by Rosemary Redfern

Created on: July 09, 2010   Last Updated: July 10, 2010

If the standards of the U.S. are higher than those in the environmentally sensitive areas like the Peru Amazon region, then they should be applied, regardless of the cost. 

Multinational companies increase their wealth by exploiting minerals and low wages for manufacturing in diverse parts of the world. There are few governments powerful enough to counter them if they decide to ignore local laws or moral issues. 

Each sovereign country will have some form of rules, standards and laws with which to protect the environment and the population. In some countries they will be high, in others not.

Any multinational which originates in a country which has high standards of accountability should have the moral fiber to apply the same standards to areas where they have not been considered in such detail. The issue is that it costs money to maintain high standards of protection and multinationals usually go to poorer countries because the costs of production are lower. There is a moral dilemma here and the quality of the multinational company will show by their treatment of the locality and their behavior. 

Sensitive areas like Peru’s Amazon are incredibly rich in plant and animal species, many of which have not yet been identified. Some of the plants have amazing medical value which are also not yet fully understood. To damage an area with such intangible wealth is criminal. 

These areas are also vital to the planet because of the work the trees do in absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. After the disaster of the deep drilling for gas and oil in the Gulf of Mexico, surely no further demonstration, of the dangers that can occur when a sensitive area is exploited, are needed. 

But, the question is about applying the standards of one country to another. The answer is simple. Not only should the standards applied be at the higher level, but local traditions and customs should also be respected. Any multinational is a guest in a given country.  Even if they feel they are accountable to no one government, they could lead the way by their behavior in good practices and in the process begin to earn some respect from the public. At the moment most multinational companies are feared because of their power. They are there to exploit the local attributes but could demonstrate that money can be made from being thoughtful about something other than the bottom line of the balance sheet. Accountants are not always the best judges of what to do.

Perhaps this is a time for the multinational companies to consider developing systems which use something other than petroleum.  They have squashed all ideas so far but their basic product is finite.  The resources they have, to do the research and development, would enable them to stay leaders financially in their field.  Unfortunately this does not seem to have occurred to them.

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