The concept of sustainable development (SD) is widely accepted, but suffers from a widespread failure to translate concept to action. Operating companies in the process industries face many challenges in "operationalising" sustainable development. These arise partly from the nature of SD, which extends the skill sets required by companies from the purely technical and commercial towards new types of interaction with social sciences, economics and the market.

It is recognised that working within a sustainable development context provides particular problems because an individual company or sector cannot of itself deliver global sustainability.This paper will explore the nature of the challenge to companies in changing their approach. A range of case studies will be presented, identifying issues and possible solutions. The topics covered will include

· Identification of stakeholder interests

· Measurement of sustainability

· Decision making and decision support

· Investment appraisal

· Visioning

· Staff engagement

· Sustainable innovation

Case studies relating to the oil refining, polymer and energy sectors will be presented, and relevant tools and techniques discussed.