Biodiversity and Ethical Business
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Late lessons for business: Why did industry not respond with precaution to early warnings?
Abstract: When there is scientific uncertainty about potential hazards for human health or the environment, acting with precaution would often imply that companies abstain from profitable products or operations. Moreover, business decision makers face a complex mix of economic, organizational, legal, psychological and ethical considerations. Reviewing the interdisciplinary literature and in particular case studies from the two volumes of Late Lessons from Early Warnings (2001, 2010), this paper aims to provide a systematic overview of the aspects that explain why companies have in the past not responded with precaution to early warnings. We conclude with a set of lessons for responsible business decision making.
Introduction
The two volumes of Late Lessons from Early Warnings (EEA 2001, EEA 2010) - henceforth LL1& LL2 - provide evidence of prominent cases in which early warning signals about potential hazards from the use of commercial products or operations have been neglected over long periods of time, eventually with grave consequences for human health and the (...)
