The Role of the Private Sector in Environmental Action

The Role of the Private Sector in Environmental Action

The second major gap in the current debate over globalization is that

neither the protesters nor the parties to the global institutions are

paying any attention to the positive, problem-solving role

corporations can play.

The protesters believe that the corporate sector is the problem, not

the solution, and must be regulated by government into behavior that

does not destroy the environment. This prejudice is a hallmark of the

efforts to counter the negative effects of globalization. It also

limits the possibility of dialogue, and leads many businesspeople to

suppose that the environment is a fringe activity of enthusiasts who

want to regulate their activities and drive up their costs. This

erroneous view is reinforced by a certain type of economic theorist

(or environmental activist) who thinks that environmental protection

must be costly and painful, on the theory that if it were easy it

would already have been done by now.

If, however, it is true that adherence to the principles of Natural

Capitalism will be the basis of profitability in the coming decades,

then it is in businesses' own interest not to deplete their natural or

human capital. Global corporate power has some serious downsides, no

doubt, but the best leaders of the transformative corporate sector are

inviting debate over what their role should be and how to make their

companies restorative of human and natural capital. They are realizing

that corporations that do not steward and reinvest in their most

valuable resources will face a grim futu...

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...n India, globalization may in fact put India at a global

disadvantage in key sectors of modern industry leading to an economy

that is always chasing scientific and technological advances that

occur in other nationsGlobalism does not threaten us with a world

dominated by huge, powerful corporations. On the contrary, they argue,

globalization opens up new opportunities for the entrepreneur from any

village, any country, and any culture to engage in business across

town or across the world. Globalization is filled with promises for

all, but especially for those living in countries or regions that have

been bottled up by old ways of doing things. Globalization is not

something to fight; rather, it is something to embrace. Channel the

process to ensure the most good, conclude Micklethwait and Wooldridge,

but don't block it.