"Historically, projects were discussed in either the language of economic value or of environmental performance, but we've figured out how to translate from one language to the other," said Smolik of Dow.
Often, corporate environmental officials are using such translation to persuade plant managers that profit, not environmental benefit, is the primary goal even when it is not. For instance, in March, William Blackburn, vice president for environment, health and safety at Baxter International, the medical products maker in Deerfield, Illinois, pulled together a group of purchasing and engineering people to discuss ways to reduce energy use. They are now exploring several. "My goal was to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the only greenhouse gas we emit," he said. But he recognized that managers with bottom-line responsibilities would be more attracted to cheaper energy bills. "Environment is heart and economics is head, and to motivate everyone, you need to combine the two."
Indeed, Blackburn has used that psychology to persuade profit-oriented plant managers to revisit environmental problems that they had thought were solved.
The plant managers figured out how to turn the waste into fuel and fertilizer, which the university now uses. The project cost Baxter US$350,000, but it cut disposal costs to zero.
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