Topic
The case of Volkswagen’s Emissions scandal of 2015: Business Law
Instructions
Profit Versus Planet: can big business and the environment get along? Why businesses should start going green? Is it possible for companies to stop polluting the environment? Researching at least one case in which a business polluted the environment
Answer Preview
Nonetheless, Volkswagen faced financial problems after this incident as the stock plunged, following the scandal. Evidently, people are very cautious about environmental practices, because profit will never take over the planet. On the other hand, investors left the business not because they were environmentalist supporters; they vended their stocks for the reason that there were fines, bad press, suspension of product and sales, as well as the recall of vehicles. Many investors, include those that had shares in Volkswagen would rather make profits than care what is happening to the environment. Nonetheless, for the public they only purchased the vehicles from VW because they were of the opinion that the company was manufacturing vehicles that were environmental friendly.
Consumers are mainly swayed by the advertisements placed on both traditional and new methods advertising, as such if VW indicated that people should “buy green” then consumers surely did that because they believed in their manufacturer. Consequently, Volkswagen had an ethical, as well as a legal obligation towards consumers to ensure that they sold products that were environmental friendly (Blackwelder et al., 2016). Furthermore, VW owed consumers, as well as investors and other stakeholders a duty of care and loyalty, and the actions of the company ought to be in the interest of the people and the environment.
Word Count: 2300