Scientists the world over are in agreement: The earth’s resources are depleting at unprecedented rates and ecosystems all over the planet are in decline. Is this the end of the world as we know it or is it a massive opportunity for the endless inventiveness of humanity?
There is evidence that human beings are rising to the occasion by developing innovative solutions to the problems that confront us. Interestingly, many of these solutions are coming from industry and big business, usually the prime suspects for the cause of environmental crises.
What these pioneers are illustrating is that business in the 21st century must move towards a new model of capitalism, or risk jeopardising the future of the planet and, of course, their own existence. This new model does not insist that they compromise growth or even profitability. Instead it suggests simply that profitability needs to be based on a sustainable model of ecological innovation. Ecovation is the process by which responsible capitalism aligns with ecological innovation to construct products which have a generative nature and are recyclable back into the environment for usage in other industries.
Many scientists, entrepreneurs and business owners are investing time, money and resources into discovering innovations that serve the environment while still making good business sense. In fact, environmental technology — or green technology — is currently estimated at a value of 550billion Euros annually worldwide.
These Ecovation leaders are turning challenges into opportunities and looking to nature for their inspiration. Unlike humankind, nature knows no waste. Every natural ecosystem works in harmony — one species’ by-product is another’s sustenance — while in contrast, our human-made systems often create more waste than actual goods produced.
A recent article on the IOL website entitled, “Our Wasteful Consumers”, claimed that the global community dumps an estimated 50 million tons of unused food into landfills each year. Within the current context of worldwide food shortages, this is an alarming statistic. Unfortunately, other precious resources like water and air are suffering from poor management and planning too.
The good news, however, is that big problems mean there is big room for improvement.
Several new inventions are making inroads on the market in order to fill this space, and trends show that, where affordable, consumers are likely to make greener buying choices. Businesses that invest in green technology today will stand to win over a growing market of ecologically conscious consumers in the future.
Furthermore, companies that cut out waste in their production cycles also stand to save money, as Lean Management principles in the motor industry clearly demonstrate. So, both the environmental and financial imperatives exist to push ecovation forward as the new model for capitalism.
Many exciting examples of environmental technology have emerged over the past few years, from biofuels and inventions that harness natural energy to air purifying tiles and anti-bacterial bamboo sheets.
Engineering and architectural design are two disciplines that are increasingly embracing the green movement as people and businesses start demanding more efficient buildings with a smaller impact on the environment. From recycled bricks, straw wall insulation, solar energy and VOC-free paint, to anti-pollution tiles and grey water recycling tanks, seemingly every aspect of construction and interior design is getting a green makeover.
Some people may be put off by the extra cost of these innovations upfront, but the money they will save in the long term is worth the initial investment. And considering South Africa’s current energy crisis and impending electricity price hike, looking to alternative energy sources and removing yourself from the national grid finally seems to be an attractive option.
The demand for biodegradable alternatives to plastic and packaging is also growing and several such products are making their way into the South African market. Unlike conventional packaging, which is made from toxic chemicals and takes hundreds of years to degrade, these alternatives are 100% natural and break down into water, CO2 and compost in as little as 45 days. What’s more , they look, feel and function in exactly the same way as conventional packaging. Exclusive Books, The Body Shop and the Young Designers Emporium have already brought these biodegradable bags into their stores.
Such strides towards ecological innovation also make good business sense as they enhance the reputation of your business and help to build brand loyalty.
These simple examples demonstrate that a move towards sustainability doesn’t necessarily mean giving up the luxuries and comforts we have become accustomed to. It just requires looking for smarter, cleaner, more efficient ways of doing and making the same — or better — things.
It makes sense for the planet, it makes sense for consumers and in the long term it makes financial sense to go green. It has been stated that, in future, the two most pertinent questions which consumers will require businesses they purchase from to answer will be: Where does it come from, and where is it going to?
It is at one’s peril that these questions are ignored in manufacturing and production of consumer goods and services.
The scene is set for business to join the ecovation movement and nature seems to be the blueprint to follow on this quest towards an ecologically innovative model for capitalism.
