Introduction to Environmental

Studies
 Why should you read this?

Adult Learning Theory

 Self Concept
 Past Learning Experience
 Readiness to Learn
 Practical reasons to implement
 Internally Motivated
 Relation to Business

 PESTEL Analysis
Zist
Example of an Industry
 Environmental Studies

 Environmental studies deals with every issue that affects a

living organism.

 It is applied science, as it seeks practical answers to the

increasingly important question of how to make human
civilization sustainable on the Earth’s resources.

 Integration of all the field of knowledge.

 Essential to study to overcome “Environmental Crisis”

 Environment Definition

Environment can be defined as-

 The external elements and conditions which
surround, influence, and affect the life and
development of an organism or population.
 The air, water, minerals, and all other external
factors which surround and affect a given
organism at any time.
 The social and cultural forces that shape the
life of a person or a population.
In general, environment can be defined as the Sum total
of all surroundings of a living organism, including

.
natural forces and other living things, which provide
conditions for development and growth as well as for
danger and damage.
BIOSPHERE
 Major Components of Environment

Biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It refers to

our environmental surroundings which is the zone of life
on earth. It includes:
• Atmosphere : Virtual Ocean of Air
• Hydrosphere : The surface of Earth filled with any
form of Water
• Lithosphere : Outer shell of the Earth composed of crust
and the rigid outer most mantle
 Introduction to EVS

 It is a field of study that systematically studies human

interaction with the environment. It is understanding the
functions of various components of environment.

 Environmental Science has a great significance in Business

Studies these days in order to inculcate a sense of
Environmental Responsibility.

 Certain mitigation measures can be taken for those factors

impacting environment.

 Sustainable Development
 MAJOR GOALS OF EVS

 To improve the quality of Environment

 To create an awareness among the people on
environmental problems and conservation
 To create an atmosphere so that people participate in
decision making and develop the capabilities to
evaluate the developmental programmes
 Optimum use of resources

 Survival and growth

 To plan long-term business strategy

 Helps in decision-making
 Ecosystem

 An ecosystem consists of a community of

organisms together with their physical environment.

 Ecosystems can be of different sizes and can be

marine, aquatic, or terrestrial. Broad categories of
terrestrial ecosystems are called biomes.
STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEM
 Major ecosystem

 Forest ecosystem- include tropical rain forests, tropical

deciduous forests, tropical scrub forests, temperate rain
forests, temperate deciduous forests, evergreen coniferous
forests.
 Grassland ecosystems- include tropical grasslands, temperate
grasslands, polar grasslands.
 Desert Ecosystems- include tropical deserts, temperate
deserts, cold deserts etc.
 Aquatic ecosystem- include pond ecosystem, lake ecosystem,
steams, oceans, estuary- a partially enclosed coastal area at
the mouth of a river where fresh water and salty seawater
meet
 History

 In the 1930s, British botanist Arthur Tansley

introduced the term ecosystem to describe a
community of organisms interacting with each other
and their environments—air, water, earth, etc.

 In order to thrive, these organisms compete and

collaborate with each other on available resources,
co-evolve, and jointly adapt to external disruptions.
 Producers, Consumers and Decomposers

 Producers, also called autotrophs, are organisms that

make their own food by a chemical process called
photosynthesis. Most producers are green plants.

 A consumer, also called a heterotroph, is an

organism that cannot make its own food. It must eat
producers or other organisms for energy. All
animals are consumers.
 Decomposers are organisms that get energy by
decaying or breaking down chemically the remains of
dead organisms. They are nature’s recyclers. Most
bacteria and fungi and some protists are
decomposers.

 Food Chain: Energy Flow in the Ecosystem

Producers to consumer then consumer to decomposer

9/13/2019 PPT Slides of EVS by Mr. Ritesh Sharma
23
 Ecological Succession

 Succession is a series of progressive changes in the

composition of an ecological community over time. It is
the process by which the structure of a biological
community evolves over time.

 In primary succession, newly exposed or newly

formed rock is colonized by living things for the first
time.

 In secondary succession, an area previously occupied

by living things is disturbed—disrupted—then
recolonized following the disturbance.
Primary Succession
Secondary Seccession
 Food Chain

 A food chain shows us how plants and animals

within a habitat rely on each other for food.

 Food chains usually start with a green plant (a

producer) which is eaten by an animal (a
consumer), which is then eaten by another animal.
The food chain is a single list which connects a
producer with several different levels of consumers.
 Food Web

 Most plants and animals are part of more than one

food chain. When a number of food chains in a
specific habitat (a forest habitat, for example, or a
desert habitat) are joined together we call them a
food web.
Diagram of Food Web in Forest
Ecosystem
Difference
 An ecological pyramid is a graphical
representation of the relationship between different
organisms in an ecosystem. Each of the bars that
make up the pyramid represents a different trophic
level (hierarchical levels in an ecosystem) and their
order, which is based on who eats whom, represents
the flow of energy.
Ecological Pyramid
 Pyramids of number: Pyramids of number allow us to
compare the number of organisms present in each tropic
level at a particular time. It is expressed in numbers per unit
area.
 Generally, this pyramid is upright. E.g.- Grassland, Pond
ecosystem etc. Here the producers are always maximum in
number.
 Numbers than show a decrease towards the apex , as the
primary consumers are lesser in number than producers,
the secondary consumers are lesser in number than the
primary consumers. Finally, the top carnivores are least in
number. Thus the pyramid becomes upright.
However, in certain cases, this pyramid is somewhat different in
shape.. E.g. in forest ecosystem, the producers are mainly large sized
trees and are lesser in number than herbivores( fruit eating birds,
deer, elephant etc.). Then there is a gradual decrease in the number
of successive carnivores.

