Opportunities And Challenges During The Global Environmental Crisis – A Leadership Perspective

Introduction

We measure things in terms of what we know. Time is one such measure. In terms of time, if we were to measure the existence of the human species and planet Earth, we as a species have lived on this ancient planet for only a fraction of time. To be precise 0.00000022 % of Earth's known age. Human beings share the planet with various life forms. We know that human beings are one among the 8.4 million known species. Among the species the human being is considered to be the highest form in terms of intelligence and ability to make conscious decisions. This has seen advances in many fronts but also has continued to create adverse effects on the planet. The collective footprint on the planet`s ecosystems and the effects we?have on the planet has reached a point, where some have labelled this as the Anthropocene Epoch. One may think this sounds a bit alarmist and even dismiss the very notion that human beings cannot affect the planet`s climate and ecosystems so radically. We may wish to think again as the recent global pandemics and extreme climatic conditions provide some compelling evidence of the planet having reached a crisis point.??

A crisis is not a permanent state and can be averted by conscious action. As human beings, we have the power to act based on conscious awareness. Precedence has been set in the recent past to avert crisis by working unitedly. A case in point was the discovery of the ozone hole in 1978 by the scientific community. The collective action taken by governments to agree to a global ban on the use of CFC`s is a noteworthy fact. The Montreal Protocol is the only treaty ever to achieve universal ratification; with 197 countries enforcing the ban on CFCs.

It is such collective conscious action that will be required by those who wish to become leaders in the coming decades. This chapter presents some actions individuals can take to lead the way. This is in no way an exhaustive chapter of all the ideas, rather it is an introduction to some concepts to challenge our current thinking.

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The Global Environmental Crisis ?

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Change in biosphere integrity and Land System Change -?According to scientific researchers, the frequency of pathogenic microorganisms jumping from other animals to people is increasing due to unsustainable human activities. Pandemics such as the COVID-19 outbreak are a predictable and predicted outcome of how people source and grow food, trade and consume animals, and alter environments. (United Nations Environment Programme and International Livestock Research Institute, 2020). Some researchers studying the cause of the Covid 19 pandemic are agreed that the virus is zoonotic and the risk of zoonotic diseases affecting human populations has been attributed to human populations coming in contact with wild animals. This can be due to various factors including deforestation, changes in land-use patterns, and increasing consumption and trade in wild animals and their products. (Gibb, Redding, Chin, et al.?2020; Bloomfield, McIntosh, & Lambin, (2020).?

It needs to be noted the risk was identified by researchers that loss of biodiversity and deforestation could lead to a zoonotic disease decades ago. This latest Covid 19 crisis is larger in its reach and effects. There are?over 200 zoonotic disease infections caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, or prions that are transferred directly or indirectly to humans from animals. These include diseases such as animal influenzas, rabies, hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola, anthrax, the bubonic plague, and 'mad cow' disease. ?

It should also be noted that the mad cow disease ( bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE) was entirely created by greed. Herbivorous cows were fed animal protein to reach optimum weight based on shortening the time to fatten them for slaughter. Interestingly in this case nature seems to have its protection or limits in place. Even to this day, people from regions where the mad cow disease was found, cannot donate blood in parts of the world where the disease was not found, to prevent the risk of mutations and spread of disease.

In the case of Covid 19, some researchers believe the risk posed due to zoonotic disease was not managed and has resulted in a global pandemic. At this stage, it is unclear on the long-term effects of Covid 19 or the vaccines on the human population. For many years various grass-root movements, researchers, and conscious citizens have tried to point out the issues of loss of biodiversity, the need to protect forest habitats and wild animals and species. ?However, since 1990, it is estimated that 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through conversion to other land uses. Between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares per year, down from 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. (FAO and UNEP, 2020).

One may think a crisis is too strong a word, but the characteristic, effects and response to the ?Covid 19 pandemic, clearly shows we are in a ?crisis management mode. This crisis management is being done by various local, national, and international agencies. The effects of the crisis are global. ?

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Climate Change - Another more recent crisis in terms of severity is the increasing frequency of extreme weather patterns across the globe. Effects include changes in rainfall patterns, extreme periods of drought, extremes in temperature, high-intensity rainfall leading to floods. Climate change while recognized as a long-term risk is already showing signs in many parts of the globe. The effects of this risk are harder to manage and crisis management seems to be more frequent. For example for cities dependent on rainfall as the major source for potable water supply to its customers, multi-year drought is a risk that will quickly lead to a crisis. This has been experienced in many parts of the globe, including major developed cities such as Auckland, Sydney, Capetown, and Chennai in the recent past. Lack of rainfall meant the pressure is mounted on the water supply authorities who in turn are in a crisis management mode. ?It should be noted while reticulated water is available in many parts of the globe, according to the UN in 2021, there are 2.2 billion people who lack access to?safely managed drinking water services and a staggering 4.2 billion people who still lack?safely managed sanitation services.?(WHO/UNICEF 2019 ).

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Another example of climate change is the combined effects of drought, extreme temperatures which lead to bush fires. In 2019 WWF for Nature, in its report on Australian bush fires, states that more than 15,000 fires occurred across all states, resulting in a combined impact area of up to 19 million hectares, killing 3 billion native vertebrates. These comprise approximately: 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles,181 million birds, and 51 million frogs. According to researchers, over the last several decades, fire extent, frequency, and intensity have increased due to warming global temperatures, reduced rainfall in many areas, and increased interannual variance in weather conditions. Correspondingly, the detrimental impacts of fire on biodiversity have increased (Lindenmayer & Taylor, 2020).

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Scientific Measurement ?- boundaries and measurements

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Planetary Boundaries??

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The planetary boundary is a concept involving Earth system processes that contain environmental boundaries. The nine planetary boundaries studied by researchers are Climate change, Change in biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss and species extinction), Stratospheric ozone depletion, Ocean acidification, Biogeochemical flows (phosphorus and nitrogen cycles), Land-system change (for example deforestation), Freshwater use, Atmospheric aerosol loading (microscopic particles in the atmosphere that affect climate and living organisms), Introduction of novel entities (e.g. organic pollutants, radioactive materials, nanomaterials, and micro-plastics). The independent study in 2009 and again in 2015, surmised from findings of the planet having crossed four of the nine planetary boundaries that they believed were vital. (Steffen, Richarson, Rockstom, et al., 2015). The four boundaries are climate change, loss of biosphere integrity, land system change, altered biogeochemical cycles (phosphorus and nitrogen). They also have alerted to the fact climate change and biosphere integrity, are what the scientists call "core boundaries". Significantly altering either of these "core boundaries" would "drive the Earth System into a new state".??

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Carbon Dioxide Levels in the atmosphere? ?

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas, which is released through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels, as well as natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruptions. According to NASA, over the past 170 years, human activities have raised atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by 47% above pre-industrial levels found in 1850. This is more than what had happened naturally over 20,000 years (from the Last Glacial Maximum to 1850, from 185 ppm to 280 ppm).

Global Risk – When Unmanaged Leads to A Crisis?

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risks Report, ?“global?risk” is?defined as an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, can cause a significant negative impact for several countries or industries within the next 10 years. In 2020, the “top five global risks in terms of likelihood” are — extreme weather conditions, climate action failure,?natural disasters,?biodiversity loss, and human-made natural disasters.?The crisis is a progression of unmanaged risk. There are well-documented processes for risk management that apply to large companies and organizations. There is a need to approach the current global risks from a risk management framework, particularly for high-impact risks with a shorter period, high persistence, and low response readiness.?

Various organizations such as the United Nations (UN), World Economic Forum (WEF), and many non-governmental panels have pointed out that to avert the current risks for the planet, transformational changes will need to take place at a?collective level. It is also clear that the solution cannot be delivered by a single agency. The effects of the pandemic were global and affected all, from individuals to multi-billion dollar companies. We saw the effects of a single virus. It managed to disrupt our way of life and challenge various systems. The effects of the zoonotic disease were felt in various sectors including the global financial, aviation, education, tourism, health, and governments to name a few. It is worthy of note that the global economy shrunk by 4.9 % in 2020 according to the International Monetary Fund. This raises the question of whether any of the risk experts and specialists have taken into consideration a planet in crisis. More importantly the risks this poses within their organizations. If the frequency of crisis increases governance teams within public and private sectors will be forced into crisis management as a default. Local, national, and international governments may need to manage multiple crises, which in turn will have long-lasting effects on the economy, institutions, and public. Unmanaged environmental risks when manifested as a crisis will affect multiple sectors and those in leadership roles will need to be equipped with solutions. This has been proven by the recent global crisis, the Covid 19 pandemic. ??????

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The Challenges and Opportunities ?

?The following are some of the challenges presented more as opportunities for those who wish to take the path of change. This is not an exhaustive list but more of an opportunity to explore for readers.

Embracing new economic models ??- The world's 500 largest companies generated $32.7 trillion in revenues and $2.15 trillion in profits in 2018 ( Fortune.com). ?The corporate world has tremendous power due to its reach geographically as well as providing goods and services to the 7.8 billion inhabitants of our planet. The conversion of raw materials to goods and services has direct implications for the wellbeing of the planet, as it includes the use of resources that have not been valued. The conversion of resources also includes waste streams over the whole of the life of the product.

The?Paris Agreement of 2015, is an international accord that was adopted by nearly every nation to address?the risk of climate change and its negative impacts. The agreement aims to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the?global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels while pursuing means to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. This in turn has lead to several efforts including new economic models. Linear economic models are giving way to refined economic models based on lowering carbon emissions and pursuing sustainability principles. Some of these models such as the Circular Economy – which are aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources, thus reducing the emission of carbon. For organizations that are on a path to adopt the shift and focus more on the sustainability of the planet, this model will prove to be useful in providing insights into the various functionalities within the product life cycles with a focus on the reuse of resources. Another model that has been proposed and which looks at aligning the sustainability development goals with the ecological limits of the planet is the Doughnut model. ?The framework was proposed to regard the performance of an economy as the extent to which the needs of people are met without overshooting Earth's ecological ceiling. (Raworth, Kate, 2017).?The Global Sustainability Model allows companies to measure the impact of their company on the environment. These models will require current business and organizational leaders to explore the benefits of these models as they re-align to the shift required to meet the lower carbon footprint goals. ?????????????

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Meaningful Metrics and Reporting for survival - ?Reporting on the Environmental Social and Governance has been a norm for many publicly listed and large private companies, driven by investors who are pushing for disclosure. For instance, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors in its report titled, ESG reporting by ASX 200 has been tracking the reporting of listed companies and makes decisions based on these reports. Sustainable investing is about materiality and companies are assessed based on the materiality when it comes to the ESG scorecard. In a recent publication by Harvard Business Review, it states in 2006, when the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) was launched, 63 investment companies (asset owners, asset managers, and service providers) with $6.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM) signed a commitment to incorporate ESG issues into their investment decisions. By April 2018, the number of signatories had grown to 1,715 and represented $81.7 trillion in AUM. According to a 2018 global survey?by FTSE Russell, more than half of global asset owners are currently implementing or evaluating ESG considerations in their investment strategy. (Eccles & Kilmenko,2019). Investors will need to incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making. There will need to be disclosure on ESG measurements by the entities in which investment is made. ?

Role of the private sector - In developing countries, the private sector generates 90 percent of jobs, funds 60 percent of all investments, and provides more than 80 percent of government revenues.?Private companies are providing an ever-increasing share of essential services in developing countries, such as banking, telecommunications, health, and education. In first-world countries, the participation of the private sector includes private-public partnerships and the delivery mechanism usually is contractual. Special purpose vehicles (SPV) where a private-sector consortium forms a special company to develop, build, maintain, and operate the asset for the contracted period with equity distributed to the public sector as well as opportunities for investors to participate.?There is a need for those who are leading private sector organizations to play a role in influencing the pathway for the business that is purpose-driven with clear ethical standards in protecting the interest of the business as well as the planet. This will be a key defining factor over the next decade as we work towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on mitigating the environmental risks. Leadership in this context will be anyone who can step into action for a collective and make a positive change.

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?Making conscious decisions will be important - Conscious disregard - ?means the knowledge of the probable harmful consequences of a wrongful act and a willful and deliberate failure to act to avoid those consequences. Can the leadership teams, be it elected members to parliament, city planners, those in governance roles, board members or executive teams afford to ignore the consequences of the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources.

In some parts of the world, including Australia measuring, tracking, and reporting are legally required. For instance, climate change risks are foreseeable, and that directors who fail to consider those risks may be liable for breaching their duties of care. (ASIC, 2018).

