Journalists' Business Briefing for Johannesburg World Summit-Environmental Degradation

www.article13.com have launched a new mini-site, called Journalists Link, that will give you key information and insight on the Earth Summit 2002 and its links to business. We have identified five issues on the agenda that are relevant to business and in the days running up to the Summit will be posting briefing papers on Corporate governance, Reducing poverty, Making globalisation work, Sustainable levels of consumption, Reversing environmental degradation.

Number 5 in a series of 5 below.

Reversing Environmental Degradation: Conservation and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
- dwindling fish stocks, deforestation, climate change and toxic pollution are indicators of the decline in the quality of natural environment and our ability to manage natural resources. In most cases it is the most vulnerable that are most affected by the consequences of our poor stewardship - flooding, drought and famine.

What can business do/is doing: Business can demonstrate leadership by applying pressure on its supply chain to ensure the sustainable management of natural resources. The DIY store B &Q (part of the Kingfisher group) is already doing this by choosing to provide their customers with wooden goods from well managed forests. These products have a Forest Stewardship Council certificate as a means of third party validation - nearly 30 million hectares of forests have been certified in over 45 countries, producing over 10,000 products from doors to spatulas.

Business Opportunities: Development and promotion of sustainably sourced products. The challenge is too mainstream these products so they are a competitive alternative. Creating the demand for "good" products effectively squeezes out products that have been produced to the detriment of the natural environment from the market.

Business Risks: Reputational risks of business of being associated with degradation of important ecological habitats, for example mining within a national park. Rising costs as raw materials become scarce.

Case study: William McDonough + Partners

William McDonough + Partners are a planning and architects practice based in North America. They are pioneers in sustainable design, fusing aesthetics with innovative and cutting edge ecological designs. Since it was established in 1981 the company has been engaged in expanding the industry's concept of quality. Demonstrating that the traditional measures of cost, performance, and aesthetics are incomplete, the company argues that ecological intelligence and social equity are additional measures of quality. In reality this means successfully curbing energy consumption and waste, linking buildings into their landscapes and communities, demonstrating how buildings can promote biodiversity and the more sustainable use of natural resourses and how buildings can promote the health and wellbeing of its users.

Commercial clients include, Ford Motor Company, GAP, Nike and IBM. An example of their work includes the restoration and regeneration of a new manufacturing plant in North East Brazil. The facility is located 40km northwest of Salvador, within the original range of the Mata Atlantica rainforest, one of the most biodiverse - and most threatened - ecosystems on the planet. The brief was to explore ways of making the new facility an asset for both employees and the community at large. The architects developed site systems to support the restoration of native habitat and the regeneration of the indigenous landscape by:

·   Constructing wetlands of native plants to retain storm water and increase biodiversity
·   Developing on-site composting facilities for composting valuable organic materials from sanitary and food service to build soil and support the regeneration of biomass.
·   Using local materials and construction methods which responds to the regional climate and architectural forms.
·   Developing corridors of native trees around the plant to provide shading and important habitat.
·   Providing an important environmental educational role for employees and visitors