refelction

ENGL1C

02/06/2021

The Most Significant Step towards Sustainability

The extinction of Earth is imminent. We have observed deteriorating results regarding our planet's condition. Countless time, effort, and money have been used to research ways to slow the Deterioration and reverse its effects. However, the results have not been very promising. It forces us to look for alternatives for our survival to ensure the future of humanity. Sustainability is one approach that has gained popularity and a huge supporter base. Sustainability quite literally means to remain persistently. In the current context of the term, it refers to the capability of the biosphere and humanity to synchronize them to co-exist.

One of the most critical threats that we face in contemporary times is that of climate change. There is not a single place on this entire planet that is immune to this contagious crisis. The spread of climate change is escalating in our faces, rising temperatures, degradation of the ecosystem, food, water insecurity, natural disasters, economic insecurity, conflict, Etc., and we seem to stand impotent in the face of all these adversities. With the Paris climate accord of 2015, 197 countries agreed to set emission thresholds that would mitigate the rise in global temperatures by 1.5 ° via reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions or absorbing even more carbon as generated by 2050. So far, only two states, Gambia and Morocco, have reached their goals, while the major generators are falling low or refusing to acknowledge their objectives. The climate crisis, as destructive as it stands, can be resisted. Climate change is a consequence of economic growth and improvement. It is evident that the world economy prospered more than tenfold post-world war II. Economic growth is an after-effect of burning fossil fuels, gas, Etc., but with these fuels propelling the economy, they also have a devastating effect on the environment.

The observed concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is roughly 40% higher than the Industrial Revolution's onset. Hence, to avert the devastating effects of climate change, sustainability is of utmost importance, and it is about time to take a collaborative approach in combating climate change with the help of environmental stability (Dobbins et al.). Environmental stability can be described as the maintenance of natural capital, and hence humans must come to terms with the fact that the biological environment has certain restrictions to it (Goodland).

The most significant step this current generation can take towards stability must be based on sustainability principles: society, environment, and the economy. While many steps can be taken to counter this problem, narrowing the possibilities down to one often strengthens our position and remains focused on the task at hand. One of the most significant steps that the current generation can take towards reaching sustainability and averting the effects of climate change is to take a strong stance on the environmental and social problems and take considerable relevant actions to reach their objectives. Many people think it is rather nonsensical to take an individual approach to cater to global problems, but as we come to think of it, the development of these globally imposed threats is nothing but increments of individual behaviors that result in a huge outcome. Hence the reverse is also true; if individual actions can cause destruction and degeneration, they can also produce solutions. Whatever most of us will do within the next several decades would dictate what might occur in the next several centuries.

In recent research and surveys conducted by the LIM college, 90 percent positively responded to whether millennials and Gen Z will make steps to persuade businesses and the government to create more sustainable products and change the practices that cause harm to the environment (Best And Mitchell).In addition to vocalizing their concerns for the production of sustainable consumer products, our generation extends their concerns beyond products and permeates into the realms of human rights, equality, and other social issues. It is empirically evident in the research conducted by Fleishman Hillard; the research signifies that approximately 80% of consumers are likely to raise questions against certain practices of a company if it is not per their beliefs and ideals. Later, in the same research, it is identified that nearly 60% of consumers have certain expectations from the businesses to reciprocate their concerns regarding social issues that prevail within the businesses (Best and Mitchell). These researches make millennial and Gen Z's position rather clear since they make up for a huge consumer base for businesses, so they tend to have a huge influence on how these corporations function, keeping in view the environmental issues.

Businesses and corporations in the present day all function on the classical economic theory of maximizing capital by treating the environment and its constituents as mere means of production and disregarding the role of nature in the maintenance of life, with this generation being aware of the adverse effects of the economic ploys, an advocate for a change by putting forth the idea of ecological economics in the hope of persuading business to take a rather sustainable approach. Ecological economics fundamentally believes in giving natural capital equal value like other forms of capital. It remains firm on the fact that the natural capital is narrowed in its scope, and the economic activities must be following this restriction. For example, one of the practices that ecological economics advocates for is the polluter pay principle, which states that businesses and corporations that are responsible for pollution, which causes implications for the environment and human health, must bear the costs of the pollution thereby, holding them accountable (Kibert and Charles).

This generation recognizes the dire need to counteract climate change and support sustainable policies and practices. As indicated by the Pew study conducted in 2018, it is identified that 81% of millennials identify the adverse effect of global warming, and among that 81%, 65% recognize human activities as a primary cause. This study also indicated that the generation also considered the need to cater to the needs of climate change in the poll conducted (Geiger).

We have seen numerous people of the current generation take an active part in the protests and strikes that advocate for climate change and aim to persuade the government to implement policies and take action against this global threat. Active advocacy is one of the significant steps our generation can take to intervene in the global climate crisis. Some people might argue about the immediate impacts of taking part in a protest or advocating in a strike and deem them useless efforts but the events in the past years suggest otherwise. In 2018 a wave of global protest broke out, with tens and thousands of students joining the movement against climate change following the example of teenage activist Greta Thunberg. Although receiving backlash from some, these protests were highly appreciated by New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern (Woodward). The purpose of mentioning these cases is to solely substantiate that taking action against social and environmental issues has a huge impact, which often goes unrealized.

The result of individuals of this generation collaboratively advocating and taking a stance against issues regarding the global climate crisis can lead the stakeholders and businesses to consider sustainable business practices. They take out the time to consider sustainability problems and their consequences on social and environmental degradation. An interview with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development CEO revealed that the drivers for the change are our new generation motivated to collaborate with businesses that advocate for sustainability. Secondly, consumers' role is an important factor of change since they demand the companies to substantiate their claims of sustainability, and lastly, the motive to change for some businesses is competition (Hicks). The world is in dire need to recognize that the climate crisis is a human rights crisis to bring sustainability regarding the climate crisis. One cannot ignore these two reals' overlap by drawing out a false dichotomy with fallacious standpoints. For example, if a country is suffering from a detrimental pollution crisis, it cannot isolate the adverse effects of its pollution on human health. Put aside this false dichotomy and consider the reality that, indeed, every threat posed by the climate crisis is a social crisis.

There is a dire need to take a step towards sustainability by the current generation since it makes up more than half of the consumer bases for business, and most expectedly, most of which would be future leaders or business owners. Hence, it is at this time and age are the prime responsibility to take a personal stance against the issue that concerns the environment. It is rather risky to assume without any concrete evidence that individual actions do not constitute a change and that only huge actions can instigate change. The amalgamation of individual efforts into a collective action drives change in any situation. Incremental steps can bring about systemic change. If it is not for a single consumer to voice their opinion against the business's biodegradable practices, we would not have seen businesses adapting sustainable models. Individual practices help to signify the need for change. Big change cannot come about by themselves; they need a Kickstarter, and that Kickstarter is the individual choice that amalgamates into building the capacity for collective action.

The most significant step that this generation can take towards the climate crisis is to take a strong stance individually and use the influence to advocate for change in practices and policies that cause the environment's degradation. To advocate for the adoption of sustainable practices and take actions based on sustainable development goals. Therefore, making choices that are inclusive, integrative, advocate, and sustainable will help to eventually realize that the climate crisis is inevitable as it can be avoided by bringing change on a larger scale with small incremental actions.

Works Cited

Goodland, Robert. “The Concept of Environmental Sustainability.” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, vol. 26, 1995, pp. 1–24. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2097196. Accessed 2 Feb. 2021.

Best, Elisabeth, And Nikita Mitchell. "Millennials, Gen Z, And The Future Of Sustainability | Blog | BSR". Bsr.Org, 2018, https://www.bsr.org/en/our-insights/blog-view/millennials-generation-z-future-of-sustainable-business. Accessed 2 Feb 2021.

Woodward, Aylin. "Millennials And Gen Z Are Finally Gaining Ground In The Climate Battle — Here Are The Signs They are Winning". Business Insider, 2019, https://www.businessinsider.com/signs-millennials-gen-z-turning-tide-climate-change-2019-4?IR=T. Accessed 2 Feb 2021.

Kibert, Charles J., et al. "The ethics of sustainability." Retrieved on September 26 (2012): 2017.

Geiger, A.W. "18 Striking Findings From 2018". Pew Research Center, 2018, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/13/18-striking-findings-from-2018/.

Hicks, Robin. "Can Sustainable Business Really Save The World?". Eco-Business, 2019, https://www.eco-business.com/news/can-sustainable-business-really-save-the-world/?sw-signup=true.

“Climate Change.” Choices for America in a Turbulent World: Strategic Rethink, by James Dobbins et al., RAND Corporation, 2015, pp. 69–84. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt17mvhfj.13. Accessed 2 Feb. 2021.