*{Does One Size Fit All? Environmental Policy in the EU [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Does+One+Size+Fit+All%3F+Environmental+Policy+in+the+EU?open&topic_id=300600000&theme_id=300]

            03.07.2001

            European Economic Summit 2001}

            Non-governmental organizations have frequently clashed with big businesses over their environmental practices. And while that is not likely to change any time soon, there is an emerging perception – both from activists and businesses – that confrontation can actually be a productive and effective tool.

            Rémi Parmentier, Director, Political and Science Department, Greenpeace International, Netherlands, said his organization’s public pressuring of the Coca-Cola Company shortly before the Sydney Olympics to stop using an environmentally damaging refrigeration gas worked out well for both sides. After several weeks of discussions, Coca-Cola opted for an environmentally safe alternative of HFC, a potent greenhouse gas used in the refrigeration of the soft drink.

            “Confrontation, well-understood confrontation, can be positive for both sides,” Parmentier said.

            Salvatore Gabola, Director, Public Affairs, West Europe Group, Coca-Cola Company, Belgium, agreed. He acknowledged that NGOs must frequently prompt, or even pressure, corporations into following environmental best practices. “We do need that kind of stick and carrot that we get from NGOs and authorities,” Gabola said. “The whole relationship is based on confrontation, but it can be constructive confrontation. We’re moving more and more into partnerships with government and NGOs.”

            Such practices, he said, are not only responsible, but are also good for business. “Consumers in the information age know more and more about sustainable development and social responsibility,” Gabola said, citing a study that revealed one of five Europeans said they’ve either rewarded or punished a company because of its environmental practices.

            Many European countries, however, are falling short of meeting their environmental pledges in a number of areas. Markku Nurmi, Director-General, Ministry of the Environment, Finland, noted several European Union nations that failed to meet goals related to climate change, among them Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Ireland. Nurmi said a new institution, the European Environment Agency, is now producing environmental information and reports on the countries of the EU, which could spur them to action.

            According to Maritta R. von Bieberstein Koch-Weser, President of EARTH3000, Germany, action is needed on the crumbling nuclear power plants of Eastern Europe. While enumerating a litany of environmental hazards, she called the ageing plants of the former Soviet Union “probably the largest single threat to all of us.” “”We just don’t seem to be getting together on this,” she said.

            The EU might have a more credible voice, Parmentier said, if it were not considering the region as its own nuclear dumping ground. “Perhaps Western Europe could have a stronger voice if it was not waiting to export radioactive waste into Russia, he added.

            Speaking about private enterprises in the emerging economies of Eastern Europe, Eric Koudijs, Director, Environmental Services, KPMG, Romania, said they need a lot of latitude in meeting environmental standards. Failure to meet environmental regulations, he said, should not result in shutting the business down, but instead giving the company help in meeting its environmental obligations. “Companies should not be closed for not meeting environmental standards,” he said, explaining that the social cost would be too great.

            Much responsibility, Parmentier charged, lies with the wealthy Western countries. These nations have made pledges at myriad summits about sustainable development and cutting consumption, only to ignore their implementation. “Rich countries, including the EU, are not willing enough to look at their own consumption patterns,” he said. That leads countries in transition to believe they must take drastic actions to accommodate for the failings of the developed countries, he said. “We are all supposed to be in a transition toward sustainable development,” Parmentier said.
                       *{Contributors:       Bieberstein Koch-Weser Maritta R.
                  Gabola Salvatore
                  Koudijs Eric
                  Melega Gianluigi
                  Nurmi Markku
                  Parmentier Rémi}