Section A

UITS
Introduction to Business (BUS101)
Term Paper on

Social responsibility on environment: Pollution & companies taking steps against environment pollution
Prepared For
.

Shituma Zaman
Senior Lecturer, School of Business University of Information Technology Sciences

Prepared By Afanur Rahman Sakil Ahmed Chowdhury Md. Rafayat Tanzin Chowdhury Md. Showkat Osman Hasib ID- 10510659 ID- 11310128 ID-11310028 ID- 10510648

Date: 2nd August 2011

Executive Summary

Environment pollution is a great threat for our world. But the rate of environment pollution is increasing day by day. It is not only harming livelihood but also affecting businesses and industries. Industries cant produce in a proper way and somehow facing a lack of quality in their raw materials because of pollution. But industries and factories are the main sources of pollutants and they are providing to the increasing rate of pollution because of their lack of social responsibility. Many business firms related with production dont take proper measures to prevent pollution of environment such as waste management or filtered production process.

Though many of the business industries are not aware of their responsibility to environment some of the companies are fulfilling their job to protect the environment and not to harm the environment by their business activities. These companies follow their own measures throughout their business activities such as production, distribution etc. to help improving the condition of environment.

Letter of Transmittal

August 2, 2011 Shituma Zaman Course Coordinator University of Information Technology and Sciences Baridhara Campus, Dhaka

Subject: Request to accept the Research Paper Dear Madam, It is a great pleasure for us to submit our research paper on Social responsibility on environment & companies preventing environment pollution. We have prepared this paper as a partial fulfillment of the course Introduction to Business. We have learnt a lot while gathering the information to prepare this paper. We hope that this will help us in our future practical life. In preparing this report, we have tried our level best and worked with most sincerity to gather information and make it as well structured as possible. We will be obliged, if you kindly accept this research paper. We are ready to make you clear regarding any confusion or further clarification from this report. Sincerely yours,

Md. Rafayat Tanzin Chowdhury (On behalf of group members) ID: 11310028

Table of Contents

Introduction Pollution Types of Pollution Land Pollution Air Pollution Sound Pollution Water Pollution Companies taking steps against environment pollution Bashundhara Group Akij Group Partex Group Anwar Group of Industries Conclusion

5 6 6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15 16-17 18-19 20 21 22

Introduction
Business mainly focuses on earning profit but through this process it has to obey some restrictions and take responsibility about several elements. In the language of business we know it as Social Responsibility. A business is mainly responsible to four individuals i.e. Customer, Employee, Environment and Investor. In this term paper we are going to describe about the social responsibility of a business to the environment.

The responsibility to environment mainly indicates to the prevention of environment pollution and to help the environment to be protected. A business firm takes various business activities and processes which can harm the environment if proper steps are not being taken. It is a must for a business to think about the environment and to set their every managerial decision which doesnt disturb the balance of the environment.

Pollution
Pollution is the damage of natural environment which harms its stability. Pollution is caused by certain elements which gets contaminated with the elements of the environment and degrades the effectiveness of the element.

Types of pollution

Pollutions can be occurred in such elements such as Land Pollution Air Pollution Sound Pollution Water Pollution

1. Land Pollution:
Land pollution is the degradation or the contamination of the land or soil. Whenever the land gets contaminated with harmful materials, land pollution gets occurred.

Land pollution can be occurred in various ways like-

Contamination of the land with solid wastes: Solid wastes are waste elements which cant be destroyed even after the contamination with soil. These types of wastes gradually affect the quality of soil, resulting to land pollution.

Contamination with non-degradable materials: Non degradable materials dont get destroyed even after it is mixed with land. It doesnt degrade so it remains underneath the surface and the chemicals with it harm the fertility of soil. Sometimes it can result to total damage of the soil and the land cant grow trees or agricultural products.

Contamination with toxic materials or poisonous materials: Business firms or experimental projects often emit toxic materials to the land when in production processes or in experiments. These materials get mixed with soil and then harm the balance of the ingredients of soil.

Natural calamities: Natural calamities or disasters can imbalance the ingredients of soil. For example if flood occurs it washes away the fertile soils with it and various unusual ingredients mixed with flood water gets contaminated with the soil.

