By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
A senior Dow Chemical official said Korea is making a contribution to the sustainable development of the world, approving the general direction of promoting green technology as a step in the right direction.
``The Green Growth policy of Korean President Lee Myung-bak is a strong signal of Korea's desire to be part of the solutions for having sustainable development on the planet,'' Dow's vice president Neil Hawkins told The Korea Times in an interview during the Business for Environment (B4E) Summit, Wednesday.
Hawkins is the vice president of Sustainability and Environment, Health & Safety for Dow Chemical, the leading advanced materials company in the world. The Dow has six plants, a business center and Technical Services & Development facilities in Korea.
``The science and technology of major and smaller Korean businesses is incredibly important as an engine for sustainable development in the world,'' Hawkins said. ``I live in the United States and there is not a single day that I don't see evidence of Korea's impact on the U.S. Korea is a leading industrial powerhouse.''
He has been engaged in environmental issues since high school, when he led the school's ecology club. Later, he studied Nuclear Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and earned master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University's School of Public Health.
He said that further spurring innovation to find new ways to generate electricity in a more green way, or ``greening'' the industry, is very positive.
``Finding ways to make the current industry lighter in the carbon footprint, which is what I think President Lee is trying to do, is very helpful to the world's sustainable development,'' he said.
According to Hawkins, countries that are going green are positioned to be greater contributors to securing sustainability for the world.
``It's a vibrant area ― technologies evolve quickly. You need to be a part of the process to be a contributor in the long term, and I think Korea is moving in the right direction,'' he said.
He said Dow takes a complete lifecycle view from raw materials to disposal to minimize its effect on the Earth.
``We are all working to make sure we are part of the long term picture and I'm very optimistic for Dow, because we have leading science and technology,'' Hawkins said. ``We try to make sure all these activities are balanced and make a minimum carbon footprint on the planet,'' Hawkins said. ``We have a similar approach when we reduce our own footprint, but try to reduce the footprint of others through science and technology.''