Real change requires responsibility

“There needs to be better policy control”
“Companies must take more responsibility”
“Customer demand is necessary to drive the change”

We see headlines like this all the time. The reality is that while everyone in the system is mindlessly blaming one another they aren’t taking a stance to provide a solution. And so, “sustainability” has evolved into a vague and monstrous concept that no one knows how to tackle.

Businesses are chained to their ways of sourcing, production, and manufacturing, making change an almost impossible task. Governments themselves are involved in some of the most highly polluting environmental activities. And consumers, frankly, are not provided with better alternatives to what is already out there and are so preoccupied with their daily lives that sustainable choice becomes a burden that falls by the wayside. Especially in moments like this as we face a once in a generation cost of living crisis.

Becoming sustainable is not as simple as process optimisation, waste reduction or better energy consumption. It is a behavioural change that encompasses every single decision we make as individuals, organisations and governments.

We live in a world where financial gains drive everything. Meaning the benefit of the nation is not necessarily on top of every businesses’ agenda. This leads us to the point that we are at now; on the brink of climate catastrophe and possible mass extinction. It might be hard to believe that, since the industrial revolution, only 90 companies have been responsible for two-thirds of all global man-made emissions but it is an empirical fact. While the consequences of these activities have brought us to this point, the mechanisms could also be the tool that brings about change. We can use the fast-paced nature of business to promote environmental innovation in a climate where responsibility has become an empty term.

Imagine a country where businesses only act in the benefit of their society. Naturally, their main objective is to safeguard the most vital needs of their nation: health, safety, and growth. Their core values and activities are built to preserve the land they are based on, the air that their neighbours breathe and the economic growth that guarantees a dynamic and evolving future for everyone in society. With this at the core of their strategies, businesses are held accountable for their actions by themselves and by us. They are intrinsically accepting responsibility