Why Sustainability must not be the next big thing
Sustainability has become mainstream. So much that it does not seem revolutionary but almost boring when politicians or company executives proudly present their latest green initiatives.
One might think that this is good news — in the end, we need everybody to save the planet, right? Sustainability as a megatrend, as the next big thing, right next to AI, Blockchain, and Quantum Computing, how wonderful.
Sustainability is not a trend, it is an imperative
Considering sustainability as a trend is just as convenient as it is wrong.
A trend is something familiar. We all lived through countless trends. Some changed the world, some did not. You need to adjust your strategy and playing style to some new rules, but you still play the same game. A few disruptions here, a few transformations there, maybe a new department or ministry and you’re ready to go.
If we think of sustainability as one trend among others we fail to recognize the fundamental redesign of almost every aspect of our live it requires. This is not a ‘digital transformation’ type of change which drives the laggards out of business. Sustainability laggards irreversibly kill parts of our ecosystem, already today.
We don’t need to change the rules. We need to completely redesign the game.
If you listen to policymakers (those that don’t ignore the climate crisis), sustainability is just a question of incentives and technology. We produce too much carbon dioxide? Let’s put a price on it and internalize environmental costs. Still too much? Let’s plant some more trees! And what about these fans that suck carbon dioxide out of the air? Let’s also get them.
If you listen to business executives and investors, sustainability is a great market opportunity. We can’t sell cars with combustion engines anymore? Let’s sell electric cars then. We can charge a premium on ecologically produced products? Great, let’s put all the shiny logos on there!
To be very clear: my cynical comments won’t save the planet either. But they also don’t claim to have figured out the master plan which fixes all the mess while everybody can just continue like nothing happened.
It is paradoxical. While the gap between what would need to get done and what actually gets done increases every day, decision makers seem to seek praise for every little improvement of an absolutely catastrophic status quo. Just this week BMW announced that parts of its aluminium production will be powered by solar energy. Without a doubt, this is good news. But it shouldn’t cover up decades of puzzling inaction, reluctance to change and misleading reporting on sustainability efforts.
How you can ruin the planet by building windmills
The problem is not only that not enough sustainability initiatives exist. The problem is also that existing initiatives are not sustainable enough. Let’s take a look at windmills.
Renewable energy sources play a vital role in transitioning to a sustainable future. After solar, wind is the fastest growing source of clean electricity. Many countries, among them the US and China, have paid hefty premiums for installing new wind-power capacities.
While this boom in wind power is a reason for optimism, it also shows the consequences of a superficial understanding of sustainability. As The Economist reported last week, the impact of increased wind-power turbine production on precious ecosystems and indigenous tribes in Ecuador and Peru was catastrophic. Because balsa wood is used for the blades of windmills, demand for it skyrocketed. Following the century-old tradition of exploiting natural resources, the interests of local humans and ecosystems were bluntly ignored.
We must do better — mangitudes better
If this is our best shot at sustainability, some countries and companies might reach artifical ‘net-zero’ goals but it won’t enable a transition to a sustainable (in its literal sense) economy and life.
We need to stop treating sustainability as if it was just the latest megatrend or the next big thing. We need to acknowledge how fundamentally and radically individuals, companies and societies ouhgt to transform. We must make sure that we contribute our talents and time to the right organizations, that we sufficiently adapt our personal lifestyle, and, most importantly, that we put enough pressure on our leaders to finally commit to the drastic changes required for a truly sustainable future.
