Page 24 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Intr oduction 3

The Basic Premise
The underlying premise of this book is that environmental sustain-
ability is compatible with economic development. Just as growth is
essential to living organisms, growth is also essential to a healthy
society, especially in developing nations afflicted by widespread pov-
erty [2]. But to achieve global sustainability, we need to radically rede-
sign our industrial systems to create more value with fewer resources. The
idea of sustainable growth is a departure from traditional world views,
in which environmentalists considered industry to be the enemy and
businesses considered environmental protection to be a burden. But
it is not pie-in-the-sky idealism. Global manufacturers in virtually
every industry category are adopting sustainability goals, and en -
vironmental activist groups have begun to collaborate with them.
Sustainable development through “eco-efficiency” has become the
rallying cry of companies who see competitive advantage in conser-
vation of resources and environmental stewardship. This book is
filled with examples of leading companies who have embraced these
concepts. Here are a few notable examples:
• Dow Chemical has adopted sustainability as a strategic
imperative throughout its global businesses. Over the decade
from 1995 to 2005, Dow spent about $1 billion on environ-
mental, health, and safety improvements and realized about
$5 billion in value (see Chapter 13).
• General Electric’s ecomagination portfolio of energy effi-
SM
cient and environmentally advantageous products and ser-
vices exceeded $17 billion in 2008 and is the company’s fastest
growing segment, despite the global economic downturn.
• Wal-Mart, the retail giant, has adopted aggressive environ-
mental goals for energy and waste reduction, and has urged
its suppliers to help meet these goals through product devel-
opment, packaging, and transportation (see Chapter 19).
• The World Business Council for Sustainable Development,
based in Geneva, is a consortium of over 150 global compa-
nies that have been working together since 1990 on global sus-
tainability issues such as climate change and clean water.

While large corporations speak enthusiastically about sustain-
ability, some critics have assailed the “win-win” philosophy as
misleading, claiming that environmental management costs will
continue to outweigh the benefits and that regulatory controls
are the only reliable way to reduce industrial wastes. As early as
1970, the eminent economist Milton Friedman declared that cor -
porate social and environmental responsibility was a distraction
from the fundamental purpose of a corporation—to create value