GREENS AND BUSINESS
WE NEED DIALOGUE

"Environmental economics could be the common language for a dialogue between environmentalists and industrialists"
Dr. Martin Holdgate, Director General, IUCN
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There can be no doubt that the world will rapidly industrialize during the coming decades. The billions of people living in poverty in the developing countries will accept no less. Depending on how it is managed, this industrialisation will create a better quality of life for everyone- or an environmental disaster of unimaginable dimensions.

Because the stakes are so high, it is urgent that we all work together to solve our environmental problems. The business community must invent new industrial technologies that reduce pollution and consume less energy and other natural resources. At the same time, governments must devise workable regulatory regimes and economic incentives, and environmentalists must promote analysis and understanding of environmental issues.

Unfortunately, industrialists and environmentalists do not always work together effectively. Dialogue often breaks down for two reasons. The first relates to the divisions within each of the two communities. For example, while some corporations energetically pursue low waste technologies and evaluate the environmental impact of their products, others merely seek to avoid legal penalties. Some firms, whether financially weak or simply unscrupulous, choose to ignore their environmental responsibilities.

Similarly, the environmental movement has been described as an extremely broad church. Some environmental groups are convinced that corporations are valuable allies in the fight to save the environment; they influence business through moral persuasion. Others suspect that companies use their knowledge and public relations skills to evade rather than to met their environmental obligations; these groups play a positive role by challenging the blander assertions of governments and firms and making the public more environmentally aware.

A second and more profound barrier to communication is that environmentalists and industrialists speak different languages. This is because most people in industry are trained in law, economics, engineering or technology. Members of the conservation and environment movement tend to be educated in biology, the environmental sciences, or the social sciences.

The common language that could span this divide is that of environmental economics. As environmentalists, we must accept that economics will remain central to the decision making of business and government. For their part, industrialists must recognize the weaknesses in current economic science. Environmental resources are rarely valued correctly, and economic measures such as GNP are transparently absurd form and environmental standpoint. By incorporating environmental and quality-of-life values into economic equation, we can remove many of the distortions that now bias policy making.

Depending on how it is managed, this industrialisation will create a better quality of life for everyone - or an environmental disaster of unimaginable dimensions. Improved dialogue between environmentalists and industrialists must begin with the mutual acceptance of each other’s integrity and ethics. We all share the same basic desire for a beautiful world, a high quality of life and sustainable economic growth. To realize this vision, we should avoid endless debates over general values and focus instead on specific issues. This approach is working well at the federal and provincial levels in Canada, where people from industry, conservation groups, government and local communities meet for face -to-face roundtable discussions.

Such talks will not, of course, replace communication and the sharing of ‘best practice’ ideas within the corporate community. But it would be counterproductive if industrialists spoke only among themselves in a closed circle about their successes. A broader dialogue would have the double advantage of educating environmentalists about business problems while challenging firms to boost their environmental performance.

Courtesy : World Link No. 5

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