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Litigation against those who pollute and climate inaction will rise – Legal cases to protect the planet will become more widespread. In the landmark litigation of Urgenda v. State of the Netherlands, the Supreme Court rejected all of the state's arguments, including the claim that emissions from the Netherlands are small – roughly around 0.4 percent of global emissions – and therefore the impact of tightening its emissions reduction policies would just be a "drop in the ocean". Instead, the Supreme Court determined that "a country cannot escape its share of the responsibility to take measures by arguing that compared to the rest of the world, its emissions are relatively limited in scope and that a further reduction of its emissions would have very little impact on a global scale. The state is therefore obliged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its territory in proportion to its share of the responsibility" (Supreme Court's summary of the decision).

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Transition to Net Zero – Many countries have set net-zero carbon emission targets. This will require various private and public sector organizations to make a transition to support the targets. With national targets, there will be an expectation that policy will drive the changes. Getting strategic alignment will be a key for the long-term survival of organizations and private companies. The untapped potential for low-carbon products and services is immense for economies that are the first movers. ???

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Leadership Perspectives : ??

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Unity Among Leaders - Success of the Monteal Protocol ???

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A crisis is not a permanent state and can be averted by conscious action. As human beings, we have the power to act based on conscious awareness. There is a power that is harnessed when people come together with unity. The key element being unity in purpose, purity in thinking and a special connection to the purpose. It calls for the thinking to be selfless and encompass the entire planet and all of creation. When leaders unite for a collective good, much can be achieved. Luckily precedence has been set for this form of modus operandi. A case in point was the discovery of the ozone hole in 1978 by the scientific community. This lead to collective action by governments to a global ban on the use of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). This was achieved by 197 countries uniting together for the collective good of the planet and the Montreal Protocol was the instrument to ban CFC`s. The result was the ozone hole is no longer a crisis that threatens us. (McKenzie, R., Bernhard, G., Liley, B.?et a l, 2019). ?

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Selfless Leaders – Success of the Sathya Sai Models in Education, Health and Water???

Leadership is not confined to traditional roles within large corporates or international organizations. Leadership in this instance is anyone who can think beyond their limited needs and wants, delivering for higher calls such as altruism. Selfish people when appointed as leaders are limited in their ability to contribute to positive changes. While selfless leaders make lasting changes that can transform positively those they lead and create a movement. Such movements will create a revolutionary change and can inspire others in various fields to also change their vision to higher calls. This model of inspiring selfless leadership has been witnessed in the workings of late Sri Sathya Sai Baba of India. The humanitarian and inspiration provided by Sri Sathya Sai Baba has lead to the delivery of various charitable projects for the betterment of the needs in the community. This visionary leader has been working for those in need and started by providing free primary healthcare in 1956 in a rural village by establishing a hospital. Free education from primary to tertiary level have been provided since 1968 in various educational institutions. A formal trust was formed in 1972 and majority of the charitable works is undertaken by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, a Public Charitable Trust registered under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The product is based on high quality provision of education, healthcare and access to water, housing and emergency relief efforts at no cost to the end users. ?This model is based on individuals working collectively with dedication for the welfare of others under the diligent work inspired by the founder. The delivery is entirely through volunteers from all backgrounds who unite to altruism. The unique feature is the make up of the volunteers is from a variety of religious, ethnic, professional, national backgrounds. It is such collective conscious action that will be required by those who wish to lead. Such is the need of the day, a revolution with selfless leaders who can place the interests of the planet before profits and work unitedly for principles before power.?

Connected Leaders – Replacing Anthropocentrism??

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The change will need to be made in the way we view the human species concerning the planet and nature. Current anthropocentric worldviews, which operate almost all systems of modern businesses and governments will need to give way to more sustainable worldviews. Successfully researching, recognizing, and transitioning to sustainable worldviews is key. Many alternative world views existed in the relative past and are still being practiced by Indigenous Peoples from across the globe even today. However Indigenous peoples' worldview has lacked recognition in many circles and has been overshadowed by other forces. This has to be considered and accepted at both policy and governance levels within nations. Natural or First Law of the Indigenous Peoples is associated with the laws of the natural world ( Redvers, Poelina et al, 2020 ).

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Conscious Leaders – The next era of leaders??

