Clean Techn Environ Policy (2006) 8:225–228 DOI 10.1007/s10098-006-0067-2
NEWS
Corporate responsibility and the triple bottom line John A. Glaser
Published online: 5 October 2006 Springer-Verlag 2006
The Commonwealth of Australia conducted an inquiry into corporate responsibility through a Parlimentary Joint Commission on Corporate and Financial Service in 2005. A 228 page report was assembled from its findings. Points of contention considered by the commission were: How much leeway do organizational decision-makers have to consider interests of stakeholders other than stockholders and the broader community? Does the current legal framework encourage or discourage decision-makers with regards to these non-stockholder interests? How revision of the legal framework might help? What possible alternative mechanisms could assist? This inquiry was undertaken relative to the requirements of the Australian Corporations Act as applied to profit and non-profit institutions. The report recognizes that Australia lags behind developments in corporate responsibility elsewhere across the globe. The findings give support and encouragement to enlightened corporations willing to undertake these new responsibilities. The report does not recommend any adjustment to current law to force corporations to comply with the demands of these new responsibilities. Sustainability reporting is seen to be an already undertaken point of compliance for many corporations. A range of re-
J. A. Glaser (&) US Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 W King Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA e-mail:
[email protected]
sponse to such action has been seen across Australian corporate business. The report does nothing to support whistle blowers in bringing deficiencies in corporate reporting to public or corporate attention. The committee report threw the onus of corporate responsibility reporting on government entities. The report supported the engagement of corporations with these new concepts of responsibility but did little to ensure that such transformations would actually happen. (http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/corporations_ette)
Green e-caprolactam A new three-step synthesis process to form e-caprolactam from cyclohexane shows higher conversion yields, less waste and synthetic conditions that avoid the use of corrosive chemicals. Caprolactam is the monomer used to form nylon-6. The new process reacts cyclohexane with tertiary butyl nitrite over a proprietary catalyst to form nitrosocyclohexane. Reaction of nitrosocyclohexane with a tertiary amine forms cyclohexanone oxime in quantitative conversion. The isomerization of the oxime with cyanuric chloride in hexafluoro isopropanol solution forms e-caprolactam in 90% yield at moderate temperatures. The conventional route to e-caprolactam from cyclohexanone oxime via the Beckman rearrangement leads to the formation of large quantities of ammonium sulfate waste. Other current technology utilizes the toxic and corrosive nitrosyl chloride to form the oxime under photonitrosation conditions and is encumbered by low conversion yields.
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(Chem Eng 2006; 113(6):14)
New cleaner propylene oxide process Commercial synthesis of propylene oxide has been traditionally accomplished through the formation of propylene chlorohydrin from propene followed by reaction with base. Currently 50% of the global production utilizes the chlorohydrin process with hydroperoxide-based processes providing the remaining 50% production. A new synthetic process is based on the oxidation of propene in the presence of a titanium silicate in methanol solution. Through the use of a proprietary tubular reactor, yields of 95% were observed for several thousand hours of mini plant operation. The new process produces no waste products or chlorine containing waste. A 100,000 m ton/year full scale production facility utilizing the new technology is under development for South Korea for 2008.
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try challenge awards. Individuals and companies are recognized by the awards for their contributions to pollution prevention. Modifications to the synthesis of Lipitor (cholesterol-lowering drug) using an enzymebased process was cited as a corporate contribution to greener-reaction condition development. Another corporate contribution is the catalytic synthesis for sitagliptin (component of a new treatment for type 2 diabetes). The new synthetic pathway reduces waste production by 220 lbs (99.79 kg) for each 1 lb (0.45 kg) of sitagliptin synthesized with a yield increase of greater than 50%. Asymmetric catalytic reduction of unprotected enamines by rhodium salts of a ferrocenylbased ligand provides b-amino acids of higher optical purity and yield. An academic contribution for the conversion of glycerol to propylene glycol was also recognized. Reactive distillation over a copper chromite catalyst permits operation at lower temperatures and pressures. This synthetic pathway yields propylene glycol that is cheaper than that derived from petroleum. A 50 million lb/year (22.7 million kg/year) startup for the new process is scheduled for fourth quarter 2006. (Chem Eng 2006; 113(8):7, 16)
New reactor design
(Chem Eng 2006; 113(6):14)
Green awards The US Environmental Protection Agency has selected winners of the 2006 Presidental Green Chemis-
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A new reactor system combining high-heat transfer characteristics of plate heat exchangers and precise reaction control found in microreactors has been assembled in a single unit. Reduction of potentially dangerous reactants is accomplished through the high heat and mass transfer characteristics of the new reactor. The reactor is formed from a reaction chamber situated between heat exchange plates where the reactor is a micro channel etched in the surface. Application of the new reactor to a two-step metalhalogen exchange reaction showed a 90% yield after a few hours of operation in contrast to the 88% yield
Corporate responsibility and the triple bottom line
