Why does location by environmental health matter for business? A U.K.-based firm called Carbon Footprint explains the benefits:

• Improve reputation with customers and potential customers;
• Broader market opportunities — differentiates your products and brands;
• Good for staff morale and attracts high-caliber employees;
• Companies are making supply chain selection based on environmental factors;
• Valued by your ethical investors and potential investors;
• Prepares your business for future legislative changes; and
• Independent third-party assessment adds credibility.

Various governments impose different laws on manufacturers to protect the environment. But aside from meeting the letter of the law, companies, through their actions or inactions, make a statement about environmental stewardship.

Environmental experts at Yale University and Columbia University created an environmental performance index (EPI) ranking nations by environmental health. The United States places 39th in the rankings, says the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. In contrast, "the 2008 EPI ranks Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Costa Rica as the top five environmentally advanced nations. Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Angola and Niger have the worst environmental reputation among 149 nations.

The universities tracked 25 indicators across six established policy categories: environmental health, air pollution, water resources, biodiversity and habitat, productive natural resources and climate change. The EPI focuses on two overarching environmental objectives:

• Reducing environmental stresses to human health and
• Promoting ecosystem vitality and sound natural resource management.

As expected, the EPI figures for China (104th) and India (120th) indicate that industrial growth without environmental safeguards and law enforcement results in low rankings — not to mention probable high costs associated with health problems. But even eight former Eastern European nations rank from eighth place to 25th, with Russia at 28th — all better than the U.S.

"The U.S. score reflects top-tier performance in several indicators, including provision of safe drinking water, sanitation and forest management," according to Yale. "But poor scores on greenhouse-gas emissions and the impacts of air pollution on ecosystems dragged down the overall U.S. rank."

Although the EPI strives to gather data and permit decisions based on the best datasets, serious information gaps hamper efforts to shift pollution control and natural-resource management onto more empirical foundations. Incomplete data excluded 89 countries from the 2008 EPI.

"As the corporate sector has long understood, the ability to benchmark performance provides an important spur to lagging performers and valuable guidance on where to look for best practices," observed Daniel C. Esty, director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy.

Turning to the U.S., companies seeking to locate in areas with minimal or no pollution can take advantage of another environmental scorecard, created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which spotlights the top polluters in the U.S. and ranks states and counties by pollutant releases. The EPA's Web site offers information on Superfund sites, toxic chemical releases, lead hazards, smog and particulates, hazardous air pollutants, health hazards and more to help companies avoid buying contaminated land or locating near environmentally dangerous sites.

Unfortunately, some of the data comes from old studies. However, state environmental protection organizations also offer information on permits and many other tips. For instance, at New York's Web site, manufacturers can learn how to conduct the five-year inspection of plastic tanks and associated piping systems. According to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, "such an inspection must consist of a comprehensive evaluation of system tightness, structural soundness, evidence of wear, foundation integrity, operability and controls."

When companies need to consider expanding and moving, it simply makes good sense to take a close look at the environment first. Customers increasingly prefer buying products from environmentally friendly companies.

For more environmental evaluations of some global locations, the Cousteau Society has published more than 100 books and 115 films to date. It has documented a variety of habitats, including Antarctica, Cuba, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Indonesia, Madagascar, South Africa, Danube and Yellow Rivers, among others.

Resources

Switzerland Tops 2008 Environmental Scorecard at World Economic Forum
Yale University, Jan. 23, 2008

Country Scores
Yale University, Jan. 23, 2008

Pollution Locater
U.S. EPA

Five-Year Inspection of Plastic Tanks
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation