Sustainable Development Creating New Business Opportunities?

Ever wondered where the term “Sustainable Development” comes from?  In 1987, the Brundtland Report first coined the term.  This report proposed that business, governments and civil society work together on global issues, notably environmental degradation [due to climate change] and poverty alleviation. In 1992, the forerunner of the WBCSD took things a bit further when they were invited to participate in the Earth Summit in Rio.

The WBCSD tackles sustainable development issues through 3 main Focus Areas. These three focus areas are:  Energy & Climate, Development, and Sustainable Ecosystems.  They title these areas as follows:

1. Energy & climate: The next industrial revolution - low-carbon economy and patterns of energy consumption
2. Development: Doing business with the world - economic development and poverty alleviation (NOTE: 3 billion global citizens currently subsist on less than US$ 2.00 per day)
3. Ecosystems: Sowing the seeds of a sustainable future - sustainable management of the world’s ecosystems

Our world faces conflicting issues:  meet demands of rapid population growth, mostly in so-called developing countries, in tandem with reducing negative impacts on society and the environment. Any misstep could be very grave according to WBCSD President Bjorn Stigson in the newly published book Creating A Sustainable Economy: Investing in the Future.

It has been twenty years since the coinage of the term sustainable development, and we are at a point that we can no longer simply “talk” about it.  There is urgent need for action.  Business could be the factor to step in and start cleaning things up.  Arguably, short-sighted business practices -mainly in the industrialization era- were a major contributing factor that got the world into such dire straits to begin with.  I am pro-business, but I can’t change the facts.  Realizing past indiscretions in the business community, it seems as though a great many organizations are willing to start turning things around.

There is hope.  Over the past two decades, business has accepted a new role.  And, with it’s new commitment comes new responsibilities and new expectations on business.  This creates new challenges for business, but it also stimulates new and exciting business opportunities.  What do we expect from this new role:  provide goods and services that people want at prices that are affordable while reducing negative impacts on the environment and not hastening resource depletion.

Notice some material included is paraphrased from World Business Council for Sustainable Development.  Please see the above link for the full story!  Very informative.
(Note:  that website only keeps archives for 90 days.  Better read the article quickly.)

Technorati Tags: business opportunities, climate change, energy and climate, expectations on business, sustainable development, sustainable economy, sustainable ecosystems

Indicators of Climate Change

Part of the reason for the debate about whether or not human actions have
contributed to what could well be a disastrous climate change are the
various predicted events that have already come to pass.  People all over
the world are now experiencing the kind of extreme weather that was once
experienced as events that only occurred every few centuries.  For
instance, five hundred-year floods, have occurred in the Mississippi
River Valley twice in the last twenty years.

Also, fire frequency threatens human life, property, and wildlife in the
arid western part of North America at rates not seen in recorded history.
Adding to the problems, crop failures are up and pathogens are on the
move.  The price of food has skyrocketed and still the weather continues
to just be strange all over the world.

Possibly, the most dramatic were the events of Hurricane Katrina. The
world saw a major US city nearly destroyed by a single storm.

Technorati Tags: climate change, climate change indicators, extreme weather

Collecting Hazardous Waste?

As more people try to share a smaller, usable landmass, disposing of all
our trash will undoubtedly be a major concern in the 21st century.  The
patterns of waste disposal in North America will fall under the scrutiny
of sustainable development plans.  As it is, the rate of collection for
recyclable materials is actually quite high, especially in urban and
suburban areas.

Unfortunately, because of this, the trash that is brought to dumps is
actually many times more toxic today than it was 30 years ago when the
problem of overwhelmed landfills was becoming apparent to consumers.

Unfortunate for us again, the danger from this waste getting loose in the
environment is even more serious and precarious than ever.  Increased
danger of containment systems being breached is very real.  Caution,
pressure on forest and agricultural land mounts: erosion due to major
storm events, thanks to climate changes, could unleash these toxins on
already fragile and damaged ecosystems.

Technorati Tags: climate changes, containment systems, hazardous waste, overwhelmed landfills, sustainable development, waste disposal

Sustainable Human Health Solutions

A secondary effect of climate change is an increased occurance of
infectious disease.  One of the causes is due to the migration of
disease vector insects from warmer climates into the formerly cooler
climate zones.  The yellow mosquito that can carry malaria is one
example, as its range appears to be expanding.

It has been argued that a decrease in the amount of international
shipping, especially air flight, would help with the problem of
introducing non-native species, as long as shipping remains even as well
regulated as it is now.  Of course, if shipping became unregulated to
the point that rampant smuggling was bringing goods instead of drugs
across maritime borders, potentially devastating bugs could get loose,
as was the case earlier this century with the outbreak of cholera in
Mexico.

As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Sustainable
health care is no different.  The focus remains on prevention, as it
should be.  That means encouraging healthy eating habits and plenty of
exercise, as many HMOs and other health “organizations” are doing.  In
Canada where government policies drive the national health care system,
change can be slower.  However, anyone can make common sense lifestyle
and diet changes on their own to reduce their need for health care.

Technorati Tags: cholera in mexico, disease vector insects, human health, international shipping, sustainable development, sustainable health care, sustainable human health solutions, sustainable solutions