Socially and Environmentally Responsible Production and Technologies
Economics and Politics
The industrialisation of the world based on the current model is ecologically impossible. Already the industrial countries face very substantial legacies of toxic residues in their soil and water that are extremely costly to remove. Poor countries will follow the current path until a better one is in sight. The parameters of clean industrialization need to be much better defined. New incentives are needed to spread eco-industrial design, based on bio-degradable product lifecycles. The technologies used need to be skill-enhancing instead of skill-destroying.
How can we assure the widespread adoption of circular and waste-eliminating "cradle-to-cradle" production systems? What are the parametres of such systems and how do we reach international agreements on these? Can the leasing principle be made mandatory to encourage product redesign from the bottom up? What tests should be required before new products are permitted? How can the introduction of non-toxic alternatives be promoted and accelerated? How can technologies be made socially responsible and responsive?
