Reduction of the environmental footprint is something most CEO's love to hate. To them reducing pollution is all about 'adding unecessary costs' which makes them less competitive against the 'enemy overseas'.
So its no surprise that recently the Corus CEO - Philippe Varin was complaining that the strict emission norms imposed by the European Union have led to the Chinese steel industry getting a foothold in UK and Europe.
According to him, Chinese steel mills on an average emit double the amount of gases that contribute to global warming than, Corus for instance. So a surge in Chinese steel imports into the EU according to him, merely transfers increased pollution from UK to China at the cost of British jobs. Conveniently he forgot to mention that the Corus Port Talbot plant, in Wales is perhaps one of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide in the country.
Yet as Corus has itself found, rethinking environmental costs can make good business sense too. A 60 million pound carbon monoxide reduction project, at its basic oxygen steel plant at Port Talbot, has an internal rate of return as high as 38 per cent and a pay back period of around three years; attractive by any standards. High energy prices have ensured that if Corus reuses the waste gas currently being flared, it can reduce its energy consumption and cut costs. Earning the goodwill of the local populace in what was once one of the most polluted countries of the United Kingdom would be a not so inconsequential bonus!
Corus is not the first firm to see how reducing the enviromental footprint can positively impact bottomlines in addition to the environment.
Recently India's largest private sector company Reliance Industries announced a mega $2 billion plan to invest in a petrochemicals manufacturing plant that would use as its chief input waste off-gases generated at its 27 million tonnes per annum refinery at Jamnagar. The unique idea allows RIL to have feedstock costs that match those of legacy producers in the Middle East who get cheap natural gas for conversion into petrochemicals.
On 18th July, Kumar Mangalam Birla announced that UltraTech Cement would spend Rs 250 crore on setting up 25 megawatt capacity, waste heat recovery systems across all its units, to generate power & contain carbon dioxide emissions. Power and fuel account for one of the largest components of cost in cement manufacturing.
Another company in India - Thermax, has almost made a business model out of converting waste to wealth with equipment and services to capture and reuse waste heat etc. And it's not just manufacturing firms that have discovered the benefits of environmentally friendly operations.
ABN Amro Bank which recently built up India's first platinum certified green building found that while the initial capital costs were higher, using natural lighting and better insulation etc would ensure the savings in costs of air conditioning and electricity more than justified the higher outlays. Now companies such as Infosys have a major green initiative underway.
What these examples show is that designing a facility to be enviromentally sensitive can actually be smart economics in the long run. Not factoring in the external social costs borne by society for the profit of a few, is silly economics but missing a chance to improve one's bottomline and image is downright foolishness.

Do you think a better environment and a vibrant economy can go hand in hand?