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Exploring Environmentally Sustainable Business Solutions
of Hydraulic Fracturing
Ariungerel Bat-Erdene
Westcliff University
ORG 700: Corporate Social Responsibility
Professor: Dr. Peter Sebhatu
April 2, 2023
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Types of Pollution generated by Hydraulic Fracturing
The environmental impacts of hydraulic Fracturing in the United States have been studied
extensively. These impacts include, but are not limited to, water expenditure and pollution,
seismic inducement, and air contamination. However, shale gas development is less waterwasting than traditional gas and oil formation. Shale gas development has only a modest impact
on the overall water supply. Hydraulic Fracturing's impact on water pollution is likely primarily
due to defective completed wells. Thus, a possible way of reducing water pollution is through the
meticulous construction and maintenance of wells. Shale gas development requires periodic
testing for pollutants as pollutants may be contained within flow-back fluids. These pollutants
must be dealt with early, or the water may become contaminated.
Additionally, shale gas development may contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
Protocols should be put in place to monitor and reduce such gas emissions. Work of high urgency
includes monitoring pollutants, designing pollutant detectors, analyzing the hydraulic fracturing
fluid formation and movement, and testing flow-back fluids for pollutants and reuse.
The government regulation address to pollution generated by hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic Fracturing has enabled the United States to become the largest oil and gasproducing country in the world. To prevent pollution from fracturing in the United States, there
must be reasonable guidelines for reporting and documenting the release of waste and spills.
Hydraulic Fracturing should also be subject to Underground Injection Control, and diesel fuel
should be used for the fracturing fluid. Additionally, there should be increased openness of the
chemicals used in the process. This would require regulators to pass standards requiring said
disclosures, and external environmental reporting should be performed for federal and state
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regulators, as well as health officials. Sufficient fracturing reporting requirements allow for
additional research to be performed and ultimately allow society to understand better the effects
of hydraulic Fracturing on the environment and human health.
Government makes environmental protection efforts much worth and effective together
with other environmental protection agencies or non-profit organizations. The Government also
can have massive leverage on the obedience of rules on environmental contamination control and
reduction through levy tax or audit, moreover encouraging of implementing new innovative
technology of environmental impact reduction. Since plenty of shale gas and oil resources are
available, and these opportunities are attracting businesses in a recoilless, a valuable solution of
regulation is needed from the Government.
There are several main approaches applicable to control and reduce pollution. Command
and control regulation approach based on common environmental law. Acceptable levels of
pollutants are regulated by law and make businesses obey environmental quality standards and
emission control. Market-based- Mechanism makes the market play the majority of the Role to
control pollutants than standard law compliance. This method allows businesses' initiative and
innovation to be environment-friendly and competitive in sustainable economic solutions. Cap
and trade are one of the processes recognized by buying or selling a right of pollution. Tradable
permission has some disadvantages businesses with this right tend to exceed the cap level of
pollutants. But it could have worked better measure and more benevolent. Emission level-based
charge is another method of pollution control by the Government, and its principles are based on
the "more you emit, the more you recompense." This leverage makes businesses lead to seeking
eco-friendly, cost-saving ways. As a result, eco-green taxi and electric vehicles are beginning to
dominate. Information disclosure is a more communicative way for businesses. They have to
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report their emission annually to the public. Based on the report, businesses are self-aware and
feel embarrassed by the public and launch pollution control methods or better ways of
technology. Civil and criminal enforcement is based on the philosophy of civil penalties if a
manager or business owner does not report the endangered pollutant emission level.
In the comparison above mentioned approaches, the market-based mechanism tends to
support business owners and encourage them to generate better ideas or technology to reduce
pollution without enforcement. Other ways have contained enforcement principles that limit
people from thinking and acting creatively.
Advanced and environmentally friendly technology and its application
Managing sustainability through implementing environmental law and enforcement and
joining innovative approaches to be environmentally friendly is consistent with the essence of
human and natural well-being and balance. Human well-being through keeping nature safe is a
basic need of any human as a market. Thus, doing business with providing well-being of nature
and humans would be a balanced formula of sustainable reputation business. Environmentfriendly businesses follow uncountable benefits. For example, improve business profit
sustainability through consuming energy wisely and recycling. Also, it tends to accept public
support to protect the environment, giving it has "social license of operation" (Lee et al, 2019).
At least, businesses get advantaged and save cost from tax through implementing
effective Market based mechanism of environment protection. Therefore, many companies seeks
to investigate green technology to reach sustainable competitive advantages.
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Influencing factors to trigger to comply environmentally responsible methods of
fracking
It is believed that managing sustainability is getting into competitive advantages. The
reason being environmentally safe is one of the significant criterions of the business, and the new
market is seeking a safe way of industry and business. Thus, environmental sustainability is
essential to be an eternal competitive benefit. For instance, the Role of green innovation is
recognized as the reliable competitive advantage of any business (Barforoush et al., 2021).
Another good example is vehicle owners tend to shift to use electric car because of tax amount
levied on the vehicle index of air pollution. Thus it is evitable that green technology will pace
coming era and projected to be bring more sustainable business and solution.
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