The current haze problem faced by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore has triggered my thought about companies embracing Social Responsibility as a corporate core value. The situation is pretty serious as the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) has hit 371 when this short article is written.
It brought my mind back to an old book which I have read in the 70’s entitled: “Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered by a well-known British economist E. F. Schumacher. The book received the prestigious award Prix Europeen de l’Essai Charles Veillon in 1976. I recall the book did mention a somewhat similar problem concerning acid rain faced by Europe and North America at that time – and the problem lingered on into the 80’s. Acid rain has harmful effects on humans just like the haze even though the pollutants are largely different. Pollutants are extremely small particles that can travel across national boundaries and, when inhaled, penetrate deep into the lungs. Pollutants are believed to pose health risks for those over the age of sixty-five; those with asthma and chronic bronchitis; pregnant women; and people with histories of heart disease. An international treaty made under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution, aimed at limiting air pollution went into effect in 1983. The situation in Europe and Northern America has since improved tremendously as the democratic European and American nations developed economically.