Design
 Ética
 Metodologia
 História
 Ensino

 Editoriais
 Livros
 Comentários
 Designare

 •Design Philosophy Papers
 •Crítica
 •CPD
 •DesignCulture.info
 •Icograda
 •InfoDesign

Desígnio > Ética
05 de Janeiro de 2006

Environmental Ethics: A new approach to sustainability
by Romeu Gerardo

1. Introduction

It was mostly in 70´s of the last century that the controversy on nature and the relation of the human being with it had reached a position of domination in the context of the diverse societies and civilizations, mainly occidental. For beyond the ecology concept, or ecological crisis, other notion knowledge such as environment or ecological movement, become concepts of required reference. The great questions in the order of the day have to see, with relative ethical problems to our procedures with the nature [1]. The activity of humans in the nature is each time more subjects to a well-taken care of reflection and over all guided in the direction to promote one better management of the natural resources and reduction of impacts promoted by civilization.
The purpose of this article serves over all to promote the concept of environmental ethics, each time more present in our quotidian and which will be integrated in a rational and conscientious form so we can guarantee a better sustainability of the environment.

2. Ethics and Nature

Understanding ethics is fundamental to understanding the crisis that afflicts society today [1].

Ethics is a normative knowledge of human acts, because it establishes morally obligatory norms in respect of the natural environment, that is to say, to life. Its norms perceive the imposition of limits and controls to the permanent risk of harmful attitudes and dangerous conduct [2].

One common view of ethics is the study of right and wrong conduct within a defined environment. Thus, the context in which ethics is applied serves to establish limitations, boundaries, definitions and points-of-view [3].

Given its great importance to broaden and deepen our awareness of the environment and the demands in relation to altering set values, educational changes should be intensified. Every day there is more evidence of small scale ecological phenomenons giving way to global scale phenomenons. The consequences of this and more detailed methodologies have resulted in the recognition that nature is a complex system made up of a large number of interconnected elements [2].

According to Lamb (1996), “Nature” as a concept, plays a large role in defining environmental ethics in that the value placed on it directly influences the positing of an environmental ethic. Yet, the concept of nature itself has no one exact meaning; instead, there are many different uses for nature as a concept in environmental ethics.

According to Santos Jr. (2005), we can define environmental ethics as a manner of behaviour of the human being with the nature, whose base is in the environmental consciousness and the preservation commitment, where the purpose is the conservation of the global life.

For Des Jardins, environmental ethics presents and defends a systematic and comprehensive account of the moral relations between human beings and natural environment. According to Hatcher (2004), it is the discipline that studies the moral relationship between human beings and also the value and moral status of the environment.

So, if the goal of an environmental ethic is to transcend theorists and to reach the general public, such understanding is essential. It stands to reason that if the public cannot understand something, they will not take an interest in it [4].

3. Influence of environmental ethics in product development

Present years have witnessed accelerating rates of change in consumer tastes and a shortening of product life cycles. This has made effective new product development increasingly crucial to corporate success [7]. However, the development of a new product takes in consideration its sustainability. A sustainable product is a product, which will give as little impact on environment as possible during its life cycle [8]. According to Ljungberg (2005), a good sustainable product must give as much satisfaction as possible for the user. Also, environmental concerns are leading to new customer requirements beyond conventional functionality, quality, and cost, relating to how products are made, how long they last, and how they can be disposed of [9].

Currently, it is each time more obvious than the producer not only must satisfy its customer through its products but of equal form to guarantee an environmental quality in the products for itself elaborated, for example, in some markets such as the car industry, environmental considerations have had a fundamental impact on product development process with the quest for energy-efficient low/zero-emission vehicles [10].

The challenge of responding appropriately to concern about the natural environment has changed many aspects of the way businesses operate and has become an integral part of purchasing, marketing, and corporate strategy. [11] This reality can determine that environmental sustainability is characterised as the organising principle of a new world order [2].

4. Conclusion

Nowadays the application of the environmental ethics is justified, it does not only serve to alert for the possible damages that humans can provoke in the nature, but above of everything it’s a form of promoting the sustainability of our resources.  Sometimes, doesn’t become easy to apply the environmental ethics due the economics  and social questions, however, the most important is to develop a new behaviour that has present the conscience of the preservation of the nature, so that we can guarantee the future of our children.

References

[1] VILA-CHÃ – Ecologia e Filosofia: Questões em debate. Retirado de http://facil.ucp.pt/2003_3_art_01_html, em 23-12-2005
[2] PAULA, G.O.; CAVALCANTI, R.N. – Ethics: essence for sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production. Nº8, 2000. p. 109-117
[3] HATCHER, T. – Environmental ethics as an alternative for evaluation theory in for-profit business contexts. Evaluation and Program Planning. Nº27, 2004. p. 357-363
[4] LAMB, K.L. – The problem of defining nature first: A philosophical Critique of Environmental Ethics. The Social Science Journal, Vol. 33, Nº 4, 1996. p.475-486
[5] SANTOS Jr, H.N. – Ética Ambiental – Paradigma ou Conduta Profissional. Retirado de http://www.saude.inf.br/etica.html, em 23-12-2005
[6] DES JARDINS, J.R. – Environmental ethics: na introduction to, environmental philosophy. (3 rd ed). Belmont, CA:  Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. 2001.
[7] CALANTONE, R.J. et al – Business performance and strategic new product development activities: an empirical investigation. Journal Production Innovation Manage. Nº12, 1995. p. 214-226
[8] LJUNGBERG, L.Y. - Materials selection and design for development of sustainable products. Materials & Design. 2005. (in press)
[9] Peattie, K. – Trappings versus substance in the greening of marketing planning. Journal Strategic Mark. Nº7, 1999. p.131-148.
[10] THORNTON, E. – Enviro-cars: the race is on. Bus Week. Nº8, 1999. p.74-75
[11] PUJARI, D.; WRIGHT, G.; PEATTIE, K. – Green and competive influences on environmental new product development performance. Journal of Business Research. Nº 56, 2003. p. 657-671

Romeu Gerardo