Assessment Task 2 Cover Sheet

Student Declaration
To be filled out and submitted with assessment responses

• I declare that this task is all my own work and I have not cheated or plagiarised the work or colluded with any other student(s).
• Iunderstand that if I If I am found to have plagiarised, cheated or colluded, action will be taken against me according to the process explained to
• I have correctly referenced all resources and reference texts throughout these assessment

Student name______________
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Student signature___________
Date________________________
 
Assessor declaration

• I hereby certify that this student has been assessed by me and that the assessment has been carried out according to the required assessment procedures.

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Assessment outcome              S             NS              DNS                         Resubmission    Y     N
 
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Student result response

• My performance in this assessment task has been discussed and explained to me.
• I would like to appeal this assessment decision.

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A copy of this page must be supplied to the office and kept in the student’s file with the evidence.
 

Assessment Task 2: Sustainability Policy and Procedure

Project
Task summary
You are required, in the role of Operations Manager of Grow Management Consultants, to conduct research and analysis and prepare a briefing report to guide the development of a workplace sustainability policy and procedure. You will then consult with stakeholders at a meeting, using your report as a basis for discussion. Following the meeting, you will develop a sustainability policy and procedures document, as well as an action plan for implementation of this.
This assessment will be completed in the classroom as part of a simulated work environment. The assessor will observe students completing this task.
Required

• Computer and Microsoft Office
• Access to the internet for research and to information included at:

 

• https://www.business.gov.au/info/run/environmental-management/environmental-legislation
• http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/services-and-advice/business/energy-and-materials- efficiency-for-business/resources-and-tools/life-cycle-management

 

• Policy and Procedures Template
• Action Plan Template
• Briefing Report

Timing
The assessor will advise you of the due date of these submissions.
Submit

• Email to your assessor with your sustainability briefing report attached
• Email to your assessor with the following attached:

Sustainability policy and procedures
Sustainability action plan
 
Assessment criteria
For students’ performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, they must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed they will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.
Re-submission opportunities
Students will be provided feedback on their performance by their Assessor. The feedback will indicate if you have satisfactorily addressed the requirements of each part of this task.
If any parts of the task are not satisfactorily completed your assessor will explain why and provide you written feedback along with guidance on what you must undertake to demonstrate satisfactory performance. Re-assessment attempt(s) will be arranged at a later time and date.
Students have the right to appeal the outcome of assessment decisions if they feel they have been dealt with unfairly or have other appropriate grounds for an appeal.
Students are encouraged to consult with their assessor prior to attempting this task if they do not understand any part of this task or if they have any learning issues or needs that may hinder them when attempting any part of the assessment.

Assessment Task 2 Instructions

Carefully read the following:
Grow Consultants specialises in leadership consultancy, and has been operational for the last five years. It offers a range of services which support companies to:

• Assess leadership behaviour of existing managers and their performance metrics
• Design and implement customized leadership programs based on the assessment.

Services are offered Australia-wide, with consultants flying in to conduct specific training with companies, as well as offering regular workshops at the company’s premises. To date, technology (for example, webinars) has not been employed in training.
The company also writes and produces books on a range of topics about leadership. Currently the company has ten publications, which are published through a publishing house in the USA (Hozit Publishers). One of the Principal Consultants is American and knew these publishers. The cost of publishing the books and shipping to Australia is about the same as it would be use a publisher in Australia.
The books are produced using non-recycled paper and are transported via air to Grow Management Consultants office. They are then distributed by post to customers from the Grow Management Consultants’ office. As sales have been slow for the books, the company has also been exploring options for e-books.
The company was established by its Principal Consultants, Paul Burns and Sammy Martin, both of whom are Directors. The company also employs four Senior Consultants, an Operations Manager, an Office Manager, Administration Officer and a Receptionist.
The office building is owned by the company and is located in an outer lying metropolitan suburb. All staff drive to work in their own cars and there is on-site parking. The nearest railway station is 10 minutes’ walk from the office.
Paul Burns has recently attended a Sustainable Business workshop and is keen to implement sustainable practices throughout the business. The strategic plan has also been recently updated and has been influenced by Paul’s attendance at the workshop. It includes the following statement as part of the mission statement:
We are committed, as a business, to the well-being of both economic and ecological systems, of both humans and other living things,
However, there are no specific actions indicated in the Strategic Plan and so, at present, the statement appears to be paying lip service only.
Paul is keen to develop a sustainability policy and procedures that address all aspects of the business including, as a minimum: travel, purchasing, office energy use, office supplies, and cleaning. However, Paul also has specifically stated that he does not want to incur costs in developing policy and procedure and that all the work must be developed in-house, therefore consultants must not be used.
Current issues and practices within the organisation are as follows;

• There is older style florescent lighting in all offices, staff room and These lights are often left on after the work day has finished.
• There are no formal energy usage procedures for staff or signage to remind staff.
• The company does not have a policy for purchasing equipment and buys equipment when required, often purchasing whatever is on special at the time.
• The two principal consultants have company Both vehicles are now five years old and need to be upgraded.
• Staff buy stationary requirements on an ad hoc basis, often resulting in large stocks of items such as notepads and A grade printer paper.
• There is a waste bin and recycling bins, which are mostly used correctly.
• The company hosts regular meetings and Catering is provided by an external caterer with all plates and cups supplied (plastic).
• The office is cleaned once a week by contract cleaners who use regular cleaning products.

 
Current company procedures for developing policies and procedures are as follows:

• The need for the policy and procedure should be established and a preliminary briefing report developed.
• This should be discussed at a meeting with the senior management team consisting of at least one of the Principal Another staff member should also be selected to ensure representation of all staff.

 

1. Develop a briefing report.

Review the case study information provided and conducts research using the Internet or any other source of information to identify the following:

• Relevant environmental and sustainability legislation, regulations and codes of practice.
• Sources of information on sustainability, including incorporating sustainability into business planning and using it as an opportunity to identify new business initiatives.
• Sustainability policies and procedures developed by other organisations.
• Life cycle mapping processes.

Use the sources indicated under “Required” on page 19 as information sources.
Using your research and analysis, develop a briefing report to present at a senior management meeting. The purpose of the briefing report will be to provide relevant information about sustainability, including legislation and to seek input into the development of the policy and procedure.
Use the Briefing Report Template to guide your work.
 
Your briefing report should address the following:

• Introduction, including current organisational practices.
• Key sustainability facts and figures and the benefits to businesses of implementing sustainable initiatives.
• How sustainability can be built into business planning and can inform business opportunities to reflect the organisation’s commitment to sustainability.
• Legal requirements in relation to workplace sustainability relevant to Grow Management Consultants, as well as any relevant regulations and codes of practices.
• Details of sustainability policies and procedures researched and inclusions within the policy and procedures.
• An overview of life cycle mapping, including life style stages, life cycle map, life cycle matrix.
• Identification of the most effective strategies to reduce environmental impact (use the Sustainability Victoria website resources to assist you to complete this task). This should include, as a minimum, strategies to minimise resource use and to reduce toxic material and hazardous chemical use.
• Provide an example to illustrate this concept for the production of the books sold by Grow Management Consultants. Attach your example to your report as appendices, you should complete the life cycle map and life cycle matrix and mitigating strategies. Example actions should be included as below.
• Example sustainability actions to inform the sustainability action plan for the next 12 months. You should identify at least five ideas initially, including identifying priority actions and longer-term
• Recommendations on suitable performance indicators that can be used to measure environmental performance once the policy and procedure is actions
• Options for strategies that could be implemented to ensure that resource efficiency within the business is continually reviewed and improved.
• Proposed scope of the policy, including a list of headings to be included and a brief description of each heading.
• Recommendations for policy options including discussion on likely effectiveness, timeframes and any costs.

 

2. Send an email to Paul (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment and ask for the place, time and date of the meeting with stakeholders (your assessor and at least two other students).
The email text should also identify stakeholders who will need to be involved with the policy development as per the scenario information provided.
Your assessor will advise you of the date and time of the meeting.
You should also print enough copies of your briefing report to provide one to every participant at the meeting.
Attach your briefing report to the email
 

3. Participate in a meeting with the stakeholders.

Provide a copy of the briefing report to each person.
Discuss your briefing report with the meeting attendees, clearly explaining the information and your ideas.
At the meeting stakeholders will provide input into the development of the policy and procedures through their comments and ideas. Encourage their participation.
During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including:

• Speaking clearly and concisely
• Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• Asking questions to identify required information
• Responding to questions as required
• Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

 

4. Send an email to all stakeholders at the meeting (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should:

• Outline the feedback provided at the meeting that you will take into account in developing the policy and procedures
• Confirms their agreement to the scope of the sustainability policy and procedures, including:
• Required outcomes of the sustainability policy and procedure
• Key Performance Indicators for sustainability actions
• Methods of implementation that will be used to implement the sustainability policy and procedures

 

5. Develop the policy and procedures

Develop the policy and procedures based on your research and proposed outline, as well as the input from the team as confirmed in your email.
Ensure that your policy and procedures make a statement about the organisation’s commitment to sustainability (as set out in the scenario information), as well as how sustainability initiatives will be incorporated into business planning and will also serve as business opportunities.
Use the Policy and Procedures Template to guide your work.

