Sustainability by Design -- the ethics of precaution

In his recent book Sustainability by Design, John Ehrenfeld describes the importance of the ethical domain for reaching sustainability.  On the surface, the “rule of law” in our society, coupled with the important legacies from the Greco-Roman roots of our civilization, comprise the moral and ethical teaching.  One could argue that recent events point to an ethical breakdown – or at least an extended lapse – in judgement by Wall Street bankers and a few “bad apples” such as Bernie Madoff.  But the one critical aspect of the mainstream culture, ignoring these arguably criminal or fringe elements, is resonsbility, the idea of being account for one’s actions.  Ehrenfeld points to “especially the act of avoiding harm knowingly.”  This is a slippery slope. 

Modern technological life has diminished our ability to know the consequences of actions taken by individuals or by collectives, as those consequences are “often displaced in time and space,” says Ehrenfeld, and as such making responsibility harder to pin down.  Hence the field of risk management.

We simply must take this domain into account when designing new products, regulations and forms of production, less our efforts at change  exhibit the same kind of unforeseen consequences that would diminish or negate (or worse) our original intentions. 
But even more importantly, avoiding harm knowingly can be and is frequently used as an excuse, a corporate badge of sorts, for shirking due responsibility.  To most substances in wide use in Western culture, manufacturers can legitimately claim that "we don't know the long-term effects ... they have not been adequately studied."  Yet, a certain amount of precaution seems warranted. Europe has passed regulations based on the assumption that if a substance is not KNOWN to be safe, it cannot be used.  Is this good for business let alone the economy? It is in the long run, as we humans will still be around, with significantly improved chances for quality of life.

Further, the state of California is following this example of the REACH laws in the EU with the 2008 California Green Chemistry Initiative, based on similar presuppositions and principles.  The regulators are finally taking the lead on this one and innovation has begun to flourish, shaking out new market leaders and game-changing solutions to previously intractible problems.

What will you do about it?  What's the first thing you might do on "Monday morning"?
 
Best,
Daniel