Affects of agricultural works: Agricultural works such as tillage harm the fertility of soil. If the land is excessively tilled it loses its fertility and gradually it becomes unusable. Also if synthetic fertilizer is used excessively the soil gets polluted.

Land pollution results to loss of valuable limited soils. For this, the gross production of products, especially agricultural products has been reduced radically and as a result the world is facing a crisis in every sector especially in food and agriculture sector.

2.Air Pollution:
Air pollution is the pollution of air occurred by unusual materials like gas, vapors, dust etc. which degrades the qualitative facts of air.

Air pollution is occurred by some common reasons-

Excessive emission of gas/vapor into atmosphere: Gas and vapors emit from different sources like factories, garbage etc. and gets mixed with air. When the emission rate is too high the air gets polluted and loses its purity.

10

If rate of absorption is less than the rate of dissipation: Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and emit oxygen to the air. In the rapid growth of industrialization trees are being cut randomly. On the other hand industries are emitting a great amount of carbon dioxide into the air but because of the lack of trees it is not getting absorbed as it is dissipated. This imbalance is causing air pollution.

Chemical contamination: A great number of industries, especially modern industries and factories are using a lot of chemical ingredients through production process which can pollute air pollution. If proper measures are not taken to recycle these chemicals and they somehow gets contaminated with open air the air will get polluted.

Imbalance of ingredients of air: Air has some basic ingredients like oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide etc. For various carelessness or natural calamities the balance between these ingredients gets disturbed, thus resulting in air pollution.

Air pollution mainly affects the livelihood. Toxics and harmful chemicals mixed with open air go to the lungs and cause various fatal diseases and disabilities. Air pollution affects the climate too. Late rainfall, excessive heat etc is occurred because of air pollution.

11

3. Sound Pollution:
Sound pollution is the annoyance and damage occurred by emission of sound above a particular limit.

Sound pollution mainly occurs for such reasons-

Use of noisy machineries: Most machines create noise through their operation. Machines work with electricity and generate power to do operations as well as noise. If proper systems of absorbing this noise isnt established it will spread outwards and thus can create sound pollution.

12

General ways of occurring sound pollution: Some of the works generate noise while being occurred. These works are generally related with strength and force and thus create an unbearable level of sound that results to sound pollution. Some of these works are as following.

Building and construction sites contain laborers doing several works like hammering, brick breaking, piling etc. which creates high level of sounds that occur sound pollution. In large bazaars and public gathering shouts and noises take place which also occur sound pollution. Road and air traffic creates great noise. On roads a lot of traffics move at a time. They are commonly consisting of vehicles like cars, buses, trucks etc. and all these vehicles have engines which generate power along with noise. When a lot of vehicles run on the roads the combined sounds of these engines create a great amount of noise. Besides horns and sirens are used in vehicles which create sound of high level of decibels. Neighborhood and domestic works can also create noises. Such works like cooking, washing, drilling etc. can create noises. Electronics and electronic devices used in our daily life occurs sound pollution. Electronics like fan, washing machine, refrigerator, blender, electronic equipments like water pump, drill machine, electronic devices like sound boxes emit noises.

Sound pollution damages the hearing power of human and gradually harms the power of brain. A person exposed in constant noise can face both temporary and long term damages. Sound pollution even shortens the lifetime of a human or makes a person partially handicapped.

13

4.

Water Pollution:
Water is one of the vital commodities of our life. It is a must for us to take completely pure water to assure good health and immunity. But sometimes for our unconsciousness water gets mixed with unusual and harmful ingredients and becomes unusable. Such condition occur water pollution.

Water gets polluted in such waysWastes thrown in water: Unscrupulous and unconscious people often pollute water by throwing wastes into the water. People not habituated in waste management and those who doesnt know the importance of recycling carelessly throw wastes into the water thus polluting the water and making it unusable.

14

Unconscious uses of water: Rural people and people living in slums are quite unconscious about the pollution of water. They use river or canal waters to do their daily works. They take bath or wash their clothes and dishes in the open water of the river or canal. The used water again gets mixed with the river water and gradually pollutes the water.

