While the lack of progress on a definitive Eurozone solution dominates the former, the lack of progress on a whole swath of sustainability commitments dominates the latter. So between the 20 countries and across 20 years we see the shortcomings of global governance models and the inability of politicians, businesses and societies to think and act in the long term. It is short term gain that created the global banking and sovereign debt crisis and the same impetus that is leading us towards a resource and climate crisis.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing is the fact that the relationship between future economic ‘prosperity’ and ecological wellbeing are still seen as being separate, parallel tracks, rather than functionally interdependent. Assuming that one agrees with the tenet that ‘the world’s economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the world’s ecology’.
There is hope though. While the politicians enjoy the delights of Rio and tick their expenses boxes, much of the dynamism and idea generation is coming out of the businesses present at the second Earth Summit. So, while the corporate presence at the first summit in 1992 was minimal, the corporate sector has started to wake up to the fact that finite resources and a changing climate offer both threats and opportunities for those that are willing to view sustainability as something more than CSR box ticking. Yes, it is ironic that the market economy, which is held up as the great despoiler of the environment, might in fact be its best hope.
The companies that make products and provide services are starting
to see that environment equals resource efficiency , costs, risks and
opportunity. Not only the corporate, but
the smaller companies linked to them through supply chains. The associated financial and investment
community remain the laggards in this regard, over and above specialists with
an interest environmental and social governance. However, this picture is changing and slowly,
very slowly, investors are waking up to sustainability as risk and opportunity,
where performance indicators are aligned with the companies of which they have
a slice.
The progressive companies are therefore preparing themselves
for a world where finance and sustainability co-incide. For many this begins with a basic re-assessment
of priorities and associated process change and data monitoring around waste,
water, raw materials and energy. For
most companies, a series of simple, low-cost measures will be the only possible
step, but will offer a platform for taking a more sophisticated approach, where
they can see cost savings and enhanced competitive advantage while managing
cash effectively. From this, the bigger
prizes of new business models and product/service lines will flow.
