ISM AND ISEG MBA - Développement durable

The progression reflects the increasing sophistication of science and society in dealing with
environmental problems. This model can help companies understand the risks and opportunities
that exist along the way.
The first generation, remediation technologies, treat environmental problems after they have
occurred, and attempt to repair or remediate the damage. They include various soil clean-up
methods, treatment of surface or ground water, and a variety of technologies to restore damaged
or degraded landscapes. Remediation technologies are typically expensive, and prove the adage
that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
The next generation is abatement technologies. During the last 30 years, many abatement
technologies have been developed to capture or treat pollutants before they escape into the
environment. These employ physical, chemical, or biological mechanisms to reduce emissions.
They can include municipal sewage processing systems, catalytic converters for cars, heavy
metal treatment for the plating industry, and electrostatic precipitators and flue gas
desulphurization equipment for coal-fired power plants.
Generally, these technologies do not eliminate the pollutant; they merely capture or treat the
waste stream before it enters the environment. Abatement technologies are usually capital and
technology-intensive, they require large amounts of energy and resources to operate, and produce
a waste disposal problem of their own. Most regulatory and investment activity in the
environmental field remains focused on abatement technologies.
The huge industries have developed to serve these markets, and billions of dollars have been
spent to purchase and install abatement technologies. Vested interests have hampered the
transition to the next generation of technologies.
The pollution prevention technologies, the third generation, are attracting the interest of
regulators, policymakers, and the private sector. Generally, there are two types of pollution
prevention technologies: first, improved processes that avoid the production of pollutants (for
example paper-making processes that eliminate chlorine bleaching, cleaning techniques that
eliminate toxic solvents, and farming practices that eliminate the use of chemical pesticides and
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