Category: Norvergence

Norvergence, an environmental agency believes that: “What’s necessary nowadays is the constant readjustment between our environment and the corporate world.”

Can a business world exist with ill consumers and an unhealthy environment? If not, then why various entrepreneurs are still playing on the grounds of Milton Friedman’s theory on corporate social responsibility. It was published in The New York Times Magazine on September 13, 1970, and it states:

“There is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays in the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition, without deception or fraud.”

We all know that the environment, i.e. animals, plants, air, trees, rivers, lakes, water, and mountain, micro-organism, etc is adversely affected by technological advancement driven by various corporate houses. The environmentalists at Norvergence pulled these areas into mainstream media from the darkness.

Day-by-day, the capability of the environment to sustain the impact of economic development is decreasing at an unprecedented rate.

There is no doubt that industrialization has raised a serious threat to the environment including vegetation, human beings, and animals.

The increasing anger of public and governments against corporate houses that are affecting the environment in both direct and direct ways has led to the rise of “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)”. The theory not only touches one area (environment) but it also evolved around other important human aspects.

The term first came in 1970 and generally explains the concept of companies integrating social and environmental concerns in their day-to-day operations or on a voluntary basis. Following Norvergence has clearly explained its 5 dimensions:

Five Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Social: This dimension of corporate social responsibility involves the idea that you should use your business to benefit society as well, in any format. It covers all the areas that come under the relationship between your business and society. Norvergence has experts in its office that guide people in this specific area.

Environment: It refers to how your business or any business practices affect the environment again in any form. Further, what policies you opt for that give benefit to the environment or protect it. For example, some companies use recycled materials for various business operations.

Economic: It covers the financial aspects or how CSR put an effect on the financial part of your company.

Stakeholder: It refers to how your actions are affecting stakeholders (employees, suppliers, and the public). For example: for more productivity, you might increase your working hours but at the same time, you have to consider the impact of it on your employees.

Voluntariness: The areas or actions under it are not prescribed by law but it is based on the ethical values that your company holds.

Many environmental organizations like Norvergence collaborate with various corporate houses to execute these actions.

The obligations and dimensions can be summarized in the following 9 points:

1. Improving the quality of life
2. Economic development
3. Transparency & accountability
4. Human rights
5. Law-abiding
6. Ethical business practices
7. Protection of environment
8. Stakeholders’ improvement
9. Obligation to society

Conclusion

In today’s times, the knowledge, perception, and evaluation of CSR are very important. Corporate houses should understand their basic social and environmental responsibilities. It is hoped that this article would solidify the notion that protecting the environment or ecosystem comes under the moral ethics of everyone including corporate houses.

The team Norvergence is working with its volunteers to protect the environment from the effects of global warming and climate change has now conducted research on the Amazon forest so that they can come up with a solution to protect it.

The Amazon rainforest is the world’s biggest rainforest and is estimated to have 16,000 tree species with more than 390 billion individual trees. There are many pieces of research done on this forest and even after the recent fire breakdown from 15th August to 22nd August 2019 there were many reports published related to the wildfire and the causes of the fire.

The research report of the researchers at Norvergence shows a connection between the controversial highway build which destroyed the forest to some extent. The also supports the other reports that point towards the agricultural activities of the area that has caused damage to the forest.

Whereas the number of causes that contributed to the wildfires in the Amazon forest are human activities, especially clearing land for farming.

The other events that support forest damage as a result of human activity are :

• The controversial Amazon Terminal which talks about the highway built by two main Brazilian in order to ease the export of soybeans and grains destroyed the forest to some extent.
• The other big issues point as the cause of the destruction of the Amazon forest are the agricultural activities promoted by the president, Jair Bolsonaro.

The article published by Norvergence discusses the details about the above-mentioned causes. The team feels it’s time for international organizations to look into the matter and take charge to protect the forest from future destruction.

Tree plantation is an activity that is done by the majority of people across the world to contribute towards a greener and cleaner environment. Whereas NGOs like Norvergence LLC are also organizing activities that are related to tree plantation with an aim to encourage people to contribute towards protecting the environment from the effects of global warming and climate change.

