We agree with your July 14 editorial about partnerships between the Environmental Defense Fund and major corporations being beneficial to corporations and the environment. As you reported, the fund assisted the McDonald`s Corp. in addressing its huge solid-waste problem two years ago and has initiated open dialogue with General Motors regarding air pollution concerns.
However, while the fund focuses attention on these huge, in-the-public-eye corporations, many other companies remain unassisted and often unaware of their environmental impacts in this nation and abroad.
It is time for large and small corporations, nationally or privately assisted, to recognize their impact on human health and the environment and react by developing and implementing comprehensive environmental management programs.
In September 1989, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsive Economies proposed a code of conduct, called the Valdez Principles, named after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. To date, few corporations have signed these principles.
The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June provided an opportunity for government to recognize the impact corporations are having on the environment, but it is equally important for corporations to recognize their impact and act responsibly. McDonald`s Corp. did and GM will hopefully soon follow suit by implementing environmental programs that are cost-effective and improve environmental quality without sacrificing economic well-being.
