Question

Perpetual Batteries recently came under criticism when a newspaper article revealed that the company's production plant had leaked a chemical compound into a sensitive wetland ecosystem. Although use of the chemical was not technically prohibited by law, the local government levied a small fine for cleaning up the spill. Environmental groups, however, argued that continued use of the chemical was damaging to the local wildlife and threatened to organize a boycott against Perpetual Batteries. What should Perpetual Batteries do to ensure that it meets its ethical responsibilities?

Answer 1

Perpetual batteries has 2 options in order to meet its ethical responsibilities:

1. Try to make sure that their system is 100% leak proof, but that would be very hard to do (systems are rarely perfect) and the public might not believe them. If the public does not believe them, they might still suffer form lower sales.
2. Change the design of their batteries so that they no longer need to use the harmful chemical, and instead use environmentally friendly processes. This option is better because this change can be used to both solve environmental issues and helps to promote the company's image as green or environmentally friendly which can increase their sales volume.