The need for environmental responsibility

The economic downturn makes the whole green thing much harder. At a time of less work, scarcer credit and uncertainty about future prospects, the focus shifts to survival. That seems certain to mean less money and time devoted to reducing environmental damage, boosting energy efficiency, increasing recycling and cutting carbon.

However, while for decades the environmental movement has been banging on about sustainability - the need to ensure the pursuit of global economic growth does not undermine the planetary support systems upon which all living things depend - it turns out that it was the growth itself that was unsustainable, based as it was upon a fatally flawed global financial system.

Yet, when growth resumes, the threats to those life-support systems will come back under a harsh spotlight. The global environmental crisis is very real and mounting. Climate change gets all the headlines these days, but it is only the half of it. The overstretch of critical natural resources - fresh water, forests, croplands, wetlands, fisheries - will worsen, driven by growing populations and economies.

So far, we in the UK and the wider European Union have been shielded from much of this overstretch. We have an impressive record of solving our local and regional environmental problems while at the same time enjoying increased prosperity.

But some of that has been built on the back of environmental degradation in poorer nations. And it seems likely that people and businesses will continue to become ever more interconnected and interdependent across the globe. We cannot detatch ourselves.

Much of the paper and print industry has a good story to tell about improved environmental performance. Yet this sector, with its heavy energy consumption, its huge flows of wastes and recyclates and its ultimate dependence on forestry products, will always remain in the environmental firing line.

Big chunks of the business, like throwaway free newspapers and unsolicited direct mail, look highly questionable to environmentalists, who have an impressive track record of getting the public and the politicians on their side.

In short, being green is not going to get any easier. But, for the medium to long term, there is no alternative. The only question is whether to be a leader or a follower.

Nick Schoon is editor of PrintWeek sister title The ENDS Report, the leading journal and website providing essential intelligence for environmental managers and professionals in the UK since 1978. Its focus is green policy and business.
See www.endsreport.com