Greening Industry in the United States

The Greening of Industry in Environmental Law

Although environmental compliance can be expensive, sloppy environmental practices can be even more costly: they can bankrupt a company. Millions of dollars pour into Superfund sites (hazardous waste disposal sites so dangerous they have been placed on the National Priority List for cleanup), and that money comes, for the most part, from businesses that sent waste to a site for disposal. Because of the disastrous effect the costs of a Superfund cleanup or other environmental costs can have on businesses, the Securities and Exchange Commission now requires all companies that sell securities publicly to disclose potential expenditures involving the environment in all public filings to apprise investors of possible impacts on the company’s earnings.

Handling waste and dealing with the environment responsibly are good public interest gestures. Companies that are active partners in the effort to take care of the environment gain a positive public image, which can increase revenues and interest investors. Businesses also benefit financially by reducing their wastes, especially if hazardous wastes are generated. Disposal of hazardous waste is costly, and unless it is destroyed or neutralized in some fashion, it remains a potential liability. If the hazardous waste site becomes a Superfund site in twenty or thirty years, the parties who sent the waste there will have to clean it up, even if the facility was properly permitted at the time.

As people become aware of the importance of regulating what goes into the environment, they also become more amenable to paying for a cleaner place to live. Changes in advertising to include environmental claims indicate the degree of importance businesses believe the public places on the environment. Packaging now often includes recycling messages, statements about environmental impacts of the product, and concentrated products have reduced the sizes of containers. Many dispensers can be used more than once, lessening the volume of waste. Clearly, the consumers have demanded the modifications and are ready to purchase products that are less taxing for the environment. One of the problems the consumer must face is determining whether the assertions are accurate or not. More regulation should be anticipated concerning the substantiation of environmental declarations.
Based on “Environment and the Law. A Dictionary”.