6. Develop an action plan for the upcoming 12 months

The final part of the assessment task requires you to develop an action plan to show the actions that will be completed over the upcoming 12 months.
The action plan should show the priorities of actions as well as timelines and responsibilities.
Use the Action Plan Template to guide your work.
 

7. Send an email to the Principal Consultants (your assessor)

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should summarise the contents of the attachments, and seek their approval to move forward with the project.
Attach your policy and procedures and your action plan to the email.
 

Assessment Task 2 Checklist

Student’s name:
Did the student:
In the briefing report, identify a range of suitable sources of sustainability information that can inform the development of a workplace sustainability policy and procedures?
In the briefing report, identify and report on environmental legislation, regulations and codes of practice relevant to the business?
Provide a life cycle mapping (using the template provided) and identify suitable sustainability strategies?
In the briefing report, discuss strategies for minimising resource use, reducing toxic material and hazardous chemical use based on life cycle mapping?
In the briefing report, recommend a range of policy options including discussion on likely effectiveness, timeframes and any costs?
In the briefing report, provide an outline of the proposed scope of sustainability policy and procedures?
In the email, correctly identify stakeholders who need to participate in the policy development process?
Present briefing report at meeting and seek feedback on proposed sustainability policy and procedures?
During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including:

• Speaking clearly and concisely
• Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• Asking questions to identify required information
• Responding to questions as required
• Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

Student’s name:
Did the student:	Completed Successfully
	Yes	No
In the briefing report, identify a range of suitable sources of sustainability information that can inform the development of a workplace sustainability policy and procedures?
In the briefing report, identify and report on environmental legislation, regulations and codes of practice relevant to the business?
Provide a life cycle mapping (using the template provided) and identify suitable sustainability strategies?
In the briefing report, discuss strategies for minimising resource use, reducing toxic material and hazardous chemical use based on life cycle mapping?
In the briefing report, recommend a range of policy options including discussion on likely effectiveness, timeframes and any costs?
In the briefing report, provide an outline of the proposed scope of sustainability policy and procedures?
In the email, correctly identify stakeholders who need to participate in the policy development process?
Present briefing report at meeting and seek feedback on proposed sustainability policy and procedures?
During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including: Speaking clearly and concisely Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding Asking questions to identify required information Responding to questions as required Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding
In an email, confirm and agree on the scope of the sustainability policy and procedures?
Develop and submit a sustainability policy and procedures that reflect the organisation’s commitment to sustainability as an integral part of business planning and as a business opportunity?
Document appropriate methods of implementation, outcomes and performance indicators in an action plan?
In an email, seek agreement for their policy and procedures and action plan?
Task Outcome:	Satisfactory	Not Satisfactory
Assessor signature
Assessor name
Date

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BLW 513 Lesson 8 – Environmental Law and International Trade

Introduction

Businesses, like people, both rely on and abuse the environment. The U.S. government is charged with protecting the environment and has created the Environmental Protection Agency to guide businesses in the right direction. Starting with an overview of the EPA, below are a few laws and regulations that exist for the protection of the environment.

Federal Regulation of the Physical Environment

NEPA’s basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action that significantly affects the environment. It is a planning statute, not a regulatory one. NEPA requirements are invoked in four instances: (1) when federal funding is involved; (2) when a federal permit is issued; (3) when federal land, facilities, or equipment is involved; and (4) for federal rulemaking.
In these four instances, NEPA requires Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) which are assessments of the likelihood of impacts from alternative courses of action from all federal agencies. EAs and EISs are the most visible NEPA requirements. NEPA establishes the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). NEPA is not invoked for state, private government, and local government actions.

Environmental Assessment (EA)

The EA is a public document that serves to provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an EIS or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The EA may also discuss mitigation measures – measures that can be taken to reduce the harm to the environment.

Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)

If an EIS is required, the responsible agency must publish a notice of intent (NOI) in the Federal Register, indicating intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and the date and place of any scoping meeting. The scoping meeting is to allow any interested parties to appear and participate, and to identify the scope of the environmental impacts identified. The public has 45 days to comment, after which the final EIS is reported upon.

The Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), begun in 1970, is the federal agency that is responsible for protecting the natural environment – air, water, land and endangered species. It sets and enforces national standards under a number of environmental laws designed to address specific environmental issues.

Clean Air Act

Due to its evolution through many amendments, the Clean Air Act (CAA), is a patchwork of federal laws that define the EPA’s responsibilities for protecting and improving the nation’s air quality and stratospheric ozone layer. The EPA established the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). NAAQS directed the states to set pollution standards and to implement plans to reach their goals. The 1990 amendment to the CAA also set technology-based standards for major sources and area sources.
The CAA establishes criminal penalties for violations, including the possibility of prison terms, and authorizes the EPA to pursue civil suits for injunctions or monetary remedies. The CAA also authorizes private rights of action by citizens against those violating the act and against agencies that fail to perform their obligations under the law. States can have stronger pollution controls, but they may not have weaker controls than those imposed by the CAA.
Ozone destroying chemicals continue to be emitted into the stratosphere. The U.S. banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as propellants in aerosol cans in 1978.

Acid Rain Program

Acid rain, also called acid deposition, refers to a mixture of wet and dry deposited material from the atmosphere that contain a higher than normal amounts of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x). Reduction of emissions is achieved through the use of emission caps – limitations on the amount of pollution that can be used. Each source of pollution is given an “allowance” and cannot emit more than their allowance permits.

Water Pollution

As with air pollution, the issue of water pollution is complicated by the nature of the resource. Water exists in many forms: surface water such as lakes, ponds, and rivers – navigable or non- navigable, or ground water that is beneath the earth. Water is also complicated by the issue of ownership. The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the navigable waters of the U.S. and regulating quality standards for surface waters. Under the CWA, the EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
The CWA has four basic functions. It (1) authorizes water quality standards for surface waters;
(2) requires permits for point source discharges of pollutants into navigable waters; (3) assists with funding for construction of municipal sewage treatment plants, and (4) plans for control of nonpoint source pollution.
The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (SDWA) was established to protect the quality of drinking water and its sources: rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells. The Act authorizes the EPA to establish minimum standards to protect tap water and requires all owners or operators of public water systems to comply with these primary health-related standards.
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1988 (MPRSA), also known as the  Ocean Dumping Act, prohibits the transportation of material from the U.S. for the purpose of ocean dumping, or by U.S. agencies or U.S.-flagged vessels for the purpose of ocean dumping,  or the dumping of material from outside of the U.S. in U.S. waters.
Ocean dumping is defined as the deliberate disposal of hazardous wastes at sea from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other human-made structures.

Offshore Drilling for Oil

The U.S. consumes about one-fourth of the world’s oil but produces only about ten percent off its shores. Currently there is continued debate in the U.S. over whether to allow offshore drilling. In 1981, Congress imposed an offshore drilling ban. Oil spills remain a primary concern among ecologists and others who study and work in the area. Technology has improved, which has led to a decrease in oil spills. In the U.S. the Minerals Management Service, a division of the Department of the Interior, currently overseas offshore drilling.

Species Protection

The Endangered Species Act (ESP) provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats in which they live. Generally, the NMFS is responsible for species in marine environments and anadromous fish, (those that return to rivers and streams to breed) while the FWS oversees terrestrial and freshwater species and migratory birds. The FWS maintains a worldwide list that includes all the endangered species. The ESL protects only endangered and threatened species.
An endangered species is one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.

Hazardous and Toxic Waste Disposal

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) gives the EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from “cradle-to-grave.” This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA also gives a framework for dealing with non-hazardous solid wastes.
How RCRA regulates waste depends on whether it is classified as solid waste or hazardous waste. All waste that is not hazardous is solid. The term solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, but does not include material in domestic sewage.²³
Hazardous waste has properties that make it dangerous or potentially harmful to human’s health or the environment. Hazardous waste can be liquids, solids, contained gases, or sludge.

Medical Waste Tracking Act

The Medical Waste Tracking Act (MWTA) was enacted after medical waste washed up on the shores and beaches in New York and New Jersey. Medical waste consists of infectious, hazardous, radioactive, and other general waste from doctor’s offices and hospitals. The act defines medical waste as including cultures and stocks of infectious agents, pathological wastes, such as tissues, organs, and body parts, human blood and blood components, sharp instruments that have been used in patient care, animal carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals used in testing, waste from surgery or autopsies and lab waste.

Toxic Substances Control Act

The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) provides the EPA with authority to require reporting, record-keeping, testing, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures, excluding food, drugs, cosmetics, and pesticides. The TSCA addresses the production, importation, use, and disposal of specific chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, radon, and lead-based paint.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), otherwise known as the Superfund, provides a fund of money to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment. CERCLA references other statutes to identify over 800 hazardous substances or potentially hazardous substances. The EPA cleans up orphan sites when potentially responsible parties cannot be identified or located, or when they fail to act. The EPA obtains private party cleanup through orders, consent decrees, and settlements.
The EPA operates the Superfund in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Noise Pollution

Noise is defined as unwanted or disturbing sound.²⁴ The EPA’s role currently is to investigate and study noise and its effects and to evaluate the effectiveness of noise on the public’s health and welfare. The EPA, through other federal agencies regulates noise sources such as rail and motor carriers, low noise emissions products, construction equipment, transport equipment, trucks, motorcycles, and the labeling of hearing protection devices.

State Environmental Laws

Conservation has traditionally been an area left to state law. At present, federal legislation preempts state law in certain areas, but states are free to regulate their environment in any area not preempted. Some areas are totally preempted by federal law. Under federal preemption rules, even where the federal law does not occupy the entire field, a state law on the same topic is still preempted if the state law conflicts.

What it means to be a “Green” Business

Green business, or sustainable business, attempts to have no negative impact on the environment. Sustainability has been defined as a three-legged stool – people, planet, profit.²⁵ A major focus of sustainable businesses is to reduce or eliminate the impact made on the environment by harmful chemicals, materials, and waste generated by production or service.
Sustainable business practices can include recycling waste and using alternative (to fossil fuels) energy sources, such as solar power.
Up cycling is the process of using waste materials to provide new products.²⁶
Social sustainability is another aspect of going green.
Social sustainability encompasses human rights, labor rights, cultural rights and corporate governance. Social sustainability often manifests through socially responsible investing (SRI). Green businesses are on the rise.

International Enforcement Issues

Because local, state, and federal efforts with respect to the environment can be undermined by pollutants from other nations, the U.S. EPA’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) has entered into many agreements with the governments of other nations. The OIA focuses on issues such as marine pollution or long-range transport of pollutants that only sustained international cooperation can help. One area that has had substantial international focus has been global climate change. Many agreements grew out of the United Nations Convention on the Human Environment in 1972, also known as the Earth Summit.

Corporate and Global Codes of Conduct

An environmental impact statement is an analysis of the expected effects of a development or action on the surrounding natural environment. The greater the number of impacts recorded for a project, building, or business, the more likely it is that the impacts will be managed through an environmental management system, or EMS. Similar to financial plans, EMSs seek to plan and manage an environmental response. Executive Order 13148, dated April 22, 2000, required federal facilities covered by environmental regulations to implement EMSs by specific deadlines, with final implementation by 2005.

Global Reporting Initiative

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a coalition of investors, environmental groups, and social policy advocates that was launched in 1997 to promote global guidelines for enterprise-level sustainability reports. The GRI mission is to elevate sustainable development reporting to the level of general acceptance and practice now accorded financial reporting. The idea of GRI is to put environmental reporting on the same footing as financial reporting by using economic and social considerations. Like Ceres, GRI has provided a list of guidelines to use as frameworks for its sustainability reports.

U.S. Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) developed an internationally recognized green building certification system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). LEED is a third-party certification program that serves as a tool for buildings of all types and sizes.
LEED certification is a point based system whereby projects earn points for satisfying specific green building criteria. The number of points determines the level of certification it receives.

International Trade

Next, we discuss international trade and business. Most successful U.S. businesses seek to expand their markets. If they are successful, one option is to increase profits by expanding into the international marketplace. Each country gets to decide how it will implement the treaty that it signs.

Cultural Implications in International Business

Not every country acts the same way because of cultural differences, and business expectations are included. Business people have a set of expectations around the role of government in business, the length and purpose of business meetings, how important issues should be communicated between parties who are in negotiations, the decision-making process and the exchanging of gifts and personal favors. Other countries might have very different cultural references for these things and their code of conduct may be very different as a result.
Failure to know about and respect specific cultural differences can create embarrassment or ridicule. Because of increased awareness of the importance of respecting multiculturalism, U.S. businesses must also ensure that their products, salespeople, and sales techniques do not offend international buyers.

Sources of International Law

International law, by definition, involves the study of many different legal systems other than our own. The primary sources of international law include custom, treaties, agreements, and internationally accepted organization rules.

Custom

A custom is a principle or practice that has developed over a course of dealing; the practice is so well recognized that it becomes binding on the parties to the custom. Many such customs have become the subject of treaties so the custom becomes the rule.

