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...green-energy agenda, and recent G-8 goals to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2050, the industry will come back strong. "I have people calling me asking, 'Where should I put my money? Who do I invest in?' " says Mark Taylor, a geothermal analyst with renewable-energy-research firm New Energy Finance. "I'm still pretty optimistic about everything...
High-tech concrete is just one of the products that has emerged from the research and development labs of cement, steel and chemicals firms this decade, and it signals a growing commitment by heavy industry to the notion of "sustainability." As public pressure has grown to reduce energy use and carbon emissions - and in general tread more lightly on the environment - companies in these industries have poured money into R&D efforts. Much of the work has focused on internal processes, especially on the critical task of finding out how to cut down on emissions during manufacturing. But in their...
Cleaning Industry At the research and development labs of steel giant ArcelorMittal in Belgium, researchers are trying to develop thinner, stronger steel that can replace plastic in washing machines and other appliances. They're also experimenting with coatings that are both environmentally friendly and more effective in fighting corrosion. Dulux Trade, the paint subsidiary of Netherlands-based chemical firm AkzoNobel, this year started selling Ecosure, a type of paint with much reduced amounts of embodied carbon and other volatile organic compounds. And at the R&D center of French cement firm Lafarge, director Pascal Casanova waxes lyrical about Ductal...
...course, the beneficial environmental effects of such new products are still dwarfed by the sheer volume of emissions that heavy industry spews out. Yet the time and money being spent on cutting-edge research shows that many companies are paying far more than just lip service to the notion of cleaning up their act. "Heavy industry in general faces some of the biggest problems because of what it does, but it was also the first sector to recognize that it had a problem," says Peter Madden of the London-based ngo Forum for the Future, which worked together with Dulux...
...world economy falls on hard times, one of the big questions is whether these research efforts may be cut or curtailed. Björn Stigson is president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, an organization of about 200 companies committed to smart environmental policies. Some cutbacks are inevitable, he believes, but "sustainable development is now an integrated part of doing business. It's not a question of environment versus business. It's a business issue, and if companies don't address it, they will have problems with their license to operate and grow." His business council has been...