Government officials are hoping to convert sceptical British industrialists
to the cause of environmentalists at a two-day brainstorming workshop in
November. The workshop, to be organised by the Centre for Exploitation of
Science and Technology, a government think-tank, will draw together 30 ‘up-and-coming
industrialists’, academics and civil servants.
They will discuss ways of persuading companies to clean up, explaining
financial incentives and legal requirements. Bob Whelan, chief executive
of CEST, said: ‘Sometimes, a two-man company can cause as much damage as
a big one,’ he said. He pointed out that 200 British companies involved
in metal-finishing each employed fewer than 40 people, but the industry
as a whole causes severe water pollution.