Treaties and Other Agreements

A treaty is simply a negotiated contract between parties who happen to be nations. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, adopted in 1969 (effective 1980) codified the entire law of treaties, and it established rules to be applied in interpreting treaties. Other types of agreements include conventions, protocols, and executive orders, none of which have the force of a treaty, but each of which may be used to further clarify sovereignty’s position.

Organizations

There are two types of international organizations: intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Intergovernmental organizations are made up of sovereign states called members. An NGO operates as a private organization that pursues activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development.²⁷ The hallmark of a NGO is the fact that the organization depends on charitable contributions and voluntary service to operate.
In addition to international organizations, there are regional organizations which consist of groups of nations whose purpose it is to regulate business within their region.

International Regulation of World Trade

The increased access for U.S. businesses, plus the desire of other nations to engage in world trade, led to the creation of international agreements to promote and regulate world business.

The General Agreement of Tariff and Trade (GATT) and the Formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

The GATT is the only multilateral instrument that had agreed–upon rules for international trade. Occasionally the signatories to the GATT convened to negotiate new agreements called a round. Most significant was the Uruguay Round. Out of that round came important new agreements in the areas of services, intellectual property, and goods.
In 1994, the GATT was updated to include new obligations on its signatories, and a brand new umbrella organization was formed. The World Trade Organization (WTO), consisting of the 75 existing GATT members and the European Communities became the organization under which trade agreements are now organized. The WTO expanded its scope to include goods, the service sector and intellectual rights. The WTO has three broad principles: GATT for goods; the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for services such as tourism, banking, and construction projects or consultancies; and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for addressing traditional infringement, computer piracy, and bootlegging.

Permanent Normal Trade Relations Status

GATT attempts to impose nondiscriminatory principles on its members by requiring equal treatment of all member countries. That principle, known as permanent normal trade relations status (formerly most-favored-nation (MFN) status), imposes a duty on member nations to exact the same tariffs on every country and requires that the importing country treat imported goods from member countries as though they are domestic goods. Tariffs are charges imposed on a product when the product is imported into a country.

Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade

Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) are barriers that restrict imports but are not in the form of a tariff. Some examples of NTBs are anti-dumping measures, countervailing duties, product-specific quotas, packaging and labeling conditions, product standards, and “buy national” policies.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

The OECD is a 30-nation intergovernmental organization established in 1960 as the successor to the international body that had administered the Marshall Plan. The principal purpose of the OECD is to coordinate the key economic policies of the major industrialized countries

U.S. Regulation of World Trade

Competition for international dollars has prompted enactment of rules and regulations that attempt to ensure that only companies that meet international standards for quality can be involved in international business. Exporting products into the international market requires knowledge of and compliance with export rules and regulations. Before a business can export products, it must apply for an export license.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)

The BIS is charged with the development, implementation, and interpretation of U.S. export control policy for purely commercial commodities, dual-use commodities, software, and technology. BIS uses a scheme of licenses to control exports from the United States depending on the type of good to be exported and the final destination. The most restricted destinations are the embargoed countries and those countries designated as supporting terrorist activities.
The BIS website contains a list of these individuals and organizations.
In the U.S., imports to this country are governed by federal agencies.

U.S. Trade Representative

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is part of the executive Office of the President. The USTR negotiates directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, resolve disputes, and is involved with global trade organizations. The USTR is the official U.S. representative in all activities concerning the GATT. The USTR is responsible for developing and coordinating international trade policy and oversees trade negotiations with other countries.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is housed within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The office is charged with the responsibility of collecting customs duties, export taxes, fees, and penalties owed for imported merchandise.

International Trade Administration

The International Trade Administration (ITA) is located within the Department of Commerce. ITA promotes world trade and strengthens the position of the United States in international trade and investments.

International Trade Commission

The International Trade Commission (ITC) is an independent agency that provides trade expertise to the legislative and executive branches of government. The ITC advises the President on and investigates issues such as the balance of trade between imports and exports, economic impact in the United States of any proposed trade agreements, and effects of foreign competition on the United States.

Dumping

Dumping occurs when a product is sold for less money in the United States or other countries into which it is imported than it is sold for in the home country. The laws that are used to penalize those who are found to dump their products are called antidumping laws.

Countervailing Duty

If a foreign government pays a subsidy to a manufacturer in that country to produce a product and that product is then imported into the U.S., then a countervailing duty may be imposed on the product. A duty is an amount imposed upon importation  of a product, much like a tariff.  This additional duty is designed to make up for the competitive edge gained by the reduction in cost to produce the item created by the subsidy.

