By John Trotti

A famous battle cry from the 1992 elections was “It’s the economy, dummy,” a reminder that the public had its eye on the pocketbook rather than causes. Today, following several years of high employment, moderate inflation, and record tax revenues, the public gaze has shifted to where, as we head into the 2008 election crusade, the battle cry may well be “It’s the environment, dummy.”

While scholars, government functionaries, and politicians remain bound up in scientific debate, John Q. Public has begun to connect the dots between energy dependence, national security, globalization, and the impact of human action on the Earth’s fragile resources—air and water in the lead, but land not far behind.

While certainly there is no consensus as to just how much impact our activities are having on such demonstrable phenomena as air and water pollution, soil loss and desertification, or global climate change—much less what the long-term impacts will be—a growing number of our countrymen have come to realize that, uncertainties notwithstanding, we have ignored the consequences of our actions for far too long. So even though we might not know where the limits of our behavior lie, it’s time to adopt the principle that if we’re going to err, it better be on the side of caution.A

t the beginning of the last century, the Earth’s population stood at roughly 1.6 billion people, having doubled from the start of the industrial revolution. It was at that point, however, that electrification came on the scene, effectively freeing industrialization from the confines of a few self-contained factories and sending it by incredible leaps and bounds to nearly every corner of the planet. The ensuing explosion in productivity led to a fourfold increase in global population by 2005—6.4 billion by most estimates—with an expectation of 9.0 billion by 2050. Even if population growth were to stop dead in its tracks right now, one need look no further than our own spectacular rise to prosperity to see what lies ahead for the planet.

Throughout most of the 20th century, our nation’s wealth made us the principal beneficiaries of the lion’s share of the Earth’s resources—and, more than that, to feel entitled to them. Not any more. Today we find ourselves challenged for access not only to the material resources, but to the skills and intellectual properties needed to meet the very demands we set in motion.
That said, we have then to ask the question: If things are as bad as some people would have us believe, is there anything we can do to change them? If it’s really true we’re teetering on the brink of disaster, then it’s hard to believe that increasing gas mileage 5 miles per gallon, diverting disposable diapers from landfills, and setting the thermostat a few degrees above or below your comfort zone is going to solve the problem. But maybe that’s beside the point.

Causes That Matter
Some factors such as population growth and globalization so overshadow any individual efforts that it’s sometimes tempting to haul down the flag and join the march to oblivion. But that’s not what we’re about.
Such seemingly small acts in our everyday lives as turning off unnecessary lights or equipment, walking five extra steps to put the newspaper in a recycling bin, watering the lawn in the morning or evening rather than the middle of the day, and setting the thermostat at a more economical level might seem inconsequential, but in an aggregate sense they can be enormous.

No Giant Leaps for Mankind
If what we do privately makes sense, then how much more important is it for us to apply the same processes in our businesses? When was the last time that you took a critical look at your company’s energy management practices? In fact what was the last time you took a good hard look at your company’s resource management practices? Energy management is not just turning off lights or having the most efficient computers, but includes the way that you manage all of the materials involved in your day-to-day operations. Perhaps the best example of this is your use of water, which carries with it an enormous energy price tag.

While there is no panacea, no magic bullet, no giant leap when it comes to meeting our environmental challenges, businesses with effective environmental management programs have realized that the most environmentally beneficial practices have proved to be the most productive and therefore cost-effective. But they’ve also learned that, like safety, environmental responsibility is an ongoing process—one small step for ourselves and all who follow.

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DE - July/August 2007