$1.)$ Environmental scanning refers to:

A$.$ assessing any possible negative impact a firm's activities might have on the local ecology.

B$.$ setting up a regular schedule to assess the performance of different divisions within a firm.

C$.$ initiating an internal talent search to identify employees who can think "outside the box" to generate solutions to marketing problems caused by changes in the marketing environment.

D$.$ continually acquiring information on events occurring outside the organization to identify and interpret potential trends.