Contamination of wastes: Industries generally situate near rivers. They use raw materials and chemicals in their production processes. After the production process chemical wastes and leftovers are being thrown to the river water and the water gets mixed with these harmful chemical wastes. Also human wastes are being thrown to the river by sewerage lines which also pollute water.

Natural calamities and unusual disasters: Water can be polluted by natural calamities too. Flood mixes river water with surface wastes. Cyclones mix the sea water with surface materials. Earthquakes break down the sewerage system and water under surface gets mixed with the wastes came from the sewerage break down.

Water is compared with Life. Every material in the world has a share of water. Water is one of the vital elements to build our body cells and our body needs pure water to survive. Polluted water can cause various fatal diseases like diarrhea, typhoid etc. which can even lead to death.

15

Companies taking steps against environment pollution:

Now we are going to discuss about four companies of Bangladesh which are taking several measures against environment pollution. These companies are renowned brands of Bangladesh and all of these companies do production related works. The names of these four companies and their concerns are as following.

Bashundhara Group

Akij Group

Partex Group

Anwar Group

Now the steps of these companies against environment pollution are being described.

16

Bashundhara Group:
Bashundhara Group started their work as a real estate company with their concern East West Property Development Pvt. Ltd. in 1987. After the success of this concern they started taking more concerns and now they have more than twenty concerns located at different corners of the country. Among them some concerns and their steps against environment pollution are being described as following.

Bashundhara LP Gas Ltd.: LP Gas is one of the common fuels in our country where natural gas is not available. It is an intermediate product that is situated between natural gas and crude oil. Bashundhara LP Gas Ltd is the first private LPG plant in the country. It possesses the largest amount of storage capacity (3000MT) among all the LPG plant in Bangladesh. Bashundhara LP Gas is helping to minimize the load on the natural gas. Nowadays a crisis of natural gas is being faced because of the excessive demand of natural gas in various sectors like electricity production, CNG for vehicles, and also for cooking and some other activities. Bashundhara LP Gas is providing liquefied petroleum gases in cylinders in affordable price. Many people are now using Bashundhara LP Gas to minimize the pressure on natural gas.

Bashundhara Dredging Co. Ltd.: Bashundhara dredging company Limited formed in March 2010. It is a dedicated concern to help the nation to retrieve the actual form of rivers and accelerate the economy by making these rivers navigable round the year. The Bashundhara dredging company Limited has already procured four most modern dredgers and in the process of assembling several other dredgers at its Katuail shipyard.

17

Rivers are the main source of drinkable water and also the main routes of transportation. Bangladesh is a land of river. But after facing several natural calamities, placing dams on the source of the rivers by neighboring countries and the unconsciousness of several business firms the rivers of Bangladesh dont have the former might. These rivers lost their actual depth by soil hiding under it which came from activities like filling up the river with soil. These can cause calamities like flood and can also affect the agriculture of a region. Bashundhara River Dredging Co. Ltd. is helping these rivers to regain their depth and make them usable. With the aid of dredgers this company is dredging the major rivers of Bangladesh and thus maintaining their actual form.

Bashundhara Housing Project: Bashundhara Housing Project was the first concern of Bashundhara Group, formerly known as East West Property Development Pvt. Ltd. This company started their work in 1987 and has been developing many housing projects across Dhaka city. Their biggest housing project is situated in Baridhara named Bashundhara Residential Area.

Bashundhara Housing Project is building residential areas consisting environment saving elements and their projects are being designed to be eco-friendly. Their projects consist of healthy environment by planned building of infrastructures and preserving areas containing trees to maintain the ecological balance of the region and of the regions surrounding it.

18

Akij Group:
Akij Group has been operating their business concerns in Bangladesh for more than 50 years. They started their business with the concern of Jute Trading and now they expanded their business to numerous concerns. Some of the concerns taking steps against environment pollution is being described below.

Akij Jute Mills Ltd.: Akij Jute Mills Ltd. is one of the largest jute yarn Industry producing 100% export oriented jute yarns. The mill produces about 20,000 Metric Tons of Jute yarn annually. Akij Jute Mills Ltd. is providing environment friendly jute yarns which are vegetable oil treated and 100% hydrocarbon free. Hydrocarbon causes imbalance of the ingredients of air and it can pollute the air of the surroundings of the source of it.

