I read recently one article, which made me formulate my stand on Sustainability. It's highly discussable and important topic now, and the least we can have is an opinion about it.
Preamble: I agree with an opinion, that even though many companies now start implement "green" practices, and make "green" goods, the real problem is in the level of consumption.At the end, even if you are selling the best and most organic food (eg as Wal-Mart wants to achieve - I simplify of course), your main purpose is to sell as much products as possible.
Yes, we may get more "sustainable" goods, but at the end what we get is anyway
MORE goods (they sell better because they appeal to people's feelings that products should be "green" etc). And the problem of waste, resources usage etc remains.
Productions gets more effective and sustainable, but the level of consumption grows as well. Well, of course I don't claim the production should be stopped; there are new emerging markets, where people most probably will be getting their first computer, car, first many things. People want better life, and they should get it. Populations grows, needs grow as well.
Surely we need production - I buy myself clothes, dvds, food etc, and I'm not ready to go back to natural household to make it all myself.
What is needed, in my opinion, is to promote a concept of "rational consumption". - Have principles in business of not creating superficial needs (we all know that families don't really need a new car every 2 years, and that there were marketers who invented "moral obsolete" concept)
- Produce goods that serve longer
- Make more recyclable products, and products that require less resources to create
- Place more value (therefore comes interest for business) in areas and goods/services that don't require physical resources at all/less of them (eg software, intellectual property, finance services, art, digital products etc)
And along with that, very important factor I think, is to work on
energy-saving programs and develop alternative sources of energy.I understand it's not going to happen overnight, if at all; business is business, and it wants more profit, people care about their jobs that gives them living etc.
And still, first, we can start pursuing those principles of
"rational consumption" on a
personal level as consumers. If there is a certain demand from consumers on the market for concrete goods/way of making goods, the business will have to follow (as now companies understand that they won't be successful long-term when not addressing sustainability issue, for example, Levi's doing "green" jeans from organic cotton etc).
There are cool movements and ideas, how everyone of us can make things better without much effort, eg like
this one.
At home and
in the office.
And second, we can pursue those ideas as employees and entrepreneurs in our organizations.
I hope this "rational consumption" and digital/non-resourceful production will become the next step in business evolution.
Watch me on following those principles in my career and personal life :)
My street and my house (on the left)
Ice on the frosen water-gathering chain
