Industry's role in air quality improvement: Environmental management opportunities for the 21st century

Abstract More than 200 years ago, Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics, wrote in the Wealth of Nations that “…consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attention to…that of the consumer.” In recent years, the rapid growth of the world economy has given Adam Smith's maxim new meaning. The age‐old desire for consumption grows unabated and increasing numbers of consumers around the world are attaching new value to the environmental quality of goods and services and expressing concern over the environmental impacts of industrialization. That concern is growing because more than 70 percent of the world's urban population live in areas where the air is seriously polluted and as many as 750,000 people—the majority in developing countries—die each year of ailments caused by air pollution. 1 Over the past 25 years, corporations throughout the world have made dramatic changes in the way they do business as more people come to understand how the ecological system works and how polluted air and water endanger human health. The key to increasing industry's participation in the drive for higher standards of air quality is the growing realization that effective environmental management, technological development, and technology dissemination are cost‐effective and profitable business strategies. Global competition is making firms around the world more customer‐conscious and, to the extent that consumers demand products that minimize environmental degradation and enhance the quality of their lives, businesses in every industry must respond in order to survive. 2 This article examines how changes in business practices, driven by a better understanding of how natural environments function, are converging to provide new opportunities for environmental management that go beyond regulatory compliance to reduce air pollution. Although sound and well‐enforced environmental regulations are an essential foundation for improving air quality, command‐and‐control systems alone are unlikely to achieve the lower levels of pollution that will be necessary to achieve sustainable development in the 21st century. In cooperation with government, businesses in every industry can play crucial roles in achieving higher standards of air quality while at the same time maintaining acceptable levels of economic growth. We explore three ways in which corporations can contribute to environmentally sustainable development: (1) by adopting proactive environmental management systems that focus on air pollution prevention; (2) by developing new technologies for air pollution control and reduction; and (3) by transferring air pollution control and prevention technologies through international trade and investment.