Gray Market Goods

Gray market goods are goods manufactured in a country other than the United States and bearing a valid U.S. trademark, which are imported into the U.S without consent of the American trademark holder. Gray market goods are subject to seizure upon entering into this country without permission. The ITA determines whether the alleged subsidies or dumping are actually occurring and, if so, at what levels. The ITC determines whether the U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of the dumped or subsidized imports.

Corruption in the Global Market

Graft, bribery, and other forms of corruption are ways of doing business in some countries and the thought of outlawing it is a difficult concept to grasp.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits U.S. companies and its citizens from bribing public officials to keep or obtain business. The FCPA contains two main provisions:  the antibribery clause and the recordkeeping and accounting provisions. The antibribery clause prohibits payoffs to foreign public officials or political parties to obtain or retain business.
An issuer is defined as including any U.S. public company subject to SEC reporting requirements including employees and foreign agents.
Domestic concern is defined as including any business with its principal place of business in the
U.S. The FCPA applies to foreign agents of issuers or domestic concerns, but it does not apply to foreign officials. The word corruptly is not defined by the act, but it is used to make clear that the offer, payment, promise, or gift must be intended to induce the recipient to misuse his official position in order to wrongfully direct business to the payor or his client, or to obtain preferential regulation.

Exclusions under the FPCA

The act is strictly construed to prohibit payments to public officials for the limited purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA does not apply to private sector bribery.²⁸ Thus, the antibribery provisions do not apply to “grease” payments.

Penalties

The SEC can institute civil injunctive and administrative proceedings to enforce all FCPA provisions against issuers. The DOJ can institute criminal actions against any person or company for any violation of the antibribery and recordkeeping provisions.

Enforcement of the FCPA

While the FCPA is a big stick, statistics show that government has used it sparingly, if at all, until recently. The DOJ does not compile statistics publicly that shows its enforcement of the FCPA. The SEC lists cases and investigations on its website, but there is no public case tracking system that monitors the status of cases. These lax prosecutions and sparse investigations have been criticized by the international community.²⁹

International Business Transactions

If a buyer has contacted the business directly, then a simple direct sale may be the answer.
If the business has not been approached and does not have the capital to venture into the market unguided, they may wish to sell their product to an export company that specializes in marketing their type of product.

Contracts

The sale of domestically manufactured goods to a foreign purchaser, or export, is the most common and direct way to conduct international trade. The manufacturer or seller is the exporter, and the purchaser in the importer.
The UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG or the Vienna Convention) has been adopted by over two dozen countries, including the United States in 1988. The treaty applies to the sale of goods between parties whose places of business are in different nations and who have agreed to the terms of the convention. The convention applies only to the sale of certain goods. While direct sales may be the simplest way to market goods internationally, it may well be one of the riskiest.

Indirect Export Sales (Distribution through Export Companies)

A business may not have been contacted directly by a potential buyer, but may still wish to enter the international market. Because of the financial risk of direct sales exporting, they may wish to export products through the use of intermediaries known as an export trading company (ETC), and export management company (EMC). An EMC generally is smaller and usually handles only one product or type of product; an ETC generally handles more types of goods and is larger.
Export trading companies are regulated through the Export Trading Company Act.

Licensing Agreements

A license is an agreement (contract) that gives the licensee permission to use, produce, or distribute the licenser’s product, information, or invention under the licenser’s name. A licensing agreement is a document or certificate that generally states the terms of the license, including the conditions of its use, assistance the licenser may provide the licensee, compensation arrangements (royalties), the law that will govern, and the method for resolving disputes. Licensing is most often used when a trademark, patent, copyright, technology, or trade secret is involved. Protection from such disclosures can be obtained by filing for an international trademark through the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property (the Paris Convention); a treaty that provides for trademark protection and protects trademarks and patents from unfair use provided the country in which the goods are marketed honors the Paris Convention.

The Services Area

In addition to products, licensing is also used by service industries. A license from the owner of a trademark or trade name is called a franchise. Franchising means conducting the business of selling or servicing franchises. The services sector is generally agreed that to cover such services as transportation, communication, banking, finance, insurance, business and professional, community, social, and personal services. This expansion prompted the GATT to establish GATS, the international trade agreement for services much like the agreements produced for trade of goods during the Uruguay Rounds.

Joint Venture

An international joint venture occurs between two or more companies – one of which is located in the country targeted as a market – that contribute assets for conducting the business.

Resolving International Disputes

There is no such thing as international commercial litigation as such. Often, however, most international commercial contracts entered into between merchants contain an arbitration clause, which states that prior to or in lieu of litigation, the parties will submit their dispute to an agreed- upon arbitration board.

