Sustainability: if not now, when?

Human beings are the largest living species - in numbers and in economic prowess - to be the determining factor of the habitability of the planet earth for themselves and all other species.

In the last two hundred years, the human population has increased from 1 billion to 7.5 billion, the energy consumption has climbed +80%, the economic output has risen +68% but, in parallel, all the other living-systems on earth are basically depleting.

Considering that 10% of the population still lives on less than $1.90 a day (was 36% in 1990) and 1 billion people has no access to clean drinking water, it is scary to realize that today, top 25% of the world is devouring 80% of the world’s resources.

How do we find a course of action to fulfill the needs, the basic needs, of the almost 10 billion people that are going to be on the planet by the year 2050 ?

Continuing to do business as usual, is not going to work! We must incorporate sustainability criteria into our models; sustainability cannot and should not be simplified as “saving the planet”; sustainability is about protecting the earth’s potential to support the future generations to be able to take part in an economic activity so to alleviate and preserve the earth’s capability to reinforce a thriving population. 

The earth provides all the resources which make life possible: it takes up all the waste and converts it into useful substances; it provides all the resources for us – humans - to have shelter, transportation, and everything we do in our lives. Nonetheless, we mistakenly believe that the earth will always be there to provide us with resources, irrespective of the population.

We need a different perception; we need a shift in thinking. Einstein said: "we cannot solve today’s problem with the level of thinking at which they were created.", Organizations and businesses need to makeshift in the human presence in the natural world that will provide everyone now, and everyone in the future generations to a decent quality of life.

The essence of creating a sustainable economy (Michael Ertl, 2019) is when organizations find better ways to use natural resources, shift towards renewable energy and, instead of depleting them, use them only till the point where they can regenerate itself; and keep doing this over and over again.

Corporations must adhere to sustainability criteria, set to carry out specific purposes.

Major corporations, like Microsoft, have been committed to sustainability in the last few decades and in 2019 Microsoft’s president’ Brad Smith declared that the organization is primed to “do more” to eliminate the carbon footprint and will continuously keep its house clean using the company’s two most significant assets: employees and technology, in the rising concern of sustainability challenges.

Moreover, the company has put tremendous efforts to embed the sustainability criteria straight into the roles, its employees, and its business practices and furthermore, has associated large non-governmental organizations and businesses around the world to address the challenges in implementing the sustainability criteria.

Microsoft is an essential enabler of seventeen ‘Sustainable and Development Goals’ set by the United Nations. Empowering it's technological force, Microsoft has initiated a new paradigm of digital solutions for the 21st century, with various goals such as: 

• Improve Quality of Life. Digital solutions policy’s goal is to grant advance and reliable access to education to 450 million people. 
• Cultivate Equitable Growth. A digital solution for sustainability could deliver about $11 trillion in economic benefits by the year 2030.  
• Protect the Environment. The policy can facilitate up to 20 percent reduction of the Global Carbon Dioxide Equivalent emission (CO2 eq).

Microsoft’s sustainability principles are framed and governed by leading experts and international organizations. The focus is extended to major areas, including:  

• Environmental Sustainability Commitment. The Environmental sustainability principle of Microsoft works on six fundamental areas – energy, carbon, water, ecosystems, packaging, and product life cycle. 
• Microsoft Global Human Rights Statement. Microsoft’s commitment to human rights is aligned with that of the United Nation’s convention on businesses and human rights. 
• Microsoft Supplier Code of Conduct. Microsoft encourages all its suppliers to adhere to the ‘Standards of Business Conduct.’ 
• Microsoft Responsible Sourcing of Raw Materials. This policy is stringent to the values of upstream sourcing at the company’s supply chain. With the advent of this approach, all the Microsoft devices RSRM program has emerged to beset additional material and processes. The requirements set by the RSRM are germane to all raw materials.  
• Microsoft Product Safety Principle. Product reliability, safety, and quality is the foundation of Microsoft products. They are designing products that are durable and repairable so as to increase the products’ life and no land-filling of packing substantial (Microsoft, 2019).

The conclusion is clear: businesses have to learn to live off to nature’s income, not nature’s capital, that’s the idea that will embody sustainable economies, sustainable environment and sustainable societies so to fulfill our needs for the longest time.  

Let me know your thoughts, as an avid learner I am always eager to understand more and better on such crucial challenges our society is facing, thanks!

Teo

Sources:

• Michael Ertl, G. F. (2019). The Imperative of sustainability
• Microsoft. (2019). Device Sustainability Report.
• United Nations, U. (20019). World population prospects
• Poverty. (2020). WorldBank
• Roser, M. (2015). Economic Growth.