Global companies must produce more with less and collaboration is key to achieving this
Businesses are working together to ensure that natural resources are available for generations to come. Photograph: Alamy
The Oromo of Ethiopia have a saying: "You can't wake a person who's pretending to sleep." Recent reports tell us we are consuming natural resources at a rate faster than the Earth is replenishing them. The data shows we are currently consuming the equivalent of 1.5 planets to support human activities.
For bankers, this is equivalent to living on the principle; for farmers, it is like eating your seed. We are quite literally eating the planet.
Another recent scientific study shows that we're even dipping into areas that were previously considered untouchable to meet a growing global appetite. Indeed, the study points out that since 1900, 89 areas, previously designated as "protected areas" have seen that status relaxed or even removed for various reasons, but centred on access to and use of natural resources.
And this is now. By 2050, UN experts agree there will be three billion more people on the planet, each with an average of 2.9 times more income, consuming twice as much. These trends illustrate a future without enough food and raw materials to meet growing demand.
It is time to wake up. The future of our planet depends on it. Without action, we can expect soaring food prices, wars over scarce resources and reduced-quality products on store shelves.
If we recognise that sustainability is everyone's concern, the solutions become clear. Big, global companies, guided by market incentives including demand and profitability, recognise this and are beginning to work together to solve these pressing challenges.
Increasingly, they see sustainability as a precompetitive issue. That is, they are working together, even colluding at times; in order ensure natural resources are available for generations to come.
We need to produce more with less, by focusing on three strategies: productivity, efficiency and elimination of waste – while reducing per capita material consumption. No company is big enough to guarantee its sustainability of materials. That is why working together is essential for survival.
To wrap our hands around the issue, instead of trying to bring together thousands of companies, or convincing billions of consumers to change their behaviour, we've identified 100 companies that control 25% of the trade of 15 of the most significant commodities on the planet. If these companies demand sustainable products, they'll pull 40-50% of production. That's a manageable number.
We're already seeing tremendous benefit from bringing fierce competitors and strange bedfellows together. It is helping them identify and mitigate risks in their supply chain and source commodities more efficiently.
Once they see sustainability as a shared objective, they're putting off competing with one another until after the products are manufactured, thus avoiding having to pass along the cost to consumers. This is a win for everyone.
Let's look at an example of this in action. On the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia, deforestation from illegal logging is changing the topography of the island, emitting millions of metric tons of carbon into the air each year, displacing villages and eradicating entire species.
WWF married its science-based approach with market initiatives to create the Global Forest & Trade Network to convene companies and apply pressure to the suppliers, encouraging them to source timber, pulp and paper from only sustainable forests.
Recently, in a major step forward, the Consumer Goods Forum, representing about 400 global retailers and brands with about $2.4tn in sales, publically committed to phasing out deforestation from their supply chains by 2020.
These companies are convinced that we have the ability to produce sufficient raw materials without deforestation. And now they are reaching out to other companies – the finance sector, traders and NGOs such as WWF – to help them achieve their goal.
There are a host of similar examples of companies working together to solve the complex and pressing challenges of resource access and availability. On a finite planet, no company, NGO, or even government can solve these challenges alone. We all depend on having a healthy planet. We need to begin to act as if our lives depend on it – because they do.
Jason Clay is senior vice president of market transformation at WWF
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super carrinho. faça as idéias rodarem aqui também.
obrigada pela participação no debate.