We are living far beyond our means. You. Me. In fact, most of the people in the world do. It’s time that we started paying attention to our consumption and lifestyle patterns and becoming conscious of a topic that in the coming two decades will become increasingly relevant for the business world: Sustainability. Today, we begin a series of three interconnected articles wherein first we will gain an appreciation of the scope of the sustainability challenge by looking at the facts describing the current state of affairs (Part 1), then understand some of the reasons behind the challenge (Part 2 published in two weeks), and finally learn what each of us can do as a business leader, creative professional, policy-maker or consumer to rise to this challenge (Part 3).

The sustainability concept

In 1987, the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations proposed that “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Thereby, the three-pillar model posits that sustainability needs to harmonize environmental, social and economic interests:

• Environmental sustainability is development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Therefore, aspects like biodiversity, climate protection, preservation of natural biospheres and the resourcefulness toward the environment need to be considered.

• Social sustainability focuses on practices to ensure that the cohesion of society and its ability to work toward common goals are maintained. Individual needs such as those for health and well-being, nutrition, shelter, education, cultural expression as well as human rights or labor rights should be met.

• Economic sustainability occurs when development, which moves toward social and environmental sustainability, is financially feasible.

In a broader sense, the concept of sustainability describes the use of a regenerative system in a way that allows this system to keep its basic characteristics and naturally renew itself.

By 2030, we need a second planet

The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems. It captures the amount of productive land appropriated on average by each person (in the world, a country, etc.) for food, water, clothes, transportation, housing, waste management, and for binding the person’s CO2 emissions, among other purposes, and compares it with the amount of land that this person actually has available. In 2007, each human had 1.8 global hectares (gha) of productive land available to provide for his/her means, but on average consumed and utilized 2.7 gha. Thus, the ecological footprint of the average human being was 1.5. This means that the average human consumed 1.5 times more resources than nature can sustainably provide, whereby values vary and are much higher in the developed economies of the Western hemisphere and Middle-Eastern countries such as the UAE and Kuwait.

In its Living Planet Report 2010, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) calculated — assuming a “business as usual scenario” and using only modest growth rates for population, climate change and consumption — that by 2030, the ecological footprint of the average human goes beyond 2. This means that in 20 years, mankind will need the capacity of two Earths to absorb the CO2 emissions and provide for its natural resource consumption. Unfortunately, there is no second Earth that we can exploit to provide resources for our consumption needs.

Consequences of our living beyond our means

The overconsumption of the natural resources of our planet during the past decades has led to drastic implications on the biosphere and the bio-capacity in many countries. Here are selected facts that summarize some consequences of humanity’s living beyond its means:

• Since the 1970s, population numbers of 2,500 selected animal species have dropped by 30% worldwide (and in tropical countries even by 60%). This is due to habitat loss, over-exploitation of wild populations, pollution, climate change and the migration of invasive species into an ecosystem.

• 70% of all fish populations are endangered from overfishing.

• One billion people (i.e., almost a fifth of mankind) don’t have access to sufficient drinking water.

Experts widely agree that if mankind continues with a “business as usual” approach in the future, the consequences will be amplified extinction of species, pollution and climate change, and an increased likelihood of armed conflicts between countries competing for scarce resources (food, energy, water).

The sustainability challenge

Considering all these facts, in its Living Planet Report 2010, the WWF summarizes the sustainability challenge faced by mankind as follows: “In order to secure the future in all its complexity for generations to come, governments, businesses and individuals urgently need to translate these facts and figures into actions and policies — as well as anticipate both future opportunities and obstacles in the path to sustainability.”

What are the different perspectives on the sustainability challenge? Why do most governments and businesses fail to rise to the challenge? Come back to this column in two weeks, when we will continue looking at the long-term viability of human activities and what it means for business.

© Dr. Detlef Reis 2010. This article was published in parallel in the Bangkok Post under the same title on 9 December 2010.