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United Nations Global Compact
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PRINCIPLE NINE

Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.


What is meant by an 'environmentally friendly technology'?


Encouraging the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technology is a longer-term challenge for a company that will draw on both the management and research capabilities of the organisation. For the purposes of engaging with the Global Compact, environmentally friendly technologies are considered to be those that are described in Chapter 34 of Agenda 21 as being "environmentally sound". Agenda 21 outlines environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) as those which -
  
"...protect the environment, are less polluting, use all resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable manner than the technologies for which they were substitutes. [ESTs] are not just individual technologies, but total systems which include know-how, procedures, goods and services, and equipment as well as organisational and managerial processes."
  
Important here is an understanding that this broad definition includes end-of-pipe and monitoring techniques but that explicitly encourages more progressive preventative approaches, such as pollution prevention and cleaner production technologies. The aspiration of this principle is, therefore, towards clean technology where the function is to provide a human benefit or service, rather than concentrating on products per se.


Reasons to Develop and Diffuse (EST's)


Environmentally proficient technologies allow us to reduce the use of finite resources and to use existing resources more efficiently. For example, improvements in the power to weight ratio of batteries has led to a significant reduction in the use of toxic heavy metals whilst bringing substantial benefits to the consumer.
  
Waste storage, treatment and disposal is costly both in financial as well as in environmental and social terms. Since environmentally sound technologies generate less waste and residues, the continued use of inefficient technologies can represent increased operating costs for business. In addition it also results in a retrospective focus on control and remediation rather than prevention. In contrast avoiding environmental impacts through pollution prevention and ecological product design increases the efficiency and overall competitiveness of the company and also may lead to new business opportunities.

As environmentally sound technologies reduce operating inefficiencies, they also lead to lower emissions of environmental contaminants. This benefits in the first case workers who are exposed to much lower levels of hazardous materials on a daily basis and also results in a substantially reduced risk of accidents or technological disasters.


Methods to Promote the Use and Diffusion of ESTs


Engagement with Principle 9 will depend to some extent on the size and nature of the business. However all companies will want to pursue the business benefits that come from a more efficient use of resources. As this principle captures both 'hard' technologies and 'soft' systems the potential entry points are broad.
  
Waste storage, treatment and disposal is costly both in financial as well as in environmental and social terms. Since environmentally sound technologies generate less waste and residues, the continued use of inefficient technologies can represent increased operating costs for business. In addition it also results in a retrospective focus on control and remediation rather than prevention. In contrast avoiding environmental impacts through pollution prevention and ecological product design increases the efficiency and overall competitiveness of the company and also may lead to new business opportunities.


At a basic factory site or unit level, improving technology may be achieved by four principle means:

  1. Changing the process or manufacturing technique - from simple modifications to more advanced changes that require research and development.
  2. Changing input materials - in order to use raw materials that are less toxic, for example.
  3. Changes to the product - for example by switching from solvent- to water-based paints.
  4. Reusing materials on site - separating, treating and recovering useful materials from waste, so-called "by-product synergies".

Strategic level approaches to improving technology include:

  • Establishing a corporate or individual company policy on the use of EST's
  • Making information available to stakeholders that illustrates the environmental performance and benefits of using EST's.
  • Refocusing research and development towards 'design for sustainability'.
  • Use of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the development of new technologies and products, so as to take into account impacts in manufacture, use and at the end of life of the product.
  • Employing Environmental Technology Assessment (EnTA) - an analytical tool designed to ensure that decision making processes related to technology adaptation, implementation and use are sustainable.
  • Examining investment criteria and the sourcing policy for suppliers and contractors to ensure that tenders stipulate minimum environmental criteria.
  • Co-operating with industry partners to ensure that 'best available technology' is available to other organisations. 

An example of how environmentally friendly technologies are being promoted comes from the area of climate change and the work of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) . Here the goal is to encourage the use of technologies that result in lower emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG's), and in particular of carbon dioxide CO2. In its Inventory of Technologies, Methods and Practices for Reducing Emissions of Greenhouse Gases the IPCC has focussed on the energy sector. As a first step it has defined the Energy Cycle starting with the primary fuel resources and going right through the lifecycle until delivery of the energy service to the customer. This is shown in the diagram below for the generalised or reference energy cycle. It has then identified the environmental aspects that are sources of GHG's for each part of the cycle. Finally, it has addressed the technologies that are involved with each step in the process and provided an inventory of the technologies at the present that respond best to the objective to reduce GHG emissions..