Assessing corporate sustainability - technological innovation for mitigation of environmental externalities

Abstract

This research mainly focuses on how sustainability technologies can help corporations to reduce their environmental impacts. It then presents a critical assessment of some of the most well-known economic, social and environmental indicators and offers a set of solutions to make such indicators more comprehensive and practical. Two case studies on the effects of water treatment technologies in the mining sector, in particular the Chilean mining industry, is presented in this research to assess their efficacy in reducing water contamination and other environmental externalities. All the evaluations are done based on existing environmental assessment tools, however some of the models have been modified so that they become adequate for the purpose of this research.

This research analysed and compared the sustainability performance of three deionisation technologies used by a global company within the water sector. The three pillars of sustainability were used to assess their performance. It was concluded the SDI technology was suitable for relatively small applications, while the combined SDI and RO system was the most appropriate tool for medium applications; and finally, the DI plant was the best for applications of a larger scale. The study also identified the need to for an integrated framework for assessment of product sustainability.

The project also looked into the sustainability of the Chilean mining sector and the potential of entry for Veolia into the market to promote sustainable technologies, to improve the efficiency of the mining sector while alleviating the pressure exerted on water resources by the mining operations.