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Towards a sustainable future Aayush Poudel

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………2 Introduction

o A Threatened Future…………………………………………………………………………………………..2o Conflicts of Interests, Overriding Priorities………………………………………………………….4o What is sustainability? What do we mean when we say sustainable? ..................5o What is the scope of sustainable policies? .............................................................7o Major concerns Expressed………………………………………………………………………………….8

A business perspective on sustainability…………………………………………………………………………..8 What should be the role of the government? ………………………………………………………………….10 The need for global collaboration and verification……………………………………………………………11 The impact of sustainability on the economy and society…………………………………………………12 Potential Problems…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..14 Proposal for a better future – People, Planet, Profit…………………………………………………………14 References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..15


1. Executive Summary

The 21st century has been filled with great accomplishment but also with dire predictions about the

future. Humanity has prospered greatly and has made amazing progress on some aspects of its society

but that has come at the cost to the environment and to some other parts of society. Human population

is continuously increasing at unprecedented rates and humanity is putting increasing pressures on the

natural environment that it is dependent on to the point that many of its practices are unsustainable

and actively killing nature.

Current lifestyles and current ways of doing things are threatening the future of humanity itself as well

as many of the species of Earth’s great biodiversity to the point of extinction. Something needs to be

done and soon.

Therefore, in this paper I propose that we use governments of individual states as well as a standard for

global governance that forces countries to commit to a set of sustainability standards that will assess the

impacts of businesses, organizations as well as the country as a whole based on environmental,

economic as well as social aspects. In this way, countries around the world would be driven to create

sustainable institutions and enterprises that bring about economic growth but not at the expense of

social welfare or environmental wellbeing.

2. Introduction

a) A Threatened Future

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the world has seen remarkable changes that are positive

developments new to this century. One can move information as well as goods faster around the globe

than ever possible before, scientific and technological progress have provided a clearer picture of the

natural systems that we live and thrive in. The result has been that humankind has become more


knowledgeable gaining the capacity to produce more goods or food using the same level of resources.

However, there are also other fundamental changes occurring in our planet that are changing the way

we think about our planet and our place in it totally.

Life in Earth has always been supported by an amazing range of diversity by the unique characteristics of

the planet but also life itself. Biological diversity can be viewed as the variety of living organisms in Earth

that number over millions of different plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes that they contain

and lastly, the ecosystems, ecological process and the landscape that these organisms are an integral

part of. The diversity is important as it refers to the life-support systems and the natural processes that

humans depend on to get resources that not just allow us to live but also help enhance and enrich our

lives. (What is Biodiversity?)1

Humanity’s inability to fit its activities into the natural pattern of Earth has meant that humanity is

fundamentally changing the very planetary systems that provide us with nature and diverse forms of

life. These changes are threatening many life supporting systems on the planet and as such, should be

viewed as a threat to the survival of not just humanity but also many of the world’s species of flora and

fauna which are at a much greater disadvantage than us, humans, when dealing with such rapid

changes. (IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014)2

As such, there is a worldwide concern that human activity such as pollution, habitat destruction, over-

exploitation and foreign plant/animal invasion is resulting in an ever increasing loss of biodiversity.

Human influence on the climate has never been clearer and as it stands, the anthropogenic emissions of

greenhouse gases are highest in history. Furthermore, global warming of the climate system is

unarguable, and since the 1950s, many of the changes that we have observed haven’t been seen in

Earth over thousands of years. (IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014)2


An example of how climate change has been adversely affecting the climate and the environment can be

verified by the great degree of damage that the world’s coral reefs are facing this year. In absolute

terms, coral reefs only cover about 0.2% of the ocean floor but they provide a home for over a million

different species of fish, invertebrates and algae. Although the corals are quite strong by themselves due

to hard casing around them, it has not been enough to protect them from the results of climate change -

specifically the ocean acidification being caused by increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere

which, in turn, is being absorbed by the ocean to form acids. As it stands, 60% of the world’s coral reefs,

which contain up to one-fourths of all marine species, stand to be lost within the next 20-40 years

(Mapping the decline of coral reefs)3. Furthermore, others examples of how climate change is affecting

life are equally disturbing. Scientists estimate that around 10%-20% of all species will be driven to

extinction in the next couple of decades, of which around 34000 are plant species and 5200 are animal

species. These threats come in the light of many effects of climate change as well as human influence.

Human activities such as unsustainable fishing practices as well as overfishing have put 60% of the

world’s fishing stocks at risk of extinction. Furthermore, desertification as well as ocean acidification

threaten various other forms of life that, in whole, make up the planetary ecosystem. (The Extinction

Crisis) 4

Human activities, human population increases, dependence on fossil fuels, over exploitation and

destruction of natural resources and habitats threatens not just the crucial life support systems in

nature, but it will also undermine rural livelihoods, diminish future economic potential not limited to the

lack of resources undermining rural and contemporary livelihoods which require nature and also ranging

to loss of tourism due to changing scenarios.


b) Conflicts of Interests, overriding priorities

There are many reasons why the problems presented before are hard to tackle substantively and

definitively. Firstly, the world faces many economic and societal problems that governments of states

around the world want to tackle with priority. Individual people themselves have different problems and

objectives that they want to achieve. The interests of the environment and ecology are put second

behind the interests of states or those of the individuals.

These thoughts are alarming because more than 1 billion people live under a $1/day (which is defined as

the poverty threshold). Furthermore, another 2.7 billion people live under $2/day around the world

where economic development hasn’t taken hold as it has done in other developed places. The problem

of poverty has far reaching implications, not just on the income level of people. Many of the 2.8 billion

people living under $2/day are dependent on the natural resources such as forests and fishes in order to

find food to survive – posing an increasing challenge to nature which is already severely constrained.

Furthermore, the countries where poverty is prevalent do not have basic infrastructure such as schools

and colleges that would allow their population to gain potential to do other more productive stuff and

raise their income level. These people will be forced to be dependent on the natural environment and

natural resources to live in the future, which is frightening given the unpredictable nature of the

changing climate and ecology today. (United Nations, Resource for Speakers)5

Economic development and the eradication of poverty is one of the biggest challenges that states are

trying to achieve today. Economic development allows for the growth of the state and thus, is a way for

states to achieve their targets of alleviating poverty. However, economic development also means that

many of the problems that we had outlined earlier – pollution, natural resource exploitation and the

destruction of natural landscapes – will also take place at increasing rates leading to a greater constraint

on the already stressed environment.


The fact that the majority of the poorest people live in countries that have had limited economic

development pose significant challenges. These countries will want to make economic developments

the same way that their Western counterparts have for the past century and that means that limiting

greenhouse gas emissions, protection of biodiversity and fighting global climate change are all priorities

that are overshadowed by the states desire to obtain more economic development. Furthermore,

developed Western countries will not be willing to decrease their standard of living as well meaning that

the natural ecosystem will be under a greater threat than ever if things continue to be done as it has

been done.

c) What is sustainability? What do we mean when we say sustainable?

Sustainability is a complex concept that incorporates all aspects of the world that we live in – people,

planet and the economy. In short, it refers to the need to develop sustainable models of organization

that is necessary for both the human race to thrive and the planet to survive. As such, sustainability is a

balancing act. The 1987 Bruntland Commission’s report notes that sustainable development is

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs. There are two main concepts to this: the concept of needs,

particularly to the world’s poorest, which get maximum priority and the idea of limitations imposed by

the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future

needs. Old models of consumption, industrialization and economic development will not support the

world’s growing population; rather, it will only lead to a worse situation in terms of climate change and

sustainability. If humans wish to have the natural resources (water, materials and organisms) needed to

develop and thrive, then a new approach for living is called for without further ado. (Brundtland (1987),

Our Common Future)6


Thus, sustainability is the perfect balance of three areas: the environment, the economy and the society.

The environment entails factors such as air quality, biodiversity, soil fertility and the climate. These

factors can be directly affected by human behavior. The economy is next. The GDP, the employment

rate, costs/benefit analysis, are all part of the economy and it can have a strong impact on people’s

lives. Lastly, society entails of things such as health, equality and community spirit. When we have

decisions that benefit the environment, the economy and the society all equally, then we have achieved

sustainability.

d) What is the scope of sustainable policies?

