Six degrees of connection...

... on the path to sustainability!

As we see the end of cheap debt, energy, food, labour and raw materials, it makes sense to go in for co-operation. Not only at the business level, but at community levels too.

Business leaders should see sustainability as an opportunity, act now and prepare for radical change despite the recession, according to a report released by sustainable development group Forum for the Future and sponsored by the IT consulting and outsourcing firm, Capgemini.

Peter Madden, chief executive of the Forum, said: “It is in companies’ best interests to be leaders in the move to a more sustainable world. Climate change and shortages of food, energy and other resources will not go away just because there’s a recession. Companies which adapt now will reap dividends in the future.”

The report, Acting now for a positive 2018, looks at the trends which will shape the future of business over the next decade.

It draws up four scenarios from a moderate globalised one to a bohemian ‘me and mine, online’ one! All of them look at sustainability in core businesses but achieve the same differently. An appealing, and perhaps, inevitable scenario is the globalised interest one which speaks of an ‘interconnected world’ where there is enough for all and a need to work together with investors, customers, suppliers and competitors(!). It is time for impact of society on business, instead of vice versa, it says.

Another post on The Energy Bulletin blog talks of community living in the coming days of energy scarcity. Efficiency is not enough in technology alone, but also in technique. While considering eco-friendly stoves, it could make as much sense to have a small business owner using an earth oven to bake bread for his neighbours, instead of all of them using an oven!

Following peak oil there will be increased pressure to cut trees and use for fuel. Instead of talking of forestation, the post talks of sustainable harvesting, through regular pruning, which it says is a good practice and lets the trees flourish even as we harvest biomass. Coppicing, a forest management tactic of cutting some branches in turns, allows fresh sprouts that grow rapidly in a year.

What is your opinion on efficiency of techniques? Do you see such a radical change happening? Are we prepared to accept six or more degrees of connection?