The Sustainability Mantra : The future of now

There has been a lot of hullabaloo of late on the topic of Sustainability. What is it anyway? The Worldwatch Institute defines this in one simple sentence – The ability to meet our needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.The growing population versus depleting natural resources had always been a cause for concern in the past and is now a glaring reality. The alarm sounded by various research groups and governments on the sustainability issue is a wake-up call for everybody to take stock of the situation before it causes irreparable damage.
Incidentally, sustainability is almost always associated with the impact of our actions on the environment. While that is true to a large extent, sustainability goes way beyond environmental issues alone. Environment, social and economic

Sustainability
factors constitute the three main pillars of sustainability. These pillars are referred to as the “triple bottom line” (TBL) and form the crux of sustainability. Stability of organizations can be measured using the TBL approach in addition to financial performance.
Business activities over the past several years have created many unfavorable and potentially damaging effects such as climate change, exploitation of human rights and unequal distribution of wealth to name a few. Numerous attempts have been made to study interdependence of human economies and the natural ecosystems. Studies have been conducted to incorporate sustainability in our daily lives through ecological footprint analysis and life cycle analysis. Efforts are being made by government, research bodies and organizations to increase public awareness on issues like recycling, renewable energy, energy efficient activities, waste reduction, conservation of natural resources and elimination or control of toxic substances all of which are sustainable practices. Various environmental laws have been passed in countries to curb carbon emissions (Euro 5, U.S. EPA Tier 3 and 4 emission standards), control waste disposal (WEEE Directive– Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and eliminate or control toxic chemicals (REACH – Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, RoHS Directive – Restriction of Hazardous Substances and GHS – Globally Harmonized System). Similarly, labor laws exist to protect the rights of workers, antitrust laws to prohibit unfair business practices and many related laws.
Based on the discussion above, it is apparent that there is a deliberate effort to integrate ethics into business and in every aspect of our daily life. After all life is about giving back to the society! This ideology has compelled many companies to incorporate “Corporate Social Responsibility” as an integral part of their business. Successful corporations are those that have looked beyond profits and adopted sustainable strategies in their business activities. During a World Economic Forum meeting in 2002, Bill Gates had commented that it was a healthy sign to have demonstrators on streets, as this was an indication of whether the rich was giving back enough to the world. With forecasts that highlight a population of 9 billion by 2050 and the earth’s resources just being able to support 1.8 billion people at the current levels of consumption it is imperative that we rethink the way we live.
Written by our GSG Sustainability Knowledge Manager : Shobhitha UnikkatShobhitha is a Research Analyst with Solaron Ventures in the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) space. She analyses companies and industry sectors based on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) principles to determine risks, opportunities and trends.