Having had the good fortune to work in environmental management for some 20 years, it is pleasing to see the recent unprecedented levels of interest shown in sustainability. Driven largely by concerns over man-made warming of the atmosphere, rising waste and consumption levels and problems with water supplies, ‘eco’ has become a serious business issue rather than a minority sport. A measure of this is the value of businesses that operate in the environmental and energy efficiency sectors – waste management, recycling, pollution and energy monitoring, strategy, associated software development and other consultancy – which is estimated to be worth £107 billion per annum in the UK alone. The old adage, ‘Where there’s muck, there’s brass’ holds as true now as it ever has. However, what we also now see, along with the growth of legitimate environmental businesses is the inevitable burgeoning of eco-philosophy strategising that is too often purchased at great expense by multinationals and big public sector agencies looking for ways to be more sustainable and responsible. In the main, such offerings tend to preach to the converted, alienate those who could be persuaded otherwise and are an expensive waste of money.
A plethora of projects and ‘programmes’ designed to change attitudes to sustainability, reflect on our feelings towards the environment, measure our responses to climate change are packed full of emotion and big words but end up gathering dust on a shelf or sitting idle on a hard disk. While such initiatives can be from consultancies, NGOs or both, they can often carry a whiff of anti-capitalism and anti-business. A measure of this is the time taken before advertising is identified as the main driver of mindless consumerism and therefore the cause of society’s ills [which in the case of the banking sector is a deserved epithet]. To return to the creative community, an advert for underarm deodorant may be cited, until it is pointed out that everyone in the room buys and uses such personal hygiene kit. Perhaps a more questionable use of advertising is government campaigns that cheerily or chillingly tell us to ‘go green’. At least adverts for consumer products are, in the main, well targeted and engaging. I challenge any agency with an eco-brief to come up with something that is accurate, amusing and memorable to its audience. Otherwise, that money could be better spent putting a proper cycling infrastructure into our major cities.
Businesses do use resources and create waste, however, they act responsibly in the main and certain businesses are creating the means and technologies through which our natural environment is protected. Such environmental ‘sector’ businesses attract honest- to- goodness engineers, planners, marketers, technologists, biologists, chemists and many other legitimate practitioners. While all such experts have their own lingua franca, impenetrable to those on the outside, at least it is honest technical terminology. Not the impenetrable consultancy speak that eco-strategy programmes deliver through outreach and workshops.
Talking of which, Alexei Sayle had strong views on those whom are not involved in light engineering, but whom regularly attend workshops. If you do go to a workshop and you ARE involved in light engineering, you are not only excused, but you are a rare beast indeed [in the UK at least]. If you are NOT involved in light engineering, and you regularly attend workshops, you are the sum of too many Twitters.
As we continue to fight the challenges of climate change, decimation of bio-diversity and resource depletion, there is a pressing need for more straight-talking, backed up by common sense, knowledge and observation from those with the ability to communicate and influence. People such as David Attenborough and John Lister-Kaye for example. They have done more to inform us about the environment than any number of summer schools, workshops and ‘thought leadership’ programmes. James Cameron’s Avatar must also be credited for its straightforward message about the benefits of living in balance with the natural world.
So come on all you plain speakers with an interest in progressive environmental management and sustainability. Let’s hear your honest, knowledgeable and engaging rhetoric. Let’s filter out the overblown strategising and get everyone rolling up their sleeves to improve the environment for one and all.
