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A Bonus fkom Rio
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twill be decades before we know the full impact of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held last June in Rio de Janeiro. However, one important event associated with the meeting was the publication of a new study by Swiss industrialist Stephan Schmidheiny and the Business Council for Sustainable Develop “Changing Course: A Global Perspective on Development and the Environment” (MIT A, Press, Cambridge, MA). The Business Council consists of 48 CEOs and board chairs of national and multinational companies who serve in their “private capacity, rather than as a representative of a company” and are dedicated to the principle that “economic growth and environmental protection are inextricably linked, and that the quality of present and future life rests on meeting human needs without destroying the environment.” The list of Council members is impressive and is further evidence of the greening of business. I have read only the Executive Summary of the report, but in both spirit and specific recommendations, the report rings true. Business Council members contend that sustainable development makes good, long-term business sense but that it requires far-reaching shifts in corporate attitudes and new ways of doing business. The Council recognizes that different countries will achieve sustainable development in unique ways and that the process will require “substantial efforts in education and training.” The Schmidheiny report goes beyond goals, however. It contains specific proposals to help make sustainable development work. These in1Bsb Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 26,No. IO, 1992
clude how sustainable development affects energy, the marketplace, and trade; what is needed for technology transfer; and how leadership can be provided for sustainable development in developing countries. It concludes that protecting the environment requires new approaches that go beyond command and control. These include and new economic insuch as pollution taxes, tradable pollution permits, and resource saving credits. No one doubts that environmental stewardship is increasingly a part of the corporate culture. Industry is becoming greener-partly out of necessity to meet government regulations, partly to avoid liability, partly for building better public images, and partly because many like Schmidheiny just feel that it is the right thing to do. Let us hope that the current economic crisis does not impede this progress and that the leadership for sustainable development and environmental protection does not falter if the public turns its attention from the environment to economic issues. The test for Schmidheiny and his colleagues will come in the years ahead when their leadership will be most needed.
0013-936W92/0926-1856$03.00/0 0 1992 American Chemical Society