Akij Match Factory: Akij Match Factory Ltd. was situated in 1992 near Muktarpur Ghat on the bank of river Shitolokkha. It is a fully automatic match factory producing 100% carborized high quality safety matches. Such popular matchboxes like Dolphin and Fire Box are being produced by this company. Akij Match Factory maintains their quality so non standard products like sticks, wood layers and any other scrap wood are being rejected. But these products are not being wasted. These products go to be recycled in Akij Particle and Hardboard Mills.

19

Akij Cement Factory: Encouraged by consumers response and confidence Akij Cement has been a pioneer in the cement market. Akij Cement is nowadays a popular cement brand and it is being used in a great volume. Akij Cement factory is equipped with air filters. Air filters are computer controlled electrical machines which helps to minimize pollution and recycle any cement that is suspended in the air. There are sensors to monitor various factors at regular intervals. The filters are being controlled to avoid the suspension of dust and cement to the open air. If dust and cement gets mixed with open air it will pollute the air by making it more dense and human and the other animals would take dusts with their breath which go to the lungs resulting to fatal diseases.

Akij Particle Boards: Akij Particle & Hard Board Mills Ltd. started in 2001. It produces timber substitute three-layer board made of wood chips. The factory is situated at Torraghat in Manikgonj District on the bank of the river Kaliganga. From its very beginning it has been proving its quality and importance as a substitute of wood. Wood is not a long lasting building material due to the high levels of humidity in Bangladesh. For Bangladesh wood needs to be excellently treated unless it is of the best quality but such good quality wood is very expensive and often acquired through the illegal eradication of forests which has led to many species becoming scarce. Particle boards are longer lasting, less expensive and greener alternative of wood. A lot of the scrap wood produced by various factories in the group is recycled to be particle boards.

20

Partex Group:
Partex Group started their work from 1959 in tobacco trading. In their successful journey in the industrial sectors, they are now leading various concerns like Partex Boards & Doors (Star Particle Board Mills), Partex Beverage Co. Ltd., Danish Food Products, Partex Plastics etc. Among these concerns and their steps against environment pollution are being described below.

Partex Plastics: Partex Plastics uses PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) resin, a thermoplastic material, to produce their plastic goods like bottles and containers. PET is more environment friendly than the other elements like aluminum and glasses and contains less carbon than the other materials. PET bottles and containers can keep food without harming their quality and they dont emit chemicals or toxic from it so the foods kept in these can remain safe. PET helps to maintain the original quality and aroma of any food and it is easily recyclable.

Star Particle Board: Star Particle Board produces export quality particle boards. They use agrowastes as their raw material to produce particle boards. Star Particle Boards mostly use jute stalks in their production process. So they help to recycle a great amount of jute waste thus protecting the environment from such wastes.

21

Anwar Group of Industries:

Anwar Group of Industries was formerly a family owned business which being started in 1834 with the concern to trade hides and skins. By their successful business initiatives they have set several business concerns across the country.

Anwar A-One Polymer Limited: Anwar A-One Polymer Limited is producing premium grade uPVC pipes and fittings. This company targets to produce high quality construction materials. They promise to ensure quality products by their technology based machineries and experienced technicians. Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (uPVC) is a widely used material to build construction materials and medical products because of its eco-friendly behavior. uPVC products cost less, easy to recycle and also long lasting. This material is eco-friendly because it is formed mostly by chlorine which is produced from ordinary salt and by ethylene which is being produced by refining vegetable oil so this material doesnt cost additional natural resources like mineral oil. The production of uPVC suspends a very little amount of carbon. Anwar A-One Polymer Limited is ensuring the prevention of environment pollution by using such material to produce their goods.

Anwar Galvanizing Limited: Anwar Galvanizing Limited started their work in 1980. They are producing galvanized steel to produce GI (Galvanized Iron) pipes fittings and to export high quality steel. They use modern technology to galvanize steel which reduces zinc consumption and emits less fume, ensuring to prevent air pollution.

Conclusion
22

Business firms and factories obviously use environment resources and it is certain that their operation can harm these resources. Unconsciousness of the business firms may have a great impact on such elements of environment. Every company should take this responsibility to ensure the safety of environment to make our earth a better place to live.

23