( image taken from this site )

Some beer brewers in the U.S. recently side with EPA to finalize a proposal for new guidelines which clarifies the water bodies under its jurisdiction. However, some farmers insist on the opposite because they think the new regulations will bring about new costly permits.

• Conflict of interests of different stakeholders

As the ingredient suppliers and producers in the beer industry, both brewers and farmers are the stakeholders of the business. From my point of view, the reason why they hold different opinions over the water regulation is that they both pursue their own interests. In other word, concern for lack of clean water to generate quality beer outweighs the brewers’ concern for environmental protection. This is a counterexample to the Stakeholder Theory that it’s really difficult to maximize every stakeholder’s profit simultaneously.

• Envision the future

Since the proposal is supported by not only beer brewers but also environmentalist, I personally suspect it will be finalized in the future. As a result, the farmers will probably spend more effort and money filtering the agricultural waste water. The brewers, in the meanwhile, will inevitably be charged more. Eventually, the farmers and the brews will split the increasing costs together, which means shoulder the social responsibility together.