SIR IAIN VALLANCE

There can be no doubt that the concept of sustainable development is achieving an ever higher profile. It is equally clear that we still have a long way to go to achieve the goals that are implicit in that concept. And, if we are to do so, we will have to make some fundamental changes in the way we live and work.

At BT, we are convinced that telecommunications can contribute to sustainable development in a variety of constructive and creative ways. These are as wide-ranging as environmental monitoring, supporting new ways of working and even on-line democracy. But we also recognise that sustainability is far from straightforward. A product or service that contributes positively in one area may have a detrimental impact elsewhere. Finding the optimal path requires not only sensitivity and careful evaluation but also a willingness both to innovate and to compromise where necessary.

And that’s why BT called its award-winning publication on the role of telecommunications in sustainable development A Question of Balance. It’s not technology, by and of itself, that offers us the chance to change our lives; it’s the way that society chooses to apply it and the way in which long term costs are weighed against short term imperatives. For example, telecommunications can help us to substitute a video conference for a journey; it can facilitate wider access to healthcare and help create employment in rural areas and developing nations; and it can even engage more people in the debate about sustainability through the Internet. Telecommunications can help us to create communities in which people are happy to live and work, which are economically competitive, yet which have the minimum environmental impact - aims of which I am particularly conscious, given my association with Scottish Enterprise.

To date, though, the business community’s concern with sustainable development has tended to focus on manufacturing processes and product design, with environment protection being high up the agenda. But this represents only a modest part of the whole picture. Sustainable development has to mean more than environmental protection. This is, of course, vital but there are two other critical dimensions to consider - the economic and the social.

From a business perspective, the economic balance sheet is always going to come first. Without a healthy bottom line no company will be able to devote any of its resources to social and environmental issues. And in the developing world, economic development is the primary concern. But in both the developed and developing worlds, the question for governments and the business community is how to achieve continued economic growth, with the social benefits that will bring, whilst reducing the global equity gap, improving and protecting the global environment and conserving scarce resources. It is, indeed, a question of balance.

There is no easy answer. Companies will have to learn to think outside the box if we are to help make the concept of sustainable development a reality. And we will need to take responsibility for a much wider social role. There are some encouraging signs that this is beginning to happen. The notions of the "stakeholder company" and the "value-driven enterprise", both of which recognise that businesses cannot simply operate in a vacuum, are gaining in currency and credibility, but the work of translating the rhetoric into reality must go on.

There is much more to sustainable development than saving a bit of energy here, supporting a few recycling schemes there, or redesigning products. It’s about changing the way we do things. And it will need the commitment and the understanding not just of politicians and business people, but of individual citizens.

After all, the aspirations behind sustainable development are scarcely controversial. Who would not wish to see a better quality of life for all, and our delicate eco-systems protected and preserved for future generations? And who would not wish to live and work in an environment that is at the same time competitive and environmentally sustainable?

The job may be complex and daunting, but doing nothing is simply not an option. Everyone has a part to play. But those of us in the business community must aim to be standard bearers. And we will do this, not only by spreading the message of sustainable development, but by building truly sustainable enterprises, which can.

The following web sites offer more information:

For a general review of telecommunications and sustainable development visit BT’s publication A Question of Balance at http://www.bt.com/world/environment/bal/