Accept Responsibility for Environment

Case 1
In January 2000, cyanide spilled from a containment dam at a gold mine in Romania, flowed into two rivers entering Hungary and Yugoslavia and then back into Romania in the Danube River. Cyanide killed everything in its path leaving rivers covered with tons of dead fish. Experts warned that beyond immediate damage to river ecology, lead and other toxic metals might cause other long-term. Experts also warned that the cyanide might do further damage by entering the food chain through groundwater and irrigation water.

According to U.S. newspapers, the Australia-based Esmeralda Ltd., co-owner of the mine, denied responsibility for the spill. The company's chairman said "there was no conclusive proof the company was to blame."

How do you feel about this corporate response?

Case 2
In mid June, eight people were hospitalized in Peru following a 3-gallon mercury spill from a contractor's truck. As of the date of the news article, 46 people had told a local clinic they had symptoms of mercury poisoning.

According to the news article, Ronald Cambre, chairman and CEO of Newmont Mining, owner of the gold mine from which the mercury was being transported, said "This accident is appalling" and "Our foremost concern is the health and safety of the people of Choropampa." (Mercury is a byproduct of gold mining.)

In the now classic style of the Johnson and Johnson Tylenol poisonings, Cambre did the right thing by accepting ownership of the problem. Too many people deny responsibility, as Esmeralda did, or try to assign ownership to others. You can be pretty sure that those who fail to accept responsibility after an incident are the same ones who have accepted little or no responsibility bbefore the incident.

How do you feel about this corporate behavior?

Moral of the Story: You "own" everything you're involved with, whether you are present or not when an incident occurs. "Ownership" is the only way to manifest the attitudes that lead to behavior that precludes such incidents.

Go To Page: 1

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic