Climate (In)Action

It is now 49yrs since the United Nations instituted this day, the #WorldEnvironmentDay as a vehicle to encourage awareness and action towards addressing #ClimateChange. We are entering the 50th year of sustained, and ever-increasing global awareness and, stuttering yet, growing action. 

We should definitely commend how UN has tried to bring together countries with the COP meetings. There have been 26 of these thus far. When one looks back at what has changed over the past 50yrs, the topic has surely begun to take centre stage at various levels, governmental, academia as well as businesses. And of course, there is the youth. There has been enough positive noise which has got the youth of the world to raise the decibel levels around awareness. 

Even the financial sector, which has traditionally been a laggard, has finally begun to pull up its socks. However, the influence of ‘green financing’ and modern-day startup mindset seems to impede real change.

The pressures of startup culture alter the very DNA of a company. They expect 

- Working in silos (driven by secrecy - stealth mode)

- Growth at any cost (driven by revenues, CAC, LTVs, etc)

I am not casting aspersions on every startup, but there are enough examples of startups which are on the treadmill to achieve the coveted unicorn status. However, when we look at the macro picture and their impact, there are more red flags than one would like. Carbon numbers continued to rise during the same period, we were supposed to have the highest levels of awareness and all stakeholders are enabling action (barring a dip due to COVID over the past 20 odd months).

One of the easiest example here would be a startup trying to make fair-trade / organic t-shirts. If true sustainability is to be achieved this startup SHOULD shun away from taking the fast fashion approach. But growth pressures would nudge them on this path. Similarly, imagine a cutlery manufacturing startup using bamboo as the raw material. Today we are already seeing paddy fields converted into bamboo forests in some parts of the world just to meet the growing demands of sustainable cutlery. Is the solution truly sustainable or should we question the consumption patterns itself? And wouldn’t it be better to have involved the other stakeholders to figure out an innovation which doesn’t deprioritise feeding the world too? 

We need to step back and really think (and data is there for all to see) whether we are really moving the needle with this approach?

If climate change was an easy problem to address, it would have been addressed long ago. However, it is a lot more complicated with the core issue being diverse and global at the same time. It needs us to make a paradigm shift in our minds.

And given the complexity and the urgency; it is critical that the approach is to encourage collaboration and innovation while growth pressures aren’t becoming roadblocks to addressing the core problem. Innovators need to be given the space and time to dig deep and really drive entrepreneurial endeavours with the zeal that the exalted “space race” had in the 60’s (pun intended). 

I am not, for once, saying there isn't progress. However, global carbon numbers, accelerating timeframes on reaching 1.5 degree global warming, increased unpredictability on weather patterns, these all point to the fact that 'action' isn't happening at the pace needed.

So, this #WorldEnvironmentDay, I implore my fellow entrepreneurs to introspect and to remember what has led them to this sector in the first place. I implore every thought leaders and investors to be bold, creative and most importantly, PATIENT. For change takes time and, while climate change demands urgency, let there be no other pressures on the innovators. For, as the old adage goes, we can’t dig ourselves out of a hole adopting the same approach which took us into the ditch.