encountered in a conventional micro reactor. Highly exothermic and/or explosive reactions may be good candidates for the new reactor. (Chem Eng 2006; 113(6):13) Questions of scientific ethics Modern society recognizes science as a significant force for change. The proper use of scientific findings and information helps to direct the continued progress of society. Ethical scrutiny is implied in the proper use. Claims by scientists that they are untrained or that their work has little to do with ethics, significantly miss the mark of competence and ownership of scientific information. Society has a right and duty to ask scientists supported by public funds to engage in the discernment of the ethical use of scientific information especially in the case where the scientist has been a direct contributor to the information. Most scientific and technical societies have developed a code of ethics for their professions. The involvement of the scientist or technical expert is in many cases merely an extension of the professional code. It may be convenient to dismiss the societal demands for ethical discernment concerning scientific information or research for a variety of reasons. Without participative guidance and input from the scientific community, we face the peril that society may make a decision that is contrary to the scientific information. There is no room to avoid the duty and responsibility required to properly husband scientific and technical information through society’s scrutiny. (Cell 2006; 125(6):1023–1025) Biobased Butanol A partnership of DuPont and BP has been formed to develop biobutanol as a next generation biofuel. Working with British Sugar, the partners will convert an existing bioethanol plant to biobutanol production. The butanol will be used as a gasoline additive and is attractive in this application for its low vapor pressure and tolerance to water. Butanol used as a gasoline additive could reduce the vehicle changes required for the use of ethanol. (Chem Eng 2006: 113(7):13) Green pharmaceutical chemistry An inspection of green chemistry as applied to pharmaceutical development looks at the concept and its utilization. Observations such as:
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Green chemistry is outside techniques used but rather resides within the intent and result of technical application. Or Green chemistry is not simply good process chemistry: it is the highest efficiency potential that exists for each chemical process, serving as both inspiration for and measure of the best process chemistry. lead to a common impression that the true motivations or drivers for green chemistry are well understood. The author sees that Pharmaceutical Green Chemistry offers an opportunity to educate the public with regards to good environmental stewardship through operational transparency, while also detailing industrial motivations leading to greater public awareness, understanding and trust. Economic efficiency and environmental impact are important incentives to embrace green chemistry but it is important to recognize its contributing role to a sustainable future. (Org Process Res dev 2006; 10:315–319) Energy return of bioethanol A burgeoning literature concerning energy output of biofuels is highly contentious and confusing. At one end of the spectrum, a Cornell University researcher has reported in a series of publications analyses depicting the energy output from selected biodiesel production and ethanol production from corn, switchgrass, and wood biomass to be less than the respective energy inputs. Corn grain based ethanol production was found to require 29% more fossil energy than that in the ethanol produced. When derived from switchgrass, ethanol production used 50% more fossil energy than that produced. Wood biomass derived ethanol showed a deficit of 57% fossil energy. Soybean based biodiesel production used 27% more fossil energy and when derived from sunflower 118% more fossil energy than in the biodiesel product. (Nat Resour Res 2005; 14(1):65–76) A researcher at the Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment has taken on a detailed review and assessment of energy input information related to biofuel production. Conflicting values for energy return on investment (re) for bioethanol production have been reported by various authors. This review attempts to provide an objective evaluation of the various studies by normalizing and comparing datasets from ten literature studies. The author defines re as the total product energy divided by the non-
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renewable energy input to the process. When re is greater than 1, the biofuel captured some renewable energy, and when re is greater than 0.76 the biofuel requires less non-renewable energy in its production than gasoline. Corn ethanol studies subjected to this analysis ranged 0.84 £ re £ 1.65. Cellulosic ethanol production studies showed a range of 4.4 £ re £ 6.61. The author hastens to add that ethanol policy should follow impact-based metrics since numerical thresholds can be established for decision makers use. Greenhouse gas production, land use, and foreign oil dependence are among the policy factors identified by the author requiring further study. The author states that even the most pessimistic evaluation of biofuels indicates that corn ethanol reduces fossil energy consumption when it is used to displace gasoline. (Environ Sci Technol 2006; 40(6):1744–1750)
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A group of researchers at the University of Minnesota has provided a recent analysis of the environmental consequences of bioethanol and soybean-based biofuel production. Their analysis reports that bioethanol yields 25% more energy than consumed in its production. Soybean-based biodiesel yields 93% more energy and is found to release less agricultural nitrogen, phosphorous, and pesticide pollutants than bioethanol. Greenhouse gas emissions were found to be reduced by 12% in the production and use of bioethanol and 41% for biodiesel. The advantages of biodiesel compared with bioethanol are attributable to efficient conversion processes and lower agricultural inputs. If the entire US corn and soybean production was dedicated to biofuel production using current technology, 12% of the gasoline and 6% of the diesel demand would be realized. (Proc Acad Sci US 2006; 103(30):11206–11210)
