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By Sally Watson, 2 March 2001 14:45

NEWS Speaking to silicon.com at the launch of a year long research report yesterday, the environment minister claimed high-tech firms and dot-coms are shirking their environmental and social responsibilities. According to Meacher, very few small and medium-sized companies produce an annual report detailing environmental impact. "If that doesn't improve I will have to consider mandatory reporting," he said. "This isn't meant to be a burden on business, it will enable them to realise better the impact their products are having and almost certainly to save money in the process," Meacher added. The Digital Futures report is the result of a collaboration between the Forum for the Future, the DTI, the DETR, think-tank Demos and the Cabinet Office. It claims technology companies are failing to measure their impact on the community and are missing a valuable opportunity to make UK industry more sustainable. Jonathon Porritt, programme director for Forum for the Future, claimed sustainability is an extremely simple concept. "It's basically wealth creation without the social and environmental costs," he said. "Theoretically, the new economy ought to be a great driver of environmental improvement, increased efficiency and social inclusion" he said. "But these ideas aren't deeply embedded in new economy entrepreneurs. "They don't really engage, so we're missing the opportunity to make the new economy an engine of social and environmental change." The report was welcomed by Shanker Trivedi, VP of Sun Microsystems UK and Ireland, who added that high-tech companies are ideally placed to develop new processes, instead of being dragged down by traditional business models. Backed by EC funding, Forum for the Future will now widen its research project to include the European Union. The problem it faces now is how to translate its findings into practical solutions for business.