McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All

Rights Reserved.

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Chapter

4
Clean Commerce:
Seeing Opportunity
through a Sustainability
Lens
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Green is the New Black

KeyQuestions:
Ifgreenisthenewblackandifeveryoneisdoingit,
whatnewopportunitiesarebeingspawnedbythisseismic
shift?
Howcanentrepreneurscreateandtakeholdofthe
opportunities?
Howcanacompanydifferentiateitselfinthisrapidly
greeningmarketspace?
Whataretherisksassociatedwithignoringthegreen
imperative?
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Clean Commerce Defined . . .

Clean means more than just nontoxic
It refers to the net balance of costs and benefits
to
shareholders,
stakeholders, and
to the planet.

This is not a zero-sum game the benefits are

shared across sectors.

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Sustainability
Includes the concept of economic viability.
Revenues and earnings must sustain ongoing
business success, and profits must be
reinvested into products and service
improvements to drive future growth.
Sustainability changes the role new ventures
play in
Supporting communities
Improving human health
Protecting ecological systems
Truly delivering on the promise of prosperity.
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Green Chemistry
Is the utilization of a set of principles
that embrace the reduction and
elimination of hazardous substances in the
design,
manufacture, and
application of chemical products.

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When Considering A Products Entire

Lifecycle (1 of 2):
Smart leaders ask:
Where do we get our feedstocks?
Are they renewable or limited?
Are they vulnerable (weak) to price and
supply fluctuations?
Are they vulnerable to emerging
regulations?

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When Considering A Products Entire

Lifecycle (2 of 2):
Smart leaders ask:
Do chemicals in our products accumulate in
human tissue?
Do they biodegrade harmlessly?
Where do the materials go when thrown away?
Do they sit in landfills for eternity, create
toxins when incinerated, or break down to
pollute water?
Can they be carried by air currents and
influence the healthy functioning of natural
systems far from the source?
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Principles of Green Chemistry 16

Prevent waste
Design safer chemicals and products
Design less dangerous chemical syntheses
Use renewable feedstock
Use catalysts, not stoichiometric reagents
Avoid chemical derivatives

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Principles of Green Chemistry 712

Maximize atom economy

Use safer solvents and reaction conditions
Increase energy efficiency
Design chemicals and products to degrade
after use
Analyze in real time to prevent pollution
Minimize the potential for accidents

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Cradle to Grave
Is a concept of sustainability.
At the end of a products useful life, its
constituent materials (understood as assets,
not waste) become inputs for new products or
return safely to the earth.
Thinking like a molecule allows you to
understand the complete cradle-to-cradle life
cycle of your products and manufacturing
processes not just the visible outcomes, but
the microscopic ones as well.
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E-Factor Defined
A metric to measure the ratio of inputs to
outputs in any given product.
E-factor measurement tells you how many
weight units of output one gets per weight unit
of input.
This figure gives companies a sense of process
efficiency and natural costs associated with
waste, energy, and other resources rates of
use.

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Transition to Sustainability and

Clean Commerce
Requires new:
technology
products
markets

Providing these has historically been, and

remains today, the role of the entrepreneur.

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