Steady improvement, plus breakthroughs.

• Author: Cartledge, R. Eugene
• Position: Leadership in Environmental Initiatives - Special Section: Answering the Call for Leadership

Over the past 20 years, environmental values and shareholder values have become more closely aligned than many of us would ever have imagined. Indeed, today "CEO" does mean chief environmental officer as much as chief executive officer. At Union Camp, we use environmental challenges as strategic building blocks to gain competitive advantage that will reward shareholders. Our efforts to develop manufacturing technologies and products that fulfill society's desire for a cleaner environment will increasingly enhance shareholder return. Achieving these results takes not only the dedication of the company's employees but also the personal involvement of the chief executive officer.

It is also clear that environmental quality, like any other societal value, requires a healthy economy. In fact, improvement in environmental quality is really held hostage to economic health. Historically, prosperity raises peoples' expectations for a higher quality of life and generates capital for environmental investment. America must not forget that a profitable corporate sector is a critical component in making this happen. The CEO must therefore continue to tell this story, too -- companies need capital to invest in environmental improvements and investors must see a reward for supplying the capital. Economic growth is this reward. Our experience at Union Camp provides an illustration on how we attempt to achieve this linkage.

As a natural resource company producing paper, packaging, chemicals, and wood products with large and highly visible manufacturing facilities, Union Camp has for decades been both target and solution in a variety of environmental issues. In response to our nation's increasing emphasis on environmental quality, we made the strategic decision to lead the environmental movement in our industry, steadily improving our manufacturing process technology to minimize our impact on the land, air, and water.

Our approach is based on solid science and good business principles. Union Camp, like most of American industry, has used improving science to identify and mitigate many environmental problems over the years. Indeed, an objective view of pollution data clearly demonstrates that, contrary to what typically is reported by the popular press, environmental quality in the United States today is good and improving, particularly relating to air quality, water quality, and solid waste. American industry has made significant contributions to this record. In fact, our measuring techniques to monitor the environment have improved drastically from the standard measurement in 1956 of parts per million. By 1986, we had developed the capability to measure parts per quadrillion -- that's the equivalent of one second in 32 million years. And now technology is even beginning to actually measure in parts per quintillion -- the equivalent of one second in 32 billion years!

Our ability to develop better technology may have outpaced our ability to understand the implications. A continuing challenge will be to apply this knowledge of minute environmental measurement to risk assessment and environmental damage so that our shareholders' dollars are put to most effective use...