Why is sustainability important?

In economic perspective, sustainability refers to strategic abilities to maintain its wealth and resources at a certain rate or level, which may be measurable with quantity and frequency. Regarding our environment, sustainability refers to avoidance of exploitation and depletion of natural resources to maintain an ecological balance. To fight against acceleration of deforestation, climate change, carbon emission, pollution, and scarcity in biodiversity. Both economically and environmentally, being sustainable means that one would meet its own needs without compromising the ability to future generations to meet their own needs.

Then what has this got to do with our lives and why would this affect us directly? To understand the importance of sustainability and why it is necessary to act, we must self-actualize our choices and reliance on factors we depend on for living. This may be simple as purchasing habits and methods of disposal. Businesses rely on consumer demand. Marketers would do all they can to make purchases more attractive and affordable by focusing on economic sustainability, without considering environmental damages it may cause on nature’s cycle. Our choices determine how fast trees must be cut, oil to be extracted, and wildlife to be extinct. As a result, ecological unbalance starts to show symptoms in our world with unexpected disasters and diseases.

According to United Nations Environment Program, wildfire has become a regular part of our ecosystem every year and we have learn how to live with fire. By the end of the century, wildfire has been projected to increase 14% by 2030 and 30% by 2050. The following image captured by California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection where fire was burning towards east Bishop in the Owens hitting 2,800 acres (11.33km) on Wednesday, 16th of February 2022.

Source: Los Angeles Times, Feb,16. 2022

Scientific Visualization Studio by NASA stated that our global temperature has increased 0.8 degrees Celsius in 2021 compared to the baseline of the period from 1951-1980. This has resulted currently being the sixth warmest year on record. The following video is explanation of “Global Warming from 1880 to 2021” by NASA.

Washington Post raise a concern that in 2022 there has been straining on freshwater supply due to rapid melting of mountain glaciers. Researchers state that there has been a decrease of 20 percent of mountain glaciers, and this will affect 1.9 billion people living in downstream of mountain areas for drinking, agriculture, and hydroelectric power. This would include the Himalayas, Alps, Greenland and many more.

Public & Private Sector Action Plans

Following the Paris Agreement on 12th of December 2015 adopted by 196 parties at COP21 in Paris, 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference was held at COP26 in Glasgow. The event on 31st of November 2021 was based on negotiates over deforestation, reducing carbon emission, usage of Coal & Methane, reconfirming net-zero targets, and socioeconomic transformations.

In the past decade, government forces have come together every year and coming to a global agreement of how every country must act to rewire the global economy. From many negotiations and implementations, two practices have been established for public and private sectors to achieve both intrinsic and extrinsic benefits. One is to rate businesses and entities publicly based on its Environmental, Social, and Governance related initiatives and another are guidelines of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals.

ESG

ESG is based on factors in three criteria of environment, social, and governance. This initiative access long-term sustainability by screening risks and opportunities for socially conscious investors.

The concept of ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) has been first introduced in 2004 by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to enhance PRI (Principles for Responsible Investing). Today, over 80% of the largest corporations use GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards backed by UN representing over $70 trillion assets with more than 1,600 members under management.

UN SDG

UN SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) are 17 goals agenda called to action for the world, which have been adopted by United Nations in 2015. No matter how big or small businesses and organizations are, the goals have been adopted as the 2030 agenda for sustainable development to work together and reach common goals for our world and existence in it.

The following video is from TED conference in 2018 by Michael Green, former senior official with the British government’s Department of International Development, speaking about the progress we have made until now and how much more we must put effort together.

Should we care?

Some may say that it is for the future, and it may not affect one’s current life. However, it has already started, and soon human species will not be able to turn the fate of our world back to how we remember. As there is an effect to a cause, there will be consequences where our current and future selves my not be able to fathom and comprehend from the choices we are making in life. Instead of waiting for other to make a difference, why not begin from ourselves?