One of the most compelling challenges affecting 21st century business and societies is finding a balance between growth and eliminating poverty and sustainable use of natural resources and good practices.
We might start with Milton Friedman -back in the 1960s- describing how in a global economy, most products and services are produced and delivered through a combination of many international ecosystems:
During the nineties, the debate on sustainability became increasingly intense. This session explains the challenges to taht global supply chain that Friedman described 40 years ago
The alternatives for some sustainibility advocates are as follows:
There are as well, skeptics, such as Bjorn Lomborg, who considers some of the prophecies about environmental challenges are overhyped:
Finally, the Davos 2008 Forum on Corporate Global Citizenship shows yet another perspective, explained by Michael Porter and othres in this debate:
In any case, sustainability becomes every organization's challenge.
How could your PII project make sure it is sustainable?
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4 comments:
I understand sustainability as development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. In other words, living the interests of the Earth without consuming its capital.
When Charles Darwin published in 1859, The Origin of Species, he argued that the habitat of a species have long-term changes - geological, climatic, or flight arrival generating species.
However, for the first time in Earth's history, one of their species, man has been responsible for generating changes in habitat can lead to their extinction. Climate change, pollution of ecosystems and overexploitation of resources threaten the future of the species, to which the man urgently needs a survival strategy.
Many believe that when we talk about sustainability concerns only the economic and justify everything for her, since it is believed that through it will develop technology that will provide the solution of technologies, increasing the return on croplands, etc.. That it is possible to continue living as we are, and argue for more growth and more, always in economic terms.
There are others who believe that the problem is serious and the future of man depends on the actions taken today. These people are aware that the environmental crisis which we live is more of a political, economic and social crisis, which holds enormous environmental and social injustices, and believes in economic growth at any price as a way of happiness.
In the sustainable society will not be garbage. Any waste is recycled or reused. The organic matter will return to the ground and cease to manufacture products that end up in landfills. The cities will be designed for people not for cars. The world population will stabilize, and the future will not look for growth, but development. Before you increase the comfort of some people, meet the basic needs of all.
Good points, Yoowe, well put. Now, there are some challenges in "meeting the basic needs of all" in a sustainable way.
The core problem stands in that the fastest growing and largest polluters are fast-developing countries such as China and India -where basic needs are still dramatically underserved-.
China's rising automovile, coal and steel industries -since China has become the factory of the planet- present the chanllenges of 250.000-workers mammoth plants and rivers of pollution going up in fumes and into the river streams -not to mention the largest mega-dams ever forcing to relocate entire cities-.
India presents the challenge of becoming the largest ship boneyard and scrapeyard in the world. Thousands of tons of toxic asbestos-ridden ships -such as the formerly US flagship USS United States- go to die and "rest" at several Indian cities.
Rcent "Bollywood" Oscar successes such as Slum Dog Millionaire present the challenges in a very dramatic way.
In South America, Brazil and Mexico are the most endangered countries.
What to do in order to solve the dilemma?
Developing countries have recently stopped joint EU and US efforts on pollution control now unlocked by new President Obama.
A real challenge: designing a higher lifestyle for the masses without compromising their environment and future.
Sustainable development does not mean that we cannot be users or consumers of natural resources but must use a more appropriate and rational as well as implement better management to use them more efficiently. The solution goes beyond the use of technological advances in industry processes and changing consumption patterns and resource management. The solution involves creating a true social consciousness into resource exploitation and preservation of the environment as opposed to economic interests.
If we want to achieve sustainable development we must match the consumption process in local scale because sustainability is not the same meaning in all regions. It is therefore necessary to take consideration the characteristics of each region and their habits of consumption. Sustainability means resolving the basic human need to feed while keeping the balance between the use or consumption that man makes in his natural ecosystem.
In rural areas the problem of living increases every day because they do not have sufficient financial resources to develop technologies that exploit natural resources without harming the ecosystem. To this is added the high cost of inputs and low prices for what is produced in the field. Therefore, sustainability must include not only natural resources in the ecosystem. It must include also the technological, economic or political to help maintain balance. The residents of these rural areas have found new forms to subsist. One is the migration to urban areas where at least they have jobs give them the opportunity to continue to exist but is not the ideal way to sustainability because brings new problems in terms of housing, water use, energy, etc...
Maintaining harmony between human factors, environment and development is the responsibility of assuming any society aware of the current problems of our environment. The Responsible for implementation of development policies should know the quantum and qualitative indicators of population growth, which have influence the "quality of life." To meet these policies requires the involvement of the entire society, which necessarily implies a change of habits and behaviors in individual, group and society in general. Our Projects should help that.
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