Elaine
Interestingly today on the radio in Germany (which is where I live) it was announced that normal lightbulbs will be phased out in the European Union. Legislation is being passed that will make energy saving light bulbs compulsory by 2010, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
In Germany one can even begin at home and not leave everything to big business: one sorts paper, plastic/packaging, biodegradable and normal rubbish and pays accordingly for its disposal. Industry pays for the so-called “Gelbesack” i.e. packaging materials.
Vehicles are also increasingly being taxed according to their emission levels (newer vehicles with better technology are cheaper in the long term, due to such tax savings).
There is so much that can be done. I hope South Africans finally learn to separate their rubbish. That would be a start.
Lisa – Thanks for your comments. I am even more interested in ways in which we can move away from the “Throw Away” culture. New Scientist released an article earlier on in the year which spoke about a smart rubber
http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13354 that had been synthesised from fatty acids and urea (resources which are both cheap and easily renewable). This self mending rubber can be put back together in under thirty seconds. What if we could effortlessly fix things instead of automaticallly throwing them away when they appeared broken e.g. children’s toys? It is this kind of mindset which interests me and what fascinates me about the possibilities of the ethos underlying Ecovation.
How dare you ??? Bush Junior has already told all of us, over and over, that ecosystems are not at stake. They regenerate by themselves…!!!
I say they should hook up the machines at all gyms to generators.
If recycling of our dirt bin would be profitabel, it would have been done a long time ago. Only our cheap labour of sorting it, storing it finally delivering it to the muncipal containers , keeps the business going. We deliver the sorted raw material und get nothing for it.
All the separate dirt bins at home, one for colour glas, one for clear glas(without the screw top which has off course to go into the metal bin), one for metal and tin cans (have to be cleaned obviously), one for paper, the one for plastic and not to forget the one for “Restmüll” take a few square meters away from my living space. Space I have to pay for.
Then the find out, that power stations cannot use the sorted dirt (Restmüll) as it does not produce enough energy. So they quickly add the sorted out plastic to it again.
On the radio, one “separation expert” who promoted even the sorting of the different plastics was asked on, how to do so, answered : “You take a lighter, light the plastic and if the flame turns green, then you know it is PVC, if the flame turns blue ….. etc. etc.
In Japan, some separation fanatics even demanded next to clear dirt bags, that the disposer of a bag has to write name and address onto it! Wow, this would have opend unlimited possibility if I did not like my neighbour.
Guess, you just touched my pet hate. But what happens in Europe I call “eco – terror”.
I rest my case
I can’t help thinking that in countries such as South Africa, where the population is still growing enourmously, the entire green movement is flawed.
All it is allowing us to do is to fit more people in our country by being slightly greener per person which at best will delay the onset of problems resulting from overpopulation.
Its time the government took some initiative and produced public campaigns educating people of the benefits of smaller families – although their relative silence on the AIDs issue may be their approach to addressing this issue?
Nope. Capitalism (a system of extracting profit from natural capital) is the problem. Sure, there may be some green-wash, and a few brave firms trying alternatives. But, well, follow the money. See how much goes to alternatives, and how much to oil, coal, etc. Under the capitalist system.
Dear Elaine,
Continuous economic growth on a finite planet is unsustainable.
What is driving the treadmill of perpetual economic growth is a monetary/economic system based on compound interest, fractional reserve banking and debt money.
We will change nothing if we do not change the way money works.
Sure we need more energy efficient technology and more recycling.
But to avert environmental destruction and depletion of our finite resources we are going to need much more than that.
We need to transition speedily to a steady-state economy based on recycling and renewable energy.
To achieve this we need fundamental monetary reform-in the form of democratic control of the money supply and seigniorage, full reserve banking and social credit as opposed to the traditional left alternative of a central command economy.
Please read Prof Herman Daly’s book “Towards a Steady State Economy.
We will need re-localisation of the economy such as the expanding Transition Town movements and the use of local interest-free currencies as well.
