Outgoing BT CEO Ben Verwaayen has used the platform at an international conference to lambast business for failing to "get" environmental issues, despite the fact that business has a key role (perhaps the key role) to play in sustainability.

"I think carbon is the new currency. Whether we like it or not, we will get regulation, legislation and taxation, unless we do something ourselves," Verwaayen said to a reporter at the recent INSEAD Leadership Summit 2008 on global citizenship.