We are often reminded that the most difficult ethical issues are not those between right and wrong, but between right and right.

The news from West Bengal is a sharp example within an existing sharp example. A few months ago when the Nano was announced the argument here in London at least was between those who criticised Tata for their contribution to global warming by making the Nano so cheap and those who, like me, saw it as a good example of a company redefining its success to align it with the needs of society and make the benefits of progress more widely available. Very much like Henry Ford.

Now we see the news dominated by a different tension.  This tension has always been there and Tata are not alone in feeling it. There have been protests in Orissa against both Tata Steel and Vedanta Resources for encroaching on land that is sacred to local people. Greenpeace activists objected to the Dhamra Port project because of its impact on the breeding habits of turtles.

Companies cannot rely on governments to "deliver" society for them.

The strength and impact of the protest is actually encouraging. It is what makes India different to China where no such sensitivity appears to have been shown to those in the way of the Yangtse dam project.

But the dilemma remains. Jobs today against the stability of historic communities. Linear economic growth against balanced development .  How much do we value conventional progress on the inexorable path to globalisation?

One conclusion stands out. We need to help companies understand what their impacts are. Externalities need to become a common language and a common currency for business. That is something Tomorrows Company intends to dig into in our evolving work with GIST on Tomorrow’s Measures of Success.