Yaj Chetty
Policy Director
SA New Economics
http://www.sane.org.za
Ecovation – Be serious now Elaine. Capitalism will always invent many attractive concepts to make you think it cares about the environment. The point is, to create and fund research that would uncover new ways of justifying profit-making. The prime interest of capital is to extract, from resources, as much extensive as can be extracted for bigger and better profit margins.
Elaine
Yai has been pushing SANE for months. He wants us to print our own money – just like Zimbabwe. Please do read the site and give some intelligent comment. I have given up.
@Lyndall
Given the global credit crisis and threat of global financial meltdown in the not-so-distant future, we may have to consider some kind of financial decoupling from a system that is currently on life support. So we may actually not be as insane as you seem to suggest (pardon the pun). We could start with local parallel currencies as a means to implementing a basic income grant to revitalise the so-called second economy. Many local initiatives have sprung up organically all over the world using LETS systems(local exchange trading systems).In fact, SANE started its own highly successful LETS or community exhange system -please see http://www.ces.org.za
These LETS systems do work but have their limitations.
To use the example of Zimbabwe is unfair as there are other dynamics involved including crippling financial sanctions, hyperinflation due to overprinting of their money supply.The global financial system may be following the same path as the Zimbabwean economy.
The Bank of International Settlements as well as the Royal Bank of Scotland have issued warnings of a major stock market crash in the next 3 months and of similar conditions to the Great Depression. With the price of crude oil predicted to rise to $250.00 such a situation cannot be dismissed.
The FED and the ECB and the BOE are doing all they possibly can , pulling out all the stops desperately trying to prevent a total financial meltdown but may only be succeeding in delaying what is inevitable and playing for time.
The collapse of the $US dollar is not helping to boost confidence.Remember that it is not just the subprime mortgage crisis, there is also the ARM-adjustable rate mortgages which will kick in with higher interest rates and worsen the financial wreckage.
So please do not be smug and dismiss SANE as a bunch of crackpots , because we may be very useful in the near future in providing financial lifeboats for stricken communities.
Yaj
Yai
Inflation only started AFTER the world went OFF the gold standard about 80 years ago; BECAUSE governments could print their own money without having to have gold to back it up.
You want a “sane” solution – promote a return to the gold standard.
Lyndall
I thought it was 1971 when Richard Nixon unilaterally abandoned the gold standard??
Given our debt money system and fiat money system there is not enough gold to match all the money/debt that is currently in circulation which has grown exponentially and certainly nothinbg close to enough gold around to fuel economic growth in perpetuity -which is unsustainable in itself. So going back to the gold standard would necessitate a popping of the debt bubble and global economic contraction.
Yaj
Yaj
Yai
The reason there is so much printed money, inflation and debt, is because we now use the dollar standard – which is itself paper.
Going back to the gold standard would mean devaluing currencies. So what? If they all have to devalue.
As far as I remember it was about 80 years ago the world went off the gold standard and onto the dollar standard. Maybe the dollar WAS backed by gold then?
Yai
Just read an article you wrote about interest rates. Agree with you there.
Instead of exploring a new kind of “paper” money – what about thinking what would happen if South Africa, and possibly only South Africa, went back on the gold standard. We would probably have the only stable currency in the world.
Yai
Just heard – the rest of the world did go off the gold standard an on to the dollar standard WHEN the dollar was still backed by gold!
The Americzns were on the gold atandard till 1971.
By the way, heard you on the radio today!
There has been a lot of confusion around the terms biodegradable and degradable. Consumers are being duped into thinking that ‘degradable’ plastic is less harmful to the environment. However this is not the case. Please read my article http://mouth-of-word.blogspot.com/2008/08/end-of-road-for-plastic.html
I’m no expert, but if profit related pay is concerned how much of the 650k pension does Fred Goodwin deserve? I believe the government should strip him of the pension he doesnt deserve. The RBS made recorded losses last year of 24 billion UKP.
Breast enhancement pills are generally herbal based formulas that trigger the secretion of hormones related to breast tissue, such as progesterone and estrogen.