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There is a silent revolution that is occurring in many parts of the globe, where paradigm shifts are occurring at individual and collective levels to recognize the role of the human being in a shared planet. It has created many movements within various sectors of society and businesses. It has seen the rise of conscious consumers, ethical brands, green growth agendas, sustainability-driven investors, environmental and social disclosure by large businesses, net-zero commitments by nations, carbon footprint reporting,?sustainable development goals, circular economy models,?to name just a few.?At the forefront of all these changes are individuals who have become conscious of their role and have utilized their skills and knowledge in addressing the issues faced by the planet. It is the birth of the conscious leaders across various fields that have begun the silent revolution and this will be the only course of action to move the planet away from crisis points to one of finding balance. The solutions will need to arise from a collective consciousness of leaders and champions of corporations that offer products and services which add value to the environment rather than damage the environment. The leadership will need to transition corporates from carbon dependency to alternative sources to sustain the planet and its people. Corporates who navigate this journey over the next two decades will be setting a new paradigm for the welfare of the planet and its ecosystem.??

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As organizations choose the next leaders, be at governance levels or operational levels there is a need to make way for those leaders who care for the environment and social aspects of the place.?This is an important requirement as can be seen in the recent case in Australia. The destruction of 46,000 year-old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pi Ibara region of Western Australia by a mining company. It is questionable if an ASX-listed company such as Rio Tinto, with its corporate responsibility, can get away with environmental and social destruction due to its actions. ?

As a leader, you may be aware of these aspects, which are internal processes. Does the team you lead have the systems in place and clear policies, responsibilities, and authority to safeguard and value the social, economic, and environmental aspects? More important is the tremendous opportunity leaders have, to change the culture of the organizations. This is done at individual levels by your thoughts, words, and deeds. Are these three aspects aligned to the principle of supporting the planet and people first, before profit? For those who wish to act on the ideas presented, the time to take action is the present time.

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References

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ASIC Report 593: Climate risk disclosure by Australia’s listed companies ?(September 2018)

ASIC, (2018). Report 593: Climate risk disclosure by Australia’s listed companies. ASIC.

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Bloomfield, L.S.P., McIntosh, T.L. & Lambin, E.F. (2020). Habitat fragmentation, livelihood behaviors, and contact between people and nonhuman primates in Africa.?Landscape Ecol?35,?985–1000 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-00995-w

https://download.asic.gov.au/media/4871341/rep593-published-20-september-2018.pdf

Eccles, R. G., and Klimenko, E. (2019). The Investor Revolution: Shareholders are getting serious about sustainability. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/05/the-investor-revolution

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FAO and UNEP (2020). The State of the World's Forests (SOFO) . FAO and UNEP. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca8642en

Gibb, R., Redding, D.W., Chin, K.Q.?et al.?(2020). Zoonotic host diversity increases in human-dominated ecosystems.?Nature?584,?398–402. ?https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2562-8 ?

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https://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/2020/en/ ???

https://fortune.com/global500/

https://hbr.org/2019/05/the-investor-revolution ?

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/06/24/WEOUpdateJune2020

https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/scarcity/

https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020

https://www.wwf.org.au/news/news/2020/3-billion-animals-impacted-by-australia-bushfire-crisis#gs.3al3ag ?

Lindenmayer, D.B., Kooyman, R.M., Taylor, C., et al.?Recent Australian wildfires made worse by logging and associated forest management.?Nat Ecol Evol?4,?898–900 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1195-5 ?

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McKenzie, R., Bernhard, G., Liley, B.?et al.?Success of Montreal Protocol Demonstrated by Comparing High-Quality UV Measurements with “World Avoided” Calculations from Two Chemistry-Climate Models.?Sci Rep?9,?12332 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48625-z

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Redvers, N., Poelina, A., Schultz, C., Kobei, D. M., Githaiga, C., Perdrisat, M., Prince, D., et al. (2020). Indigenous Natural and First Law in Planetary Health.?Challenges,?11(2), 29. MDPI AG. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/challe11020029

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Raworth, K. (2017).?"Meet the doughnut: the new economic model that could help end inequality" .?World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/the-new-economic-model-that-could-end-inequality-doughnut/ ?

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SSSCT - Projects (srisathyasai.org)

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Steffen, W., Richarson, K., Rockstom, J. ?et al. (2015). Planetary Boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science,?Vol. 347?no. 6223 DOI: 10.1126/science.1259855

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United Nations Environment Programme and International Livestock Research Institute (2020). Preventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission. ?

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