ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT

Ecology refers to the pattern and balance of relationships between plants.  Animals, people and their environment. Earlier there was hardly any concern for the depletion of resources and pollution of the environment. Smoke stemming from the chimneys and the dust and grime associated with factories were accepted as a necessary price to be paid for the development.  But  in recent years, the magnitude and nature of the  'pollution  overload'  have assumed such  alarming proportions that pressures have built  up  all  over the world to  do something urgently  lest the  situation gets out of control. In almost all the countries, there exist today legislation and codes of conduct to preserve the earth’s scarce resources and put a halt to any further deterioration in the environment. Business operations of the international firms are no exceptions and have been brought under such regulations. Very recently, the United States government imposed a ban on exports of marine products from countries including India which did not have special devices fitted into fishing trawlers to free the tortoises trapped during fishing expeditions. Similarly, restrictions have been put on garment exports using cloth processed through the use of AZO dyes. Germany today is perhaps the country with most stringent environmental laws in the world.

The concept of industrial progress and development has also undergone paradigm shifts. Corporations today are judged in terms of not only financial returns, but also conservation of environmental resources and reduction in pollution levels. Green technologies, green products and green companies are highly valued in today’s global market place.