Arbitration

If the contracting parties choose to include an arbitration clause, the clause usually designates the arbitration board to be used.

Litigation

If arbitration does not apply to a dispute, or the parties choose to litigate, then three scenarios generally arise. First, there is multinational litigation, which consists of concurrent proceedings in more than one jurisdiction, involving the same parties or arising out of the same factual litigation. Second, a party can proceed in one jurisdiction on an issue that is actually ancillary to the main proceeding that is occurring in another jurisdiction, such as an action to freeze the assets of the defendant pending the outcome of the main litigation. Third, the party may be faced with choosing the forum in which to bring action.

International Trade Protection

The International Trade Commission (ITC) performs the task of enforcing violations of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337), known as “337” actions. Section 337 protects intellectual property from unlawful infringement and also protects against unfair competition, such as the misappropriation of trade secrets, trade dress infringement, false advertising, and violations of the antitrust laws.

Antitrust Issues

Each country has laws governing competition within its borders. The Sherman Act applies to “trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign nations.”³⁰ However, the full scope of the Sherman Act has never been applied to international commerce. The Sherman Act reaches foreign conduct only when such conduct causes certain effects within the U.S. or on U.S. commerce.
In 1982, Congress enacted the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act (FTAIA). The purpose of the act was to limit the reach of the Sherman Act unless (1) the conduct has a direct substantial and reasonably foreseeable effect on U.S. import or export commerce, and (2) the effect gives rise to a claim under the Sherman Act.

Protection for Intellectual Property

Intellectual property protection comes primarily from the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). TRIPs refer to the intellectual property right objectives in the GATT Uruguay Round and the successor WTO.

Ethical Considerations in the International Context

Ethical considerations present the thorniest of issues in international business.

Food Production

Earlier was mentioned the cultural considerations Europeans have for not wanting genetically modified products imported into their country. The question is how does the international market respond to different values in different markets? Europe has generated the “precautionary principle” mentioned in footnote 6 as the underpinning of its regulation of food products.
The regulatory policy of the EU reflects the prevention outlook of the precautionary principle. If no one does it, nothing will happen. In the U.S., the agency that is responsible for ensuring the safety of genetically modified food takes the position that as long as it meets its safety criteria, it is granted the status of a non-regulated food. The result is that in Europe, genetically modified foods are labeled as such, while in the U.S., organic foods are labeled as such and anything not so labeled can be assumed to contain genetically modified products.

Child Slave Labor

No area gets more attention in the U.S. than the use of child labor or slave labor to produce goods used in this country. One such case is that of the child slave labor used to harvest cocoa which is then shipped to industrialized nations around the world.

Lesson Learning Objectives

By the conclusion of this Lesson you should be able to:

• Explain what the environment is, and how the federal government regulates the environment.
• Describe the importance of proper disposal of hazardous waste.
• Discuss what it means to be a green business.
• Compare the sources of international law, and the regulation of international trade.
• Explain how the U.S. regulates imports and exports.
• Describe the corruption in the global markets.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how international disputes are resolved.

Reading

• Study Chapters 16 and 17 of the text.

Assignments

The following Assignments should be completed and submitted to the course faculty via the learning platform for evaluation and grading. Submit your responses to these questions in one WORD document. List the question first, and then your response.
Be sure to properly site your sources, both in-text and with a reference list at the conclusion. If you use an online source to support your answers, you must provide a properly formatted link to the source. You should use APA citation format and make sure your sources are credible. In most cases, your responses should be no more than 100 words.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)? What are the four instances when the NEPA is required?
2. Explain the purpose of the Council on Environmental Quality?
3. What is the Environmental Protection Agency? What does the EPA govern?
4. What does the Clean Air Act require?
5. What does it mean to be a “green business?”
6. What is an environmental impact statement?
7. Discuss the establishment of the World Trade Organization.
8. What is a non-tariff barrier?
9. What does the Ambassador of the U.S. Trade Representative do?
10. What are grey market goods?

Professional Development Questions

1. The local residents of Greene County, a small, rural, mostly minority community, have recently learned that a major oil company is putting a refinery in the county. The residents ask for an environmental impact statement and learn that one has not been done. What can they do to demand one, and what steps must be taken before the oil refinery can be built?

 

2. Rondon Inc. is concerned that the political situation in a Southeast Asian country to which it wishes to export its goods is so unstable that it might not be permitted to do so. What should Rondon do before exporting to this country?

Lesson 8 Quiz
Use the quiz to test your knowledge of the concepts covered in this lesson. You may take the quiz as many times as you wish. The results are not calculated into your grade.

 

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