Ethics Law and Sustainable Business Practices
Sustainability is a priority for many organizations anticipating to operate in the foreseeable future. Likewise, government agencies should be in the front line in agitating for the strategies and measures that promote sustainability. It is evident that government agencies run on the funds that have been sourced from the general public through taxation (Heather M. Farley & Smith, 2014). Therefore, they should embrace sustainable measures that will ensure the critical resources relied on by the common citizens to survive are well protected. For example, the government should make sure publicly owned land, forests, water catchment areas, waters sheds, and fisheries are protected from activities that may result in their eradication.
There are many strategies that government agencies can employ to facilitate sustainability of the available resources (Slavin, 2011). The most common strategies comprise of conserving energy, taking advantage of wasted resources, employing green building practices, finding new funding sources, planning for climate change, designing efficient and vibrant urban spaces, designing effective public transportation, protecting the commons, privatizing the resources within the right boundaries and others. Environmentalist argues that government agencies and other organizations should apply these practices to address the problems sustainability that has been witnessed over decades (Heather M. Farley & Smith, 2014).
Though many government agencies have been accused of failing to observe appropriate sustainability strategies, some communities have effective and sustainable strategies in place. For example, it Northampton County in Virginia State, sustainable strategies are quite evident. The county is endowed with a variety of natural and cultural resources such as historic villages, woodlands, tidal creeks, barrier islands, marshes, beaches, and farms. To sustainably utilize and protect these resources, the county has employed effective strategies such as creating the preserve, adopting the precautionary principle and focusing on environmental prevention. The county employs the strategy of creating a reserve to protect heritage tourism industry through protecting the cultural and natural resources. Secondly, the county has cautioned its constituents that failure to protect water quality will lead to future consequences. Therefore, the communities in Northampton obtain seafood as well use water for agriculture while protecting the water quality. Thirdly, the county ensures that the new industries including the eco-industrial park are established by observing the protection of the groundwater, quality of life and natural environment.