But the fact here is that you can’t just plant billions of trees to stop climate change as it is not the only solution for climate change. You need to know a few facts before you plan a tree plantation activity:

• You should know how much carbon trees can trap and be sure of the fertility level of the soil.
• As a fact trees can observe as much as 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per day and can sequester one ton of carbon dioxide by the time it reaches 40 years of age.
• Planting trees is only fruitful if you make sure that they survive and don’t just do it for the sake of doing it.
• Tree plantation helps in cleaning the atmosphere hence it should not be considered the first priority.
• The first priority should be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible

Planting trees is an environmentally friendly activity that does contribute to a cleaner environment. The only concern here is that you should have proper knowledge and research done before you plan such activities. The researchers at Norvergence have pointed towards the issue of fake registration of tree plantation drives of publicity and government benefits.

The other dark side of the plantation drive is that we have started neglecting the root cause of climate change that is “greenhouse gas emission” as no major action is taken against it.

Norvergence is an NGO working with its volunteers all across the world to protect the environment and the lives on earth from the dangerous effects of climate change. Recently the team has started working on the health issues that are caused due to climatic change and global warming. Problems like mental illness and brain health were the main focus but the research shows a number of environmental elements that are causing health issues, especially among children and pregnant women.

The world is well aware of climate change issues and about the number of actions taken by the government, environments and the people across the world to protect the depleting environment and its species. Another alarming issue that is in the limelight and is directly connected to climate change is an increasing number of health problems caused by the changes occurring in the atmosphere.

The researchers at Norvergence said that there are many health issues that are caused by the changing environment. The atmosphere is getting hotter day by day making it difficult for everyone to adapt.

Below are some listed Climatic Change issues and the alarming health conduction:

• As the atmosphere is getting hotter day by day due to global warming and frequent change in the climate people need to face exposure to extreme heat. This heat can lead to heatstroke, dehydration, cardiovascular, respiratory and cerebrovascular diseases.

• The climate change is impacting the air quality too. Warmer temperatures and shifting weather patterns have contributed to the bad quality of air to breathe. The health issues like asthma attacks, heart, and lung diseases have been reported to be common among people living in areas with polluted air and other respiratory cardiovascular health effects are also reported.

• Rising carbon dioxide levels and high temperatures also affect airborne allergens such as ragweed pollen.

• Climate change is increasing the risk of contracting dengue, transmit malaria, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

• Climate change has shown a variety of impacts on food and might increase the risk of exposure to chemical contaminants in food.

• As per experts, the one suffering from pre-existing mental illness has to take precautions as in such cases the risk of death during heat waves triples.
• Higher temperatures and the depletion of the ozone layer has increased the risk of skin disease, especially skin cancer.

• Digestive illnesses like gastrointestinal problems caused by contaminated drinking water due to extreme rains.

• Extreme heat is also linked to aggression and violence forcing people to migrate.

• Climate change effects are clearly visible on agriculture, wildlife, and marine life which directly or indirectly are connected with the health issues reported in humans.

The environmentalist at Norvergence says that it’s important to talk about the health issues that are caused by climate change to make people aware and alert about the circumstance they need to face in the future.

The team Norvergence is currently working on a climate change issue that emphasizes the impact that climate change has shown on the human brain. Recently, the XXIV World Congress of Neurology was held in Dubai and more than 4000 neurologists and specialists from 126 countries attended it. The experts brought into notice their research and theories about the impact that can be seen on the human brain as a result of climate change and the other environmental risks.

The reports show that air pollution is associated with the reported higher incidence of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurological disorders. The expanded research talks about climate change and mental health that includes increasing evidence as to the extreme weather events those are more frequent, intense, and complex as per the changing environment that can trigger the following health issues:

• Post-Traumatic stress disorder(PTSD)
• Major depressive disorder (MDD)
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Complicated Grief
• Vicarious Trauma
• Recovery Fatigue
• Substance abuse
• Suicidal Ideation

Small particles from air pollution and occupational exposure can lead to:

• Inflammation
• Oxidative stress cellular damage

The condition of oxidative stress cellular damage is a consequence of high levels of oxidant molecules and the degeneration of nerve cells. The experts also pointed towards the brain health of children which is being affected by the toxic pollutants in the air which might result in delayed cognitive development or can show links to autism.

The neurologists say that they need to get a more comprehensive understanding of the role the environment plays on the nervous system and diseases related to the brain. The efforts are in the right direction and the focus is to identify the extreme effects that climate change can have on the human brain. The scientists across the world and the researchers have also taken this point related to brain health into consideration and have started working on gaining a clear insight into this raised issue.

The researchers at Norvergence are coordinating with some neurologists to gain more information about the effects on the human brain and what is the main reason behind it. Reasons like industrial pollutants and car emissions are said to be the leading cause of increasing brain health issues, especially among children. Efforts should be made by each one of us to reduce air pollution and demand strict action from the government whenever required.