Sustainability! What is that? Is it another synonym for reduce-reuse-recycle or a strategy for corporates to attract more customers? Well, there could be a lot of theories around sustainability, but what actually does it entail? Here’s what we know.
The rising issue of global warming is no stranger to us. Hence, people have shifted and are venturing into more sustainable practices. We all know what global warming is and its effects, but where does sustainability play the part.?
Ah! Sustainability is not only saving more, but using less. A purposeful restoration of the wrath humanity has led, could be resolved through a sustainable lifestyle.
Taking baby-steps towards a sensible expense rather than being a spendthrift. A sustainable lifestyle requires time and effort, mindfulness, awareness, and so and so. As an individual one can do a lot to contribute to this effort. However, what can a business enterprise do to make a product more environmentally friendly?
Key points
- Sustainable practices to maintain life overtime
- The conceptual use of it in different areas
- The corporate strategies to endorse environmental-friendly production practices
- The critical altercation between skeptics and companies alleged of “green-washing”
- Steps taken to attain sustainability
What is sustainability?
It is the process of preservation in accordance to prevent the rapid depletion of resources. It elaborates the environmental-friendly policies to be implemented, predicting the far-sightedness of it. It is not only limited to an environmental aspects but goes a long way. Through sustainability the process of synchronizing humanity and nature is hoped to undergo.
As climatic problems, pollution, and biologically mutant diseases are on the rise, the need for restoration of flora and fauna is alarming. Sustainability covers every field of routine operations, from production till consumption.
The production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, retail, and consumption could all be done through a sustainable process of planning.
Conceptual Division of Sustainability
The concept of sustainability could be jotted down in three main aspects:
- Environmentally
- Commercially
- Socially
The concept of “environment sustainability” focuses on the preservation of natural and exhaustible resources, also replacing natural/direct resources with indirect resources (like replacing coal energy with wind energy). The process of preservation of natural resources is done to elongate their use in the immediate and expanding future, ensuring the quality of life by producing less waste and recycling heavily.
The greater emphasis on the need to protect the biodiversity, in order for it to survive is the “need of the hour”.
Whereas, “environmental sustainability,” covers the concept of natural preservation, “Commercial sustainability,” includes the process of production through which profits aren’t decreased keeping in view the need to be “green”.
This concept of sustainability keeps the profits as a priority, which we will later discuss with the topic of “green-washing”. Mainly the bigger corporates have the higher chances to create climatic wastage. The process of sustainability focuses to not hurt the profit input whilst keeping in mind the hyperbolic agenda of “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle”.
It all stars with us, and so to become the change as a whole one needs to start from their end. In “Social Sustainability,” the focus is shifted upon the eradication of biased classism, removing/rejecting caste-system etc. Also, minimizing the usage of toxic and wasteful products, avoid buying in bulk, and rejecting mass-produced products is a fresh step towards the betterment of this planet.
Are corporate companies taking up the sustainable practices seriously?
The business of corporate companies lies solely on profits, without it they have no ground to work on. With the increasing awareness of nature preservation, the companies have shifted focus on the more sustainable functioning.
There are a few aspects a business has to keep in view in order to keep up with the requirements of the current. The assurance of continuous liquidity of profits, keeping in view the “red-flags” against nature. Working in sync with sustainable practices and monetary gains.
The agenda of sustainability is deliberated in several areas, may it be energy (created through water, air, or solar etc.), fashion or textile, food and many more. The hyperbolic agenda created to pretend being “sustainable” on account of attracting more customers.
The companies pursue these policies which not only exceed their profits but also keep them safe in the eyes of an activist-cum-critic. This process is called “green-washing”
“Green-Washing”
Many companies have claimed to “go completely green,” within the approaching years. The question lies whether the claim are true or false. Several companies use cheap labor and low-cost material, at low-rate wages. However, the companies claiming to go green have never revealed the changes they underwent in order to replace these practices. Which brings us again to the infernal question of HOW and WHAT are the alternatives.
The critics and skeptics never shy away from pointing out the inadequacies and false-claim of a mass-producing corporate company.
The concept of “green-washing” not only blinds the customer but robs away the chance for nature to heal.
What can be done?
In order to reduce these practices;
We take under inspection these three main aspects:
- Environmentally
- Commercially
- Socially
The process of waste-reduction, creating awareness among civilians, levying charges on littering, and much more could help bring about a change in the routine practices. The preservation done on a high and attentive scale is much important. (Environmental Sustainability)
The companies can increase the promotion unbiased-workforce, halting cheap-labor, and producing essentially to last. The long term goal of corporates must shift towards more sustainable practices. (Commercial Sustainability)
Quoting the astral Mahatma Gandhi, “be the change you want to see in the world,” one must adopt the nature-friendly practices in order to protect the same. Repurposing of clothing, up-cycling of textiles, producing soil friendly fertilizers with leftovers, rejecting social stigmas, diminishing of class-based division, everything plays a major role in this aspect. (Social Sustainability)
To Conclude
As we move towards sustainability, companies are highly-driven to make efforts in order to provide nature-friendly products with the goal to maintain profits and attract more customers. For further information refer to other links.
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