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Towards a sustainable future
Aayush Poudel
Table of Contents:
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Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
Introduction
o A Threatened Future…………………………………………………………………………………………..2
o Conflicts of Interests, Overriding Priorities………………………………………………………….4
o What is sustainability? What do we mean when we say sustainable? ..................5
o What is the scope of sustainable policies? .............................................................7
o 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
Towards a sustainable future
Aayush Poudel
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
Towards a sustainable future
Aayush Poudel
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, overexploitation 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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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 noncollaborative 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
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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/WildlifeConservation/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)
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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)