Bret Billet, Wartburg College professor of political science, has published “Navigating Global Environmental Sustainability: Enriching Well-Being in the Wake of the Great Recession.” The book is the culmination of more than a decade of research into the impact of a recession on sustainable environmental consumption.

“I found that corporations in most developing and developed countries aren’t going to change the status quo to a more environmentally orientation even when a major recessionary period gives them the opportunity to do so,” Billet said.

During a recession, like the Great Recession in the late 2000s, the government often operates under a Keynesian model that pushes money into the economy through deficit spending to stimulate employment and stabilize wages. Billet’s research showed that while this would be an opportune time for corporations to establish more environmentally friendly operating protocols and technologies, most corporate entities think recessions will be short-lived and do not want to risk what they perceive will be an even greater reduction in profits and profit margins in the short term.

“We were short-sighted to think that this would be a short-lived recession. This was a rather lengthy recession that provided an opportunity for government incentives to encourage corporate transition to more environmentally friendly technologies, producing a return to long-term profit making,” Billet said.

Using data from the World Bank and other governmental entities, Billet grouped countries by certain identifying factors, allowing a deeper dive into the data that resulted in more specified results. Billet found several instances of developed countries using underdeveloped countries as a “dumping ground for their environmental problems.” This included everything from the sale of lead-based paint made in the U.S., which is banned for sale here, to other countries, to the growth and harvesting of fast-growing trees in underdeveloped nations for export to developed nations.

“This was an important finding allowing us to understand that while development in the U.S. appears to be environmentally friendly relative to other countries, in reality it is not. You just don’t see the entire picture of U.S. degradation because it is recorded in developing countries through foreign investment in extractive and manufacturing enterprises,” Billet said. “This isn’t just the U.S., though.”

Billet added that the ecological modernization theory, the other theory tested in his research, could pay positive dividends if governments committed to incentives for technology acquisition and implementation during recessionary periods.

“The government has to get involved to provide ecological incentives, especially during recessionary years, when companies are looking for money,” he said. “This is a mutually beneficial relationship whereby one doesn’t have to choose between support for the environment or support for the economy. Recessionary periods provide a great opportunity for government and corporations to support both.”