The $5 billion punitive damage award, which has still not been settled

[Flabbergasted]

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=122000034F34

The Critical Importance of Risk Management

April 26, 2006 10:14AM

While some companies develop sustainability strategies based on ethical motives, most firms do so for business reasons. Sustainability strategies can decrease sustainability risk costs, augment competitive positions, protect reputations and improve bottom lines.

Sustainability risk management deals with emerging environmental and social justice risks. Risk managers will need to anticipate these risks and develop appropriate risk mitigation and financing strategies for them, but since many sustainability risks are new and emerging, the best strategies for dealing with corporate sustainability might not be apparent.

But in a world where the rules of business are changing faster than ever, now is not the time for ignorance.

Examples of emerging sustainability risks are useful in demonstrating their broad scope. The Exxon Valdez Alaskan oil spill in 1989 was catastrophic in terms of environmental damage and disruption of local businesses. The $5 billion punitive damage award, which has still not been settled, was one of the largest at the time.

Asbestos resulted in the worst product liability toxic tort to date, and instead of abating as was expected, claims have begun to increase again. Superfund liabilities have been incurred for over 20 years, and continue to disrupt organizations. New litigation involving silicosis, MTBE (a gasoline additive), perchlorate (a main ingredient in rocket fuel) and PFOA (a chemical used in the production of Teflon), have the potential to create additional liabilities.

Boycotts against a firm's products are similar to business interruption risks, except no insurance is available to compensate for loss of revenues. Boycotts are often triggered by sustainability risk events. Greenpeace's boycott of Shell oil for its plans to sink the Brent Spar, an offshore oil platform, caused retail sales in some European countries to fall by 30% in a week.


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[acmavm]

1. The Exxon Valdez spill? Didn't you know, Exxon says they can't afford

to pay the five billion.

[valerief]

2. Yeah, the guy with the crooked tooth and chin beard said that. n/t

[northofdenali]

3. Yes, and they've taken it back to court 7 times.

Wonder how much the attorney's have cost them?

You don't brag about working for Exxon up here. Not to us little people, anyway.