The scope of sustainable policies is large. Such policies are based on the belief that people can build a

future that is more prosperous, more just and secure. This report is not a prediction of an ever

increasing environmental problem, poverty and social unrest; rather, it is a prediction for the new age of

economic development that is based on policies that sustain and expand the natural base of resources

that human life depends on to be thriving and more productive as well as meaningful. Such sustainable

societies are based on the premise that people will have equal access to healthcare, nutrition, water,

education and economic opportunities.

The scope of sustainability doesn’t only fall to the government and the state. Businesses will also have to

face this paradigm shift based on the state of the world today. Business as usual cannot continue for

much longer as their value creating is harming nature and the future of the economy. Businesses will

need to create long term value through practices that give more respect to the environment, the

wellbeing of people that are employed and the prospects of future generations. Business will, at the

same time, have to provide shareholder value by improving profitability and this can be done by pushing

more resources into innovative ideas. Most segments of the industrialized society are already giving a

lot of thought to these ideas - rethinking how human behavior, reliance on technology and consumption


of energy impact the environment and society. Society as a whole is looking to minimize these impacts,

or avoid them altogether so that human society can truly be more sustainable.

e) Major concerns Expressed

The pursuit of growth and economic development has pushed the belief that social and environmental

values are too expensive to be taken into consideration and that economic growth takes precedence

over everything. This scenario was described by an economist Kenneth Galbraith when he wrote about

the theory of social balance. He observed that, in his time, society was so systematically unbalanced that

“private opulence brought public squalor”. Galbraith argued that societies needed social balance and

that private consumption of goods should not come before the desirable goals of society. Unfortunately,

the overemphasis on economy, growth, markets and consumerism have brought about such a scenario

in which our roles as human beings and as citizens of this planet have come secondary to our

consideration. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that we drive our society back to having social

balance and that private consumption does not crowd out public investment into things that are

necessary and desirable for the future of humanity such as the environment or education. (Introduction

to Political Economy, Chapter 6)7

3. A business perspective on sustainability

Few companies in the world today, especially in the apparel industry, have the same reputation that

Patagonia has managed to create by being a socially, economically and environmentally driven company

that cares not just about profit but also the environment and the people that are involved with the

company. Since its inception, Patagonia’s belief was that they would only sell items that had minimal

impacts on the environment. The company’s mission statement says that their mission is to ““build the

best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the

environmental crisis” (Chouinard, 78)7. The company’s successes have been driven by these


environmental values of sustainability and responsibility but the steps and actions they have taken

haven’t been limited to only the environmental factors at play.

It is a company that believes in transparency and thus, provides full details of the working conditions in

the company, its supply chain and its shortcomings. In Chouinard own words “the customer had a right

to know if people who made Patagonia clothes were paid legally, treated fairly, and worked in decent

conditions”. (Chouinard, 54)7 Therefore, they are very much focused on responsible sourcing of

resources, maintaining high quality standards, embracing environmental responsibility and propagating

social sustainability. Patagonia now conducts an environmental assessment for all of the material that it

uses in its products. The company was pioneer in adopting progressive employment practices such as

flexible working hours, paid maternity and paternity leaves as well as initiating family friendly practices

such as day care for children and afterschool activities. Furthermore, the company will also provide a

paid leave for workers up till two months who are interested in devoting time and energy to

environmental activities.

Patagonia has ensured that all of its workers - including the workers in the supply chain, have fair

working conditions and living wages. Patagonia endorses the Fair Trade Agreement and as such, third

party verifiers have checked that Patagonia does indeed do all the things that it says like providing living

wages and providing opportunities for people involved in the supply chain to prosper in their lives. The

program has ensured that workers not only receive fair compensation for their labor, but also helped to

create better working-conditions and provide safeguards against the use of child labor.

So what has being sustainable meant for Patagonia as a company? It meant that Patagonia had to

develop a very different business model than most companies and people have in the world of business

where the mainstream beliefs have propagated narrow modes of thinking about business and its role in

society for far too long. It turns out that companies that have sustainability incorporated in their


business model are in demand, given the rising awareness of consumers. That means that Patagonia has

been able to capture a large share of the market and as such, is a highly profitable company.

Furthermore, the risks to businesses who are failing to tackle sustainability issues and climate change

are increasing as the market demand for sustainable products and companies keep increase.

Many business leaders often express the desire to do the right things but offer a plethora of reasons

why their hands are tied such as “customers simply don’t buy green products” or “it has to be profitable

first” or “adopting this approach will put us at a competitive disadvantage”. (York, Jeffrey G. Pragmatic

sustainability)8. Patagonia has shown the world that being environmentally and socially responsible can

actually give a company competitive advantage and that a company can be highly profitable even when

it has taken into account significant environmental, economic and social problems.

4. What should be the role of the government?

The government, as an institution that guides and directs the path that humanity takes, can play a huge

role in the creation of a sustainable economy. Tackling these complicated issues means that systematic

legal, political and economic changes need to be made which would be a very hard task without the help

of the government. Furthermore, there lies a significant legislative challenge in achieving global

cooperation and implementing global systems of governance that make sure that sustainable policies

are implemented and enforced.

There are many sustainable ventures that are coming up in the business movement as social enterprises

and public-private partnerships are emerging rapidly. The sustainable business movement is developing

rapidly but it is being constrained by outdated legal frameworks that only accommodate for profit

entities that have profit as their sole goal. The fact that rules and regulations are not equipped to

accommodate for-profit entities whose social benefit purpose is central to their existence is disturbing

and the government should actively work to make changes so that it is easier to establish such


industries. It can do so by increasing taxes on corporations that are polluting the environment or not

maintaining proper standards for their workers. The free market economics will take care of companies

that are inherently unprofitable as they would rightfully shut down. In this way, the government can

then invest the taxes that it collects by providing subsidies or help to companies that are socially and

environmentally friendly.

Another way the government can intervene in the economy and force businesses to shift their behavior

towards more environmentally friendly and sustainable ways can be to limit unproductive aspects of the

economy that don’t produce value such as marketing or luxurious items that are just for pleasure. It can

do so by taxing on corporations that use excessive marketing or producing luxurious items that can be

wasteful and by providing subsidies to corporations that are the productive bases of the economy such

as healthcare, education and infrastructure. In this way, it would make sure that establishing

corporations and entities that are more productive are more profitable than those that are wasteful;

thus, it would shift business ideas to become more aligned with socially desirable outcomes.

Furthermore, the government should invest more on its people by establishing institutions that provide

education. Providing everyone with equal access to quality education would result in remarkable

outcomes in the future as people will become more aware about the state of the world and the climate,

be able to make better personal and lifestyle choices and overall, provide the world with more

productive and informed citizens.

5. The need for global collaboration and verification

One of the biggest challenges for sustainability policies is that global systems of governance are very

hard to create, especially in light of various differences among people’s culture as well as the differences

between developed and developing countries. Developing countries will have different priorities than

developed countries do and thus, they will be hesitant to implement policies that will increase the costs


to them or make it harder for them to develop. They will be hesitant to be collaborative not just because

the developed countries have already had their share of development through unsustainable practices

but also because they are more affected by the effects of climate change and unsustainable resource

base exploitations that allowed these countries to develop in the first place. An example of this can be

China and India, both of whom exempted themselves from ratifying the Kyoto protocol that mandated

reductions in emissions.

Furthermore, developed countries themselves are unwilling to change as changing their economic,

political and social values to become more sustainable would mean significant investment as well as a

decrease in the material quality of life that has so perpetuated highly capitalistic countries like the US. A

similar example of the resistance that developed countries are showing can be seen by the lack of

ratification of the historical Kyoto protocol by the US that aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The difficulty in achieving global cooperation and implementing global systems of governance goes

beyond just political differences and economic competition. Even if countries were to ratify to such

treaties, significant resources need to be devoted to ensure that such changes are actually taking place.

Therefore, there needs to be a creation of a global standard that is binding is of the utmost importance.

It should regulate companies and organizations based on three aspects – environmental impacts, social

impacts and economic impacts. In this way, the market can be regulated so that the world can reach

socially desirable outcomes. Governments must be forced to join such treaties that would be regulated

by international bodies such as the UN and independent third party verifies or the future of climate

change will look bleak, especially due to political and economic tensions between countries that would

make either countries become unwilling to give up its position unless the rival also gave up theirs. To

implement such a policy, education of people is of the utmost importance as people need to realize the

importance to taking action about climate change as soon as possible.


6. The impact of sustainability on the economy and society

The drivers of economy and society are deeply tied to economic growth – economic growth brings about

improvements in standards of living and communal quality of life, and it also stimulates many sections of

economy and society – social gatherings, events, night outs, eating out and multifarious consumption.

Economic growth, however, demands increasing consumption of natural and primary resources, energy

and other non-renewable resources, and with our advanced technologies allowing us to extract and

process resources on a mass scale, this rate of consumption has been on a steep increase. Economic

growth has immediate short term returns, while sustainability aims for manageable growth that is

spread out over the long term, providing for current and future generations. This means that economic

growth and proper sustainability are competing for our resources and our abilities to control our desires

in the face of finite resources.

In today’s world, the global focus is highly skewed towards economic growth as opposed to

sustainability. It has been recognized that unbridled growth is harmful for the planet – depleting and

polluted resources will lead to natural disasters, man-made catastrophes and increasing war and famine.

Attempts have been made to reconcile growth with sustainability, but the consensus has been that for

the most part, with our current level of technology, growth and sustainability are mutually exclusive.

The impact of increased effective sustainability measures would take a long time to provide returns,

making it unattractive in the short term and especially to politicians and leaders who look to the election

cycle more than the long term, but its effects on the economy and society would be profound because it

would entail limiting our output, our consumption, curtailing some aspects of our standards of living like

substituting private travel for public transport, and adopting a worldwide mentality of looking to the

future. To conduct a sustainable drive, this worldwide mentality is crucial, for it is the solution to the

ever-present free rider problem that plagues any agreements over common property resources like the


oceans, the air or the environment. Global populace must be educated about and committed to the

science, the logistics, the costs and the benefits of such sustainability measures, for without a deep

understanding of the short term and long term impacts, the incentives to cheat on measures for short

term growth will be too strong.

7. Potential Problems

Some of the potential problems that could hinder humanity’s path towards a sustainable future have

already taken roots today such as the problem of inequality as well the problem of climate change that

disproportionally harms the prospects of the developing world more than the developed one. In order

to tackle these problems as well as tackle the problem of sustainability, a high degree of cooperation is

required between countries around the world.

However, the prospect of sustainability means that developing countries have the opportunity to “build

the costs in from the beginning” and thus, have a greater potential for a better future. As such,

developed countries which have the capacity and the capital to help developing countries should do so

in the interests of the wellbeing of humanity as a whole as well as to avoid the dangerous pitfall of non-

collaborative competition which would only result in a catastrophic future where the rush to get

economic development or superiority will result in the widespread destruction of the environment as

well as social unrest and strife for all.

8. Proposal for a better future – People, Planet, Profit

The proposal that I have put forward is that businesses and countries themselves have to commit to a

global standard reporting on sustainability issues such as environmental impacts, economic

developments as well as social stability. The global reporting standard, especially the environmental

one, should be strictly enforced by a global organization or a group of independent third party verifiers


that have been given the task. The purpose of this is to ensure that the standards that have been set are

followed through as the future of the world depends on it.

Furthermore, governments in individual countries can set up their economies in such a way that it is

favorable for companies that are social and environmentally driven while it is unfavorable for companies

that aren’t socially active and have a great deal of pollution. The government should also prioritize

education and provide its people with avenues for education so that its citizens can understand and

appreciate the importance of embracing sustainable practices. In this way, the world can move forward

from the disastrous environmental scenario that we are facing with collaboration, trust and the right

intentions in mind; thus, building a better society that can last into the future.

References:

1) What is biodiversity? (retrived from:

https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Biodiversity.aspx)

2) IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report (retrieved from: http://www.ipcc.ch/)

3) Mapping the decline of coral reefs (retrieved from:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Coral/)

4) The Extinction Crisis (retrieved from:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/

extinction_crisis/)

5) The UN: Resource for Speakers (retrieved from:

http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/food/vitalstats.shtml)

6) Sackrey, Schneider, Knoedler; Introduction to political economy. Dollars & Sense; 7th edition

edition (August 1, 2013)

http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/food/vitalstats.shtml

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Coral/

https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Biodiversity.aspx


7) Chouinard, Yvon. Let my people go surfing: The education of a reluctant businessman. Penguin,

2006.

8) York, Jeffrey G. “Pragmatic sustainability: translating environmental ethics into competitive

advantage.” Journal of Business Ethics 85.1 (2009)

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