An Offer We Can Refuse? Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environmental Impact of Marcellus Shale Drilling

Ray Jones; Audrey J. Murrell; Elizabeth Smith

Ray Jones, Audrey J. Murrell, and Elizabeth Smith

University of Pittsburgh, School of Business, USA

Volume 6: 2013, pp. 5-28; ABSTRACT

With natural gas companies offering to pay thousands of dollars an acre for the right to drill natural gas reserves within the Marcellus Shale, many landowners find themselves caught between new economic opportunity and environmental impact. The owners of a small size organic farm within Southwestern Pennsylvania, while dedicated to environmental sustainability, have found themselves debating these very issues after receiving a lucrative offer from a large energy company. This case provides a real example of the competing pressures that can exist between financial and corporate social responsibility concerns. The owners must balance their sense of stewardship with the economic incentives presented by the promise of natural gas drilling. This case presents the opportunity for students to identify, analyze, and prioritize stakeholders, as well as the opportunity to relate principles of corporate social responsibility, servant leadership and global environmental stewardship as they develop recommendations for the three owners of this organic farm.