Sustainable development sees human beings, in the words of philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis, as “the gardeners of the planet,” cultivating and enjoying the earth's riches in our lives today, while taking care to avoid damaging or exhausting its resources.

Nuclear power contributes to sustainable development by generating power
without creating air pollution

History

In 1987, the UN established a Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by then Prime Minister of Norway, Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland. A report was issued that came to be known as “Our Common Future” which alerted the world to the urgency of making progress toward economic development that could be sustained without depleting natural resources or harming the environment.

The 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro drew 30,000 people from around the world who gathered to address the issue of environmental decline. Out of that meeting, a new word was coined - eco-efficiency. “The hope was that eco-efficiency would transform human industry from a system that takes, makes, and wastes into one that integrates economic, environmental, and ethical concerns.”
- The Atlantic Monthly, June 1998

Five years later, what is now the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a group of 48 industrial companies, focused their efforts on what businesses could gain from a policy of reduce, reuse and recycle.

An outgrowth of this has been the very real economic benefits that companies can achieve through altering the way they design and manufacture their products and how they handle by-products and wastes. An example is 3M who calculated that they saved $750 million (748.8 Euros) through pollution-prevention alone.

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg and attended by more than 40,000, is the latest worldwide meeting to address this important concept. To illustrate how far it has come, Nitin Desai, the summit's Secretary-General, commented, “Development is now as sexy as the environment, absolutely.”

Business and Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Research Institute, headquartered in Canada, defines sustainable development as “an integration of the ecological imperative to stay within the carrying capacity of the planet, the economic imperative to provide an adequate standard of living for all, and the social imperative to develop forms of governance that promote the values people want to live by.”

CEOs at the recent WSSD took a similar position. Sustainable development is increasingly viewed as the key to future growth, and companies such as DuPont, Shell, Renault, Toyota, etc. are taking a pro-active stand in its favor. Moreover, although usually spoken of in terms of its environmental aspect, these companies recognize that to be successful, sustainable development encompasses every aspect of their business. US and European business schools have begun offering sustainable development courses, proof that there is a need for managers who understand the full potential of the concept.

The Role of Nuclear Power

In a speech presented on Oct. 23rd in Ottawa, Canada, Joe Colvin, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute in the US stated, “This new century, I am convinced, will see the realization of nuclear energy's potential to contribute to worldwide sustainable development, helping to provide electricity to some two billion people who do not yet have access to it in their daily lives, and doing so while preserving our global environment.” Not only does nuclear energy generation protect the environment from air pollutants (it emits virtually no greenhouse gases), it promotes the economical development of other complementing forms of energy such as hydrogen.

Framatome ANP's Commitment

Anne Lauvergeon, head of the AREVA Management Board, (the parent company of Framatome ANP) attended the summit in Johannesburg where she participated in a “Business Day” panel discussion on “Accountability and Transparency.” Commenting on why she attended, she said, ”I am personally committed to sustainable development and see it as an outstanding opportunity for industries such as ours to take responsible action. A company working in a highly technological field such as nuclear energy, traditionally focused on security, quality, and safety aspects, must be more attentive to the potential impact of its activities on the environment than other companies.” One of the reasons she attended is because the company has begun implementing a process, based upon the measurement of a series of indicators that can be reported to its stakeholders. Sustainable development principles are implied in the total quality approach, with self-assessment in areas such as customer satisfaction, human resources management, corporate citizenship and enhancement of quality of life in each community in which the company operates.

“Adopting sustainable development means we are going to have to rethink our management processes and define new projects in which profitability and responsibility are combined to ensure lasting development,” Lauvergeon continued.

Conclusion

“Today,” said Lauvergeon in summarizing her overall reaction to the summit, “there is a strong trend towards openness and mutual understanding with all stakeholders, including longstanding opponents. Everyone at the recent World Summit was struck by seeing Greenpeace team up with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to open the door to address concerns.

Nuclear Power: The Largest Contributor to Carbon Reductions

1998 Air Emissions Avoided Through the Use of Nuclear Energy (assuming new coal)

Illustration: Glasgow Media
Data provided courtesy of Entergy Corporation

** ST= short ton (907.20kg/2000lbs.)
* NOX OZ = nitrogen dioxide ozone
+ Prices are based upon US compliance allowance trading prices