High Tide

High Tide

Forget the financial crisis. We have a climate crisis and a natural resource crisis. We grow so fast and build so much that each week buildings the size of the city of New York are added to our planet. Experts predict that by 2050 we will be 9.5 billion people. The most critical shortage of all is our water supply. By then 60 percent of the world population will suffer severe shortages. A person needs a minimum of twenty litres a day to drink, cook, bath, and wash clothes – less than half of that will be available for humankind.

And what about our food? To produce a cup of coffee it takes 140 litres of water. A kilo of rice demands 3.000 litres; a litre of milk takes 1.000. Never mind about meat (15.500 litres per kg beef) and chocolate (24.000 litres per kg)…

How does this influence your business? Well, some countries have already passed laws that require business owners to report on their ecological ‘footprint’. Consumers are more reluctant to buy products from unsustainable suppliers. And investors, afraid of risks, have turned to ‘green’ investments only. Still many business owners believe there is a fundamental conflict between ‘sustainable’ and ‘affordable’. Surviving the economic crisis is the first priority for a company, they argue. Sustainability is not the Holy Grail. First profit; then going green.

What is your stance on going green?