Carnivores
Less

More Herbivores

Very Few Producers

 Pyramids of biomass: Biomass is a measure of the total
amount or mass all the living organism present at each tropic
level. Pyramids of biomass allow us to compare the mass of
organisms present in each tropic level at a particular time.
Generally, it is upright and expressed in gram/unit area. E.g.
Pyramid of biomass for terrestrial ecosystem will always be
upright.
However in some cases ,it is inverted. E.g. deep
water bodies, producers are small organism, their
biomass is least and this quantity gradually shows
an increase towards the apex of the pyramid.
 Pyramids of energy: Pyramids of energy allow us to
compare the amount of energy passing through each
tropic level over a period of time. It is expressed in
calories/ unit area/year. Pyramids of energy are
always pyramid-shaped that is always upright . There
are no exceptions to this rule.
Decrease in energy
 Business Ecosystem

A business ecosystem is the network of

organizations—including suppliers, distributors,
customers, competitors, government agencies, and
so on—involved in the delivery of a specific product
or service through both competition and
cooperation.
 Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of
Competition

 Business strategist James Moore adopted this

biological concept in his 1993 Harvard Business
Review article.

 He paralleled companies operating in the

increasingly interconnected world of commerce to a
community of organisms adapting and evolving to
survive.
 Moore suggested that a company be viewed not as a
single firm in an industry, but as a member of a
business ecosystem with participants spanning
across multiple industries.
 Moore definition of the business ecosystem

 An economic community supported by a foundation

of interacting organizations and individuals—the
organisms of the business world. The economic
community produces goods and services of value to
customers, who are themselves members of the
ecosystem.

 The member organisms also include suppliers, lead

producers, competitors, and other stakeholders.
 Gradually they co-evolve their capabilities and
roles and tend to align themselves with the
directions set by one or more central companies.
Those companies holding leadership roles may
change over time.

 The function of ecosystem leader is valued by the

community because it enables members to move
toward shared visions to align their
investments and to find mutually supportive roles.
 Ecosystems and Competition

 Ecosystems create strong barriers to entry for new

competition, as potential entrants not only have to
duplicate or better the core product, but they must
also compete against the entire system of
independent complementing businesses and
suppliers that form the network.
 Leader- Market leadership is the position of a
company with the largest market share or highest
profitability margin in a given market for goods and
services. Market share may be measured by either
the volume of goods sold or the value of those goods

 Eg- TCS in Indian IT Industry and Boeing in world

airline manufacturer
 Roles in Ecosystem

 Disruptor- a disruptive innovation is an innovation

that creates a new market and value network and
eventually disrupts an existing market and value
network, displacing established market-leading
firms, products, and alliances.

 Eg- Netflix changed the way we view media. No

longer is there only broadcast, on demand, or movie
theaters to be entertained. For a fixed price, Netflix
offers unlimited entertainment, anytime, anywhere.
This has proven to be very attractive.
 Niche Player- A small but profitable segment of a
market suitable for focused attention by a marketer.
Market niches do not exist by themselves, but are
created by identifying needs or wants that are not
being addressed by competitors, and by offering
products that satisfy them.

 Eg- Lefters for left handed people

 Orchestrators- Companies that create a network of
peers in which the participants interact and share in
the value creation. They may sell products or
services, build relationships, share advice, give
reviews, collaborate, co-create and more.

 Eg- Red Hat, Tripadvisor

 Red Ocean Strategy vs Blue Ocean Strategy
Red oceans are all the industries in existence today –
the known market space, where industry boundaries
are defined and companies try to outperform their
rivals to grab a greater share of the existing market.
Cutthroat competition turns the ocean bloody red.
 Blue oceans denote all the industries not in existence
today – the unknown market space, unexplored and
untainted by competition. Like the ‘blue’ ocean, it is
vast, deep and powerful –in terms of opportunity
and profitable growth.
 Biomimicry – Biomimicry is an approach to
innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human
challenges by emulating nature's time-tested
patterns and strategies. The goal is to create
products, processes, and policies—new ways of
living—that are well-adapted to life on earth over the
long haul.
 Managers can take cues from the environment.
 Examples – Bullet train of Japan from Kingfishers
Beak and Spider inspired robots etc
 Case Studies

 Chernobly nuclear disaster

 Union Carbide Disaster

 Tsunami Disaster

 Lavasa City, Pune