Sustainability
beyond carbon

Climate change is yet another symptom of our unsustainable lifestyles. Yet governments and the organisations who have now assumed the role of combating climate change subscribe to the notion that climate change is our central problem and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is the cause of this problem.

Undeniably, climate change is a serious problem but it is only one of a growing list of problems that arise from a fundamental global issue. For many decades, the symptoms of unsustainable human exploitation of the natural environment have been mounting: species extinction, the loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution, soil erosion, acid rain, destruction of rainforests, ozone depletion - the list goes on.

These problems all clearly have a common origin, yet the search for solutions has invariably focused on targeted treatments rather than addressing the root cause. In general, none of these problems have completely disappeared and many have continued to worsen.

Global warming - the latest in this list of environmental woes - is a particularly worrying development, not only because it is potentially catastrophic, but because it is going to be incredibly difficult to control.

The solutions currently being put forward, such as those being championed by the European Union, focus almost exclusively on reducing carbon emissions. However, focusing on the need to reduce CO2 emissions has reduced the problem to one of carbon dioxide rather than the unsustainable way we live our lives.

This oversight has led to the assumption that if we reduce emissions then our problems are solved; hence the focus on carbon sequestration, renewable energies and environmental technologies. This approach to curing our problems is a bit like relying on methadone to cure an addiction to heroin.

The large-scale transition to renewable resources might provide a safer alternative to oil and gas and other finite resources, but it will not remove our energy and resource dependency, which will continue to expand in line with economic growth.

Before long, we will discover that even renewables have their limits. We are already being warned about the dangers of excessive demand for biofuels, which is reportedly leading to the clearing of rainforests and increasing competition for land between food and energy production. Ultimately, our problem is consumption, and the environment is not the only casualty.

The modern Western lifestyle also has an inbuilt dependency on the cheap resources and the low carbon footprint of developing countries, which has compounded global injustice. Seventy-five percent of the world's population - more than 4.5bn people - live on just 15% of the world's resources, while we in the West gorge on the remaining 85%.

We urgently need to think about the more fundamental concept of sustainability and how our lifestyles are threatening the planet and its people. The modern cycle of earning and consumption can be exhausting and does not necessarily bring happiness and fulfillment. We need to do things differently, and better.

From BBC

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Finding a unique place for sustainability in business

More than 20 years ago, Peter Wege was already sharing his ideas of economicology (a value-producing union of economics and ecology) as part of work of the Center for Environmental Study.

Many colleagues in that program were international students who brought rich perspectives from their homes around the world. Lively class discussions centered on questions about "sustainable development."

What would be necessary for developing countries to effectively embrace economic growth that would benefit all sectors of society while enhancing the productivity of ecological systems (and their benefits) for today's populations and future generations?

What was striking about those classroom discussions was how place matters. Sustainable development could take a fundamentally different form depending on the place where that idea hit the ground.

The importance of place came to the fore again as I recently reflected on the world's growing enthusiasm and success with all things sustainable. I began to look more deeply at the context in which sustainability and innovation link together to define a competitive advantage.

It's not just the necessary components of the system that matter - availability of capital, work-force training, educational foundations, intellectual property protections and others - but their interplay.

At an international Greening of Industry Network conference focused on sustainable innovation as a tool for regional development that was held in Leeuwarden, the conversations reflected what you might expect in a Dutch homeland: A certain pragmatism combined with the sense of endless opportunity.

It was striking to understand the dominant role government is playing in the northern European countries - which dominated the conference - in contrast to the private-sector-led sustainable development pathways that characterize the US.

It's a context that's not better or worse, just different. It also seemed significant that technological innovation was seen as key, while sustainability, at its foundations, is about a change of heart.

As an entirely new way of feeling and thinking, sustainability provides a revolutionary set of possibilities for how we live our lives. With innovation and entrepreneurship, we have the opportunity to bring the ideas of sustainability into everyday practice.

What will be more challenging is to provide the policies and resources that innovating entrepreneurs can harness in a world where change is constant, while reflecting our own, distinctive take on what matters most.

From mlive.com

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Sustainable Capitalism

- Bill Gates

Capitalism has improved the lives of billions of people — something that's easy to forget at a time of great economic uncertainty. But it has left out billions more. They have great needs, but they can't express those needs in ways that matter to markets. So they are stuck in poverty, suffer from preventable diseases and never have a chance to make the most of their lives.

Governments and nonprofit groups have an irreplaceable role in helping them, but it will take too long if they try to do it alone. It is mainly corporations that have the skills to make technological innovations work for the poor.

Creative capitalism isn't some big new economic theory. And it isn't a knock on capitalism itself. It is a way to answer a vital question: How can we most effectively spread the benefits of capitalism and the huge improvements in quality of life it can provide to people who have been left out?

As I see it, there are two great forces of human nature: self-interest and caring for others. Capitalism harnesses self-interest in a helpful and sustainable way but only on behalf of those who can pay. Government aid and philanthropy channel our caring for those who can't pay.

Naturally, if companies are going to get more involved, they need to earn some kind of return. This is the heart of creative capitalism. It's not just about doing more corporate philanthropy or asking companies to be more virtuous. It's about giving them a real incentive to apply their expertise in new ways, making it possible to earn a return while serving the people who have been left out. This can happen in two ways: companies can find these opportunities on their own, or governments and nonprofits can help create such opportunities where they presently don't exist.

There's another crucial benefit that accrues to businesses that do good work. They will find it easier to recruit and retain great employees. Young people today — all over the world — want to work for organizations that they can feel good about. Show them that a company is applying its expertise to help the poorest, and they will repay that commitment with their own dedication.

Governments in developing countries have to do a lot to foster capitalism themselves. They must pass laws and make regulations that let markets flourish, bringing the benefits of economic growth to more people. In fact, that's another argument I've heard against creative capitalism: "We don't need to make capitalism more creative. We just need governments to stop interfering with it." There is something to this. Many countries could spark more business investment — both within their borders and from the outside — if they did more to guarantee property rights, cut red tape and so on. But these changes come slowly. In the meantime, we can't wait. As a businessman, I've seen that companies can tap new markets right now, even if conditions aren't ideal. And as a philanthropist, I've found that our caring for others compels us to help people right now. The longer we wait, the more people suffer needlessly.

More than 30 years ago, Paul Allen and I started Microsoft because we wanted to be part of a movement to put a computer on every desk and in every home. Ten years ago, Melinda and I started our foundation because we want to be part of a different movement — this time, to help create a world where no one has to live on a dollar a day or die from a disease we know how to prevent. Creative capitalism can help make it happen. I hope more people will join the cause.

From Time

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