Government leaders and an army of experts will furrow their brows over threatened species and biodiversity, changing climate patterns, the ozone layer, restoring forests, preserving the polar ice caps, and reducing man-made pollution. The stakes are huge and the remedies will reach everywhere.

Not much that a Peruvian brewery, a German baby food manufacturer, or a Canadian forest products company can do about it all - or is there? In fact, it is the environmental performance of these and hundreds of thousands, even millions, of other enterprises and the behaviour patterns of billions of individuals that will determine the state of the world's environment in the years ahead.

As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told business leaders: "You can undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility. And you can encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies."

The three examples quoted are not chosen at random. Cervesur of Peru, HiPP of Germany and Interfor of Canada are all among 12 winners of the Millenium Business Award for Environmental Achievement, a competition under the Global Compact that was organized by the International Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

Cervesur uses a flash pasteurization process that requires 88% less energy than the alternative and runs preservation projects for Andean flora. HiPP achieves an outstanding 97% rate of production waste recycling, and International Forest Products of British Columbia plants two trees for each one harvested - that means four to five million trees last year alone.

Another UNEP-ICC award winner is the Tokyo Electric Power Company, whose main business is supplying electricity to the Japanese capital. TEPCO has taken its fight against global climate change and environmental degradation on to the world stage.

TEPCO's environmental initiatives include an afforestation project in Australia, improving the efficiency of coal- fired thermal power stations in China, constructing micro-hydro generation facilities in Indonesia, and technical support for thermal storage heat pump systems in Thailand.

"It is for governments to devise the policies and make the incentives, but it will be business that makes the improvements in environmental performance happen," says Jack Whelan, ICC's policy manager for environment and energy. "Governments should see business as their indispensable ally in environmental matters."

In fact, sound environmental management makes commercial sense. Recycling waste and saving energy cuts costs as well as helping the environment. "Companies protect their financial capital for obvious reasons - and the same applies to other forms of capital. These include the goodwill of consumers who create markets, and particularly the natural resources on which everyone relies," says Mr Whelan.

UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) works with business to promote cleaner and safer environmental policies, strategies, practices and technologies.

''The challenge for many companies is to put the Global Compact environmental principles into practice,'' says Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, director of the DTIE.'' We hope the Global Compact will encourage both small and large firms to 'think environment' before making investments.''

Many companies in developing countries face special problems because of their lack of technical and financial resources. Observes C.K. Hyder, chief executive officer and secretary-general of the Bangladesh Employers Federation: ''The environmental principles in the Global Compact will be very expensive for developing countries, because many don't have the money or technology to make the required infrastructure changes."

Still, there's no shortage of impressive environmental initiatives in the developing world.

DaimlerChrysler has launched the Poverty and Environment in the Amazons (POEMA) project in Brazil to re-cultivate the rain forest scientifically with special fruits, plants and mixed woodlands, which produce natural fibers for use in automobile components. POEMA also explores the ecological, social and economic aspects of agro-forestry by addressing the exploitation of the Brazilian rain forest, poverty, social displacement and misuse of raw materials.

The oil company Shell has entered into a $2.8 million, three year partnership with the Smithsonian Institute to conduct biodiversity studies in Gabon where it currently drills for oil. The aim of the project, according to Shell's Sachin Kapila, is to "assess the impact we have on environments in which we operate and learn how to minimise our footprint."

"If we can understand these issues here, it means we can adjust our practices to become more efficient when moving into new areas. By training locals how to conduct biodiversity studies, we can ensure that these communities have a life beyond Shell."

A project in KwaZulu-Natal, which is part of the worldwide ''Business Partners For Development'' program initiated by the World Bank, has brought together the resources, expertise and perspectives of the public sector, business, the UN and nongovernmental organizations. The $2 million program is focused on providing adequate water and sanitation services to poor communities in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

''This type of partnership can lead to better and replicable practices in poor urban areas,'' says Patrick Rousseau, project director and managing director of Vivendi Water South Africa.

Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux is also providing a clean and safe water supply to poor communities in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Morocco. Alain Mathys, director of the company's ''Water for All'' program, says: ''The principles of the Global Compact underline the role that companies like ours can play as responsible social citizens.''

The industrial giant Du Pont has launched an aggressive campaign in Brazil to reduce packaging waste - saving $340 million a year in the process. "Du Pont spends over $2 billion per year on research and development," says Paul Tebo, Du Pont's vice president for safety, health and environment. "Reducing our environmental footprint is a key aspect of all of our projects."

ICC Global Compact pages

The UN Global Compact site