BUSINESS
OFF TO THE SUMMIT Industry seeks a role in alleviating poverty at UN-sponsored summit in Johannesburg
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HEMICAL INDUSTRY REPRESEN-
tatives are at the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on Sustainable Development— which starts Aug. 26 and runs through Sept. 4—to demonstrate their supportforthe concept of sustainable development. But environmental activists are also at the summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a warning: Don't let big business rule the world. 'We can be a big help," says Thomas E. Reillyjr., chairman of both the American Chemistry Council and specialty chemicals maker Reilly Industries. Whereas the Rio de Janeiro Conference on Environment & Development, held 10 years ago, focused on the environment and "gave short shrift to development," this summit will be about developing global resources to alleviate poverty "We want to talk about providing help in a way that doesn't rape the environment," Reilly says. Formal chemical industry participation at the summit will come in the form of several parallel events. The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) will take part in a "side event" on Friday to discuss the safe management ofchemicals, it will participate in a "Business Day" panel discussion on the sustainable management of chemicals on Sunday, and it is operating an information booth at the summit to distribute materials about the industry Reilly says he is attending the summit not only to represent ICCA on the Business Day panel but also to talk with various government and UN representatives and members of the press. Environmental groups also have an agenda. Friends of the Earth International is calling for binding global rules for corporations. Such rules would extend legal liability to corporate directors for breaches ofenvironmental laws and extend the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court—a new international court in The Hague setup to investigate war criminals— to directors and corporations accused of environmental, social, and human rights crimes. Chemical companies are present inJohannesburg in a spirit ofcooperation, Reilly says, 'Agoal of this conference is to form alliances between industry, government, HTTP://PUBS.ACS.ORG/CEN
and nongovernment organizations" to advance sustainable development. The industry is likely to announce it will participate in such an alliance at the summit, he adds. After all, he reasons, the chemical industry has found ways to safely deliverfoodto markets, to protect human health through water purification and pharmaceuticals, and to provide materials made from renewable resources. When it comes to helping the governments of developing countries pull them- Reilly selves up by their bootstraps, the chemical industry can help "develop rational decision-makingprocesses with a foundation in sound science."
Case studies and sound practical advice on sustainable development are what the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a coalition of 160 international companies, will be offering on Saturday as it launches a new book, "Walking the Talk." The book's authors—DuPont Chief Executive Officer Charles O. Holliday Jr., Swiss industrialist Stephan Schmidheiny, and Royal Dutch/Shell Group Chairman Philip Watts—argue that a global partnership between governments, business, and society will bring greater opportunities for all, including the world's poor, while solving environmental and social problems. Talk among government representatives ofraising the standard of living worldwide will dominate the summit. And business representatives will be angling to tie their future livelihood to sustainable development, even if some environmental groups question their motives.-MARC REISCH
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