29.6 Ethics

One core ethical principle is the commitment to do no harm to the environment. Real-world examples highlight the ethical dilemmas faced in sustainability. For example, a company might encounter a situation where the cheapest method of waste disposal is harmful to the environment. Imagine a manufacturing firm for discharging pollutants into a local river.

Another example involves the dilemma of balancing economic development with environmental preservation. In the construction of a new infrastructure project, planners might be pressured to cut costs by bypassing environmental impact assessments. Ethically, they should resist such pressures.