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TOWARD GOOD TECHNOLOGY
Greetings from Finland to the Bangladesh Environmental Management
Force. I was impressed by the first issue of the BEMF Newsletter.
To me, it strikes at the core issues of environmental management
planning and implementation in industrializing countries. Experience
from other countries in the world shows that it is precisely organizations
such as BEMF that
can foster the emergence
of environmental
management at the grassroots company level. The Laboratory of Environmental
Protection at the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT) has its
core competences in the fields of environmental strategies and the
assessment of social and environmental implications of technology.
Unlike traditional environmental protectionists, we try to avoid
seeing things as either pristine nature or dirty technology. Metaphorically
speaking, our challenge is much like that of a gardener: To understand
and plan human environmental interactions. Our goal is to educate
experts in industrial ecology and ecological communities, who have
a profound understanding of the social implications of technology.
Research at the Laboratory can be characterized as social study
of technological systems that are particularly relevant for the
environment. The HUT program in Environmental Strategies and Technology
Assessment was launched in 1999 both at the MS and PhD level. What
has been a pleasure to observe is the increasing number of international
students, also from rapidly industrializing countries. Environmental
management as a field of study can best be advanced through profound
understanding of specific cases around the world. This is why international
students are such a valuable asset to educational programs in the
field. I congratulate BEMF for its achievements so far and wish
the best of luck in its future endeavors.
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