I'm not sure the distinction matters, because all industry eventually serves consumers.

The distinction is crucial with respect to regulating pollution standards.

Regulation isn't the answer.

First, politics will never allow it. Look at the political environment in US, Great Britain...

Then when regulation is put in place, it isn't effective. Loop holes, grand-fathering, unintended consequences, incompetent gov't agencies.

And then even if one country goes green, it won't help if the rest of the world is spewing air pollution and dumping plastic into the oceans.

The probability of all this getting aligned to make regulation effective is zero.

I'm sure the residents next to the Hudson river in Upstate NY would love more GE polychlorinated biphenyls dumped into their rivers.

I think what you mean is that our current bought politicians don't have the guts to properly stand up to the people who pollute the environment.