Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
need to be addressed together in a coherent and mutually reinforcing way. Technological
innovation and trade drive national economies in di
erent ways (Charles and Lehner,
1998). The former exploits a nation's innovative potential, the latter its excess production
capacity. Innovation-based performance is enhanced by technological innovation and
changing product markets, characterized by
ff
uid, competitive production. Cost reduc-
tion strategies are enhanced by increased scales of production and/or automation, usually
characterized by rigid, mature monopolistic production. Economies seeking to exploit
new international markets may enjoy short-term bene
fl
ts from revenues gained as a result
of production using existing excess capacity, but they may ultimately
fi
nd themselves
behind the technological curve. Performance-driven markets may be slower to gain
pro
fi
ts, but may outlast markets driven by cost reduction strategies. The consequences for
the environment and for workers may di
fi
er as well.
Innovation-based performance competitiveness presents opportunities for environ-
mental improvements and for skill enhancement and building optimal human-technol-
ogy interfaces, while cost reduction strategies focus on lean production (with worker
displacement and usually designed without health, safety, or environmental performance
in mind),
ff
exible labor markets, and knowledge increasingly embodied in hardware and
software rather than in human capital. The consequences for the environment and for
workers are di
fl
erent for these two strategies. The former strategy can lead to more envi-
ronmentally sustainable technologies of production and also reward and encourage skill
acquisition for many, with appropriate
ff
ts for those workers. The latter may
seek to minimize environmental improvement costs and create a division between
workers, some of whom are necessarily upskilled and many whose job content is reduced.
Di
fi
nancial bene
fi
erent domestic preferences
and culture, but there are further implications, depending on the extent to which trade
drives the economy.
The changing global economy presents challenges for all nations as concerns for the
number of jobs, job security, wages, and occupational health and safety increase and
compete for attention with environmental concerns. In the private sector, labor needs a
role in choosing and implementing information-based technologies. In the public sector,
there is a need for integrating industrial development and trade policies with those of
employment, occupational health and safety, and the environment.
ff
erent national strategies might be pursued, re
fl
ecting di
ff
The need for integrating industrial, environmental and trade policies
Articulating policy approaches to sustainability requires more than an understanding of
the challenges to sustainability posed by the international context. Integrated sustain-
ability policies must utilize, alter or supplant existing policies (and the institutions that
administer them) in the areas of economy, trade, environment and employment.
Recalling that a sustainable future requires technological, organizational, institutional
and social changes, it is likely that an evolutionary pathway is insu
cient for achieving
factor ten or greater improvements in eco- and energy e
ciency and reductions in the pro-
duction and use of, and exposure to, toxic substances. Such improvements require more sys-
temic, multidimensional and disruptive changes. We have already asserted that the capacity
to change can be the limiting factor - often crucially missing in optimistic scenarios.
Successful management of disruptive product innovation requires initiatives and input
from outsiders to produce the expansion of the design space that limits the dominant
