Vedanta Presentation

8/7/2019 Vedanta Presentation

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Decline On Ethical Grounds

The Case Of

Chisso Corporation & Vedanta


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CHISSO Corporation

Minamata is a small factory town dominated by the Chisso

Corporation.

The town faces the Shiranui Sea, and Minamata Bay is part ofthis sea.

In Japanese, "Chisso" means nitrogen.

The Chisso Corporation was once a fertilizer and carbicle

company, and gradually advanced to a petrochemical and

plastic-maker company.


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The Issue

From 1932 to 1968, Chisso Corporation, dumped an estimated

27 tons of mercury compounds into Minamata Bay.

Kumamoto is a small town about 570 miles southwest ofTokyo.

The town consists of mostly farmers and fisherman.

When Chisso Corporation dumped this massive amount of

mercury into the bay, thousands of people whose normal diet

included fish from the bay, unexpectedly developed

symptoms of methyl mercury poisoning.


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The illness became known as the "Minamata Disease". The mercurypoisoning resulted from years of environmental destruction andneglect from Chisso Corporation.

By 1925, the Chisso Corporation was dumping waste into MinamataBay and destroying the fishing areas.

The theory behind the industry was to pay off the Minamatafisherman in exchange for damaging their fishing environment

The company believed that it was much cheaper to pay off the fewpeople who were opposed to the dumping, rather than implementan environmentally safe technique of waste removal.

Therefore, since the villagers accepted this practice throughcompensation of money, and the government was behind theindustry, the entire process appeared ethical.


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In 1932, Chisso corporation started developing

plastics, drugs and perfumes through the use of

acetaldehyde.

The monopoly in the chemical domain enabled the

company to expand.

In 1950-1956, there were reports of an unclarified

disease of CNS which had broken out.

Series of investigation linked the reports to the

mercury poisining of the fish found in minamata bay.


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In 1958, Chisso corporation transferred their dumping

from Minamata bay to Minamata river, hoping to

diminish accusations.

Soon the people in that area developed that disease.

The company then made deals with the victims ofminamata disease .

People who were legally ignorant signed the contractwhich stated, Chisso corporation would pay them for

their misfortunes but would not accept anyresponsibility.


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Although the factory remained shut for a span of

time, in 1968 Chisso Corporation implemented

environmentally safe technology in their production

process.

The people in Minamata bay have suffered gross

deformities, brain damage and death.

It is a case of violation of human rights & violation

of environmental laws


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About Vedanta

Indias largest non-ferrous metal and mining

Based in London

Listed in the London Stock Exchange


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Mining

Signed MOU with the State Government of Orissa

Mining is to conducted on the top of the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandiand Rayagada districts in Orissa

Proposes to extract 3 million tpa of bauxite having projectedlifespan of 23 years

To meet the power demands of the refinery project, a 75 MW

captive coal-based power plant was also proposed.

In 2004, three writ petitions were filed at the Cuttack High Court inOrissa


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ProposedMining Lease

Niyamgiri hills, is surrounded by dense forests and isthe habitat for diverse species of plant and animal life.

Some 20 species of orchids are found in and around

the region

Rich with variety of plants which are used for ailments

critical role of linking forests of Kandhamal district to

forests of Rayagada, Kalahandi and Koraput districts


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The tiny community of the Dongaria Kondh,

who live in the upland areas of the Niyamgiri

hills, depend on the hills intensely.


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Impact ofMining

Mining would threaten the lives of the

Dongaria Kondh.

CausedA

ir pollution Water pollution

Environmental Disaster

Deforestation Protection to wild life

Rare Wild life


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Environment Report

Destroy sacred sites of Kondh

Endanger the self-sufficient forest based

livelihood

Construction of roads result in easy accessible

to poachers of wildlife and timber smugglers

threatening the rich biodiversity of the hills


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Environmental Laws

Violation ofForest Conservation Act

Violation of Environment Protection Act

Violation of conditions of Clearance under EPA

granted to Refinery


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Conclusion

Considering the cases of Chisso corporationand Vedanta it is concluded that:

Good Business ethics is the backbone of everyforward thinking business.

It is very essential for the company to exhibitsocial & ethical considerations within the

society in which it is operating.


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BEING GOOD IS GOOD BUSINESS !!!!

THANK YOU!!

Presented By:

Anand Gowda-16

Vikram Jadhav-18

Thara. Nair-38

Amol.Panad-43

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