Companies worldwide would do well to take note of environmental trends now developing in Europe. For a number of reasons, including high population densities, scarce natural resources, and early environmental degradation caused by the industrial revolution, Europeans are highly sensitized to environmental issues. Recent polls show that they consider the environment more important than either national security or public welfare. And environmental policies now being developed by the European Community (EC) as it moves toward a single market will likely set the standard for non-European countries as well.