Corporate Environmental Strategy最新文献

Substance flow analysis is an analytical tool in the scientific field of industrial ecology, a possible operationalisation of the concept of industrial metabolism.¹ In this concept, an analogy is drawn between the economy and environment on a material level: the economy's “metabolism”, in terms of materials mobilisation, use and excretion to create “technomass”, is compared to the use of materials in the biosphere to create biomass. The economy is viewed only in terms of its material flow. The policy area most closely related to this concept is integrated chain management. Economic chains from cradle to grave are the subjects of regulation. This paper presents the implementation of substance flow analysis in the Flemish region of Belgium. In Belgium, there exists up to now relatively little or no experience with the use of substance flow analysis. In this context, the Flemish Government, more specific the competent Flemish minister for the Science and technological innovation policy supported a project regarding substance flow analysis on heavy metals.

As Greenpeace passes its 30th anniversary, this article reflects on the approach the internationally well-known non-governmental organisation (NGO) adopts to its campaigns. Greenpeace achieves its victories through non-violent direct action. It does not just confront wrongs; it also offer solutions. For example from the start of its anti-whaling campaign, Greenpeace promoted whale watching as an alternative to the slaughter. The article reviews some of Greenpeace campaigns and focuses on its strategies towards companies: when and how it will work with companies and when it will target companies and seek to expose their actions.

Community participation and dialogue among stakeholders or actors is becoming a contemporary trend in addressing the issues of management of industrial estates. An interaction with voluntary development organisations working on the above trends in some parts of the India lays the foundation for a conceptual framework for development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This paper describes the issues and processes involved, and proposes that industrial estates should function as an integral component of the local social, economic and natural systems, and be managed through pooling of resources among the stakeholders. The framework is presented as experience and learning from the experiments in progress at Malanpur-Ghirongi industrial estate in Madhya Pradesh, and Lote-Parshuram industrial estate in Maharashtra in India.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)¹ was launched during the run-up to the 1992 United Nations Summit on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. During the preparations for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the WBCSD has restated its vision of the relationships between responsible companies and the goal of sustainable human progress. The vision attempts to provoke a thoughtful and positive debate both inside and outside the business community. To begin with, sustainable development is best achieved through open, competitive, and rightly framed international markets. Moreover, business must be committed to working with employees, their families, and the local community and society at large to improve the quality of life. Part of this will involve increased stakeholder dialogues on the part of business. It will also involve business accepting responsibility for informing consumers about the social and environmental effects of their choices. Finally, it must be acknowledged that poverty is one of the single largest barriers to sustainability. The business case for poverty reduction is straightforward: business cannot succeed in societies that fail. Smart companies, applying sound business thinking, are already beginning to see the benefits of pursuing poverty reduction. The potential for market expansion indicates that the best is yet to come, and that the market can be made to work for all.

Information and Economic Initiative for the Circular Flow Society (ICFS) is a Japanese Non Profit Organization founded in February 2001 whose membership comprises of the chief executive officers of a range of Japanese companies. Amongst others, its aims are to conduct research and exchange information about industrial developments relevant to the Circular Flow Society, propose new models for how the Circular Flow Society might look and organise and support trials and demonstration projects. As new Japanese environmental legislation comes into force, ICFS is pioneering the partnership approach to achieving a Circular Flow Society by attempting to forge links between material and economic flows. Various research projects are underway covering topics such as green procurement, environmental benchmarking and, perhaps most interestingly of all, how to go about developing a corporate-NGO hybrid in the Japanese context.

This article looks at de-regulation of the nation's electric utility industries in light of the Enron bankruptcy and the consequence of the subsequent state take-over of electricity purchasing. It is proposed that de-regulation is not dead; and instead proposes a restructuring of power markets that allows for next-generation cleaner power production.

Toward the end of the twentieth century, ownership of corporate equity in the United States and Great Britain has once again become relatively concentrated, but this time in the hands of institutional owners such as pension funds and mutual funds. An important implication of this concentration is that ownership has become professional and, because these institutions are fiduciary institutions, subject to the fiduciary duties of loyalty and care. Furthermore, because of an institution's size or because of an explicitly policy of indexing, many institutions have become “universal owners”. A universal owner owns a small, but representative fraction of most of the companies in an economy. Thus, its ability to satisfy its fiduciary duties depends heavily on overall macroeconomic efficiency and performance rather than on the performance of any particular firm that it might own. Consequently, universal owners have a natural interest in issues of sustainable development because they receive the benefits from positive externalities generated by portfolio firms and are likewise harmed by their negative externalities.

The triple bottom line has been, and remains, a useful tool for integrating sustainability into the business agenda. Balancing traditional economic goals with social and environmental concerns, it has created a new measure of corporate performance. A business strategy focused solely on the bottom line, however, can obscure opportunities to pursue innovation and create value in the design process. New tools for sustainable design can refocus product development from a process aimed at limiting end of pipe liabilities to one geared to creating safe, quality products right from the start.

This new design perspective creates triple top line growth: products that enhance the well being of nature and culture while generating economic value. Design for the triple top line follows the laws of nature to give industry the tools to develop systems that safely generate prosperity. In these new human systems, materials become food for the soil or flow back to industry forever. Value and quality are embodied in products, processes and facilities so ecologically intelligently designed, they leave footprints to delight in rather than lament. When the principles of ecologically intelligent design are widely applied both nature and commerce can thrive and grow.