major social element in relation to the scarcity of the nonrenewable sources of
energy is conflict. This is due to the reason that in the current global scenario, fossil fuel is one
of the most valuable factors for every stakeholder. However, the sources for energy resources are
not equal in every location rather some regions are having more resources over others. This is
leading to the emergence of conflict among different social groups (Mansson 2014). The more
will be the demand for the nonrenewable source of energy, the more will be the price that will
lead to the increase in the probability of social conflict.
The future generation will also be one of the most affected social elements due to the
issue of scarcity of nonrenewable source of energy. This is due to the reason that source of
nonrenewable energy is limited in nature and it cannot be replenished. Thus if the demand for
nonrenewable source of energy continues to increase without having any alternate option, then it
is highly likely that future generation will not have enough resources and they will face more
scarcity compared to present time.

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Economical elements
One of the major economic elements for the scarcity of nonrenewable source of energy is
global economical status. In the current time, the difference between the economies of different
countries across the world is much compared to a few years ago. Though there are number of
factors that contribute in enhancing the differences between the national economies, but the
major factor is the sources of fossil fuel present in different areas and regions. This is due to the
reason that regions with having more reserves for fossil fuel will have the better opportunity to
enhance their national economy and also earning by initiating international business (Boluk and
Mert 2014). On the other hand, countries and regions with having lower reserve sources will
have to import the energy resources and thus will have less option in developing their economy.
The availability of fossil fuel reserves also determines the development of newer sources
of fuel. This is due to the reason that the more will be the fuel reserves in the country, the more
will be the favorable economic condition to develop alternative energy sources (Bloch, Rafiq and
Salim 2015). Thus, the scarcity of the nonrenewable sources of energy also determines the
development of newer sources of fuel. However, on the other hand, it should also be noted that
emergence of scarcity of nonrenewable sources of energy will further reduce the global
economic viability. This is due to the reason that the less will be the available sources for fuels,
the less will be the availability of economic options to enhance the national economy.
Involved ethical problems
One of the major ethical problems related with the issue of depletion of nonrenewable
sources of energy is reserving the resources for the future generation. As discussed earlier, one of
the major sustainability issues for the depletion of the fossil fuels is depriving the future

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generation. The more will be the exploitation of the natural resources in the current time, the
more will be the risk of depriving the future generation. Thus, it can be considered as unethical
of depriving the future generation for the available resources. In addition, another major ethical
problem being identified is degradation of the nature and environment by exploiting the natural
resources. This is due to the fact that mining of the natural resources along with burning of the
fossil fuel are having adverse impact on the environment and thus it is unethical to degrade the
environment and natural resources due to exploitation.
Critical evaluation of the identified sustainability issue
According to the deontological theory of ethics, if the decision is being taken by
following obligations and duties, then it can be considered as the ethical decision. Thus, this
theory states that it is important to consider different responsibilities and duties in order to ensure
the ethics in the decision making process (Paquette, Sommerfeldt and Kent 2015). Thus, in the
case of scarcity of natural resources, depriving the future generation will be considered as
unethical due to the reason that it is the duty of the present generation to consider the interest of
the future generation. Thus it can be concluded that it is unethical according to the deontological
theory of ethics to exploit the natural resources such as fossil fuel without considering the
interest of the future generation.
Another major theory of ethics is utilitarianism. According to this theory, decisions can
be considered as ethical if the decision can help enhancing the benefits for the greater people and
factors (Mill 2016). However, in the case of burning of fossil fuels, though the present generation
is getting benefited from having the source of energy but nature is adversely impacted. Thus,
with the degradation of nature and environment, greater number of people and other elements are

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getting affected also. According to the utilitarianism theory of ethics, it is unethical to affect the
nature and other elements for using the nonrenewable sources of energy.
Impact of scarcity of the nonrenewable sources of energy
In the above sections, it is discussed about different elements being involved and affected
from the over exploitation of the nonrenewable sources of energy. However it is also to be noted
that that scarcity of nonrenewable sources of energy will have both threats and opportunities for
the business. The following sections will discuss about the major threats and opportunities for
business.
Opportunities for business
One of the major business opportunities of scarcity of nonrenewable source of energy is
the enhancement of the scope for alternate source of energy. This is due to the reason that, the
more will be the scarcity of the nonrenewable source of energy, the more will be the requirement
for developing alternate source of fuels. Therefore, business organizations will have more market
opportunities in operating in the field of alternate fuels (Moka et al. 2014). Another major
opportunity to be gained by the business from the scarcity of the nonrenewable source of energy
is reduction in the cost of operation. This is due to the reason that average cost of renewable
source of energy such as wind and solar energy is less compared to nonrenewable source of
energy. Thus, the less will be the cost of energy; the lower will be the cost of operation and
increase in profitability for the business organizations.

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Threats for business
Apart from the opportunities discussed above, there are number of threats can also be
faced by the businesses from the scarcity of nonrenewable source of energy. One of the major
threats to be faced by the business organizations is the adverse impact on the production process.
This is due to the reason that alternate fuels are still in the nascent stage and they are still not
being used in extensive manner. Thus, with the increase in the scarcity of nonrenewable source
of energy, production process will get affected. This will lead to the barrier in the organizational
performance. Another major threat to be faced by the organizations will be the increase in the
cost of production (Kristoufek, Janda and Zilberman 2014). This is due to the reason that with
the increase in nonrenewable source of energy, the price for the fuels will get raised and thus the
input cost for the organizations will get increased. They will face the challenge to regulate the
cost of production with the increase in the cost for nonrenewable source of energy.
Proposed sustainable solution
It is recommended that initiation and extensive implementation of the solar power
technology will be the most viable and sustainable option for the identified issue of scarcity of
nonrenewable source of energy. This is due to the reason that solar energy is one of the most
extensively available sources of energy. Thus, due to the extensive availability, solar energy can
be tapped effectively and efficiently (Hernandez et al. 2014). Moreover, solar energy is free from
any type of pollution and emission and thus issue of degradation of the environment can also be
mitigated. In terms of the financial barriers, tapping the solar energy is also a financial viable
option. This is due to the reason that generation of the energy is not involving any cost; rather the
conversion of crude energy in to usable one only involves cost. In addition, for the commercial

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and domestic usages, initial cost will be bit more due to the installation of the solar panels and
others. However, the long term cost will be lower and negligible. It should also be noted that
production of solar energy is already got improved technologically and enhanced the
convenience of usage different alternate purposes. Initiation of the solar energy can also be
termed as ethical due to the reason that solar energy is infinite and abundant in nature.
Furthermore, generation of energy from solar resource will not have any adverse impact on
nature. Therefore, it can be concluded that solar energy will be the most viable and sustainable
option in overcoming the issue of scarcity of nonrenewable source of energy.
Conclusion
This essay concludes that in the current global scenario, scarcity of nonrenewable source
of energy is one of the major sustainability issues being emerged. This essay has discussed about
different elements from different perspectives in order to have the understanding about the
elements associated with the identified issue. In addition, this essay also discussed about the
ethical problems associated with the identified issues. Different ethical theories are being used to
evaluate the ethical problems with the sustainable issue. The negative and positive factors of
scarcity of nonrenewable source of energy in business are also being identified in this essay. This
essay concludes that solar energy will be the most viable and sustainable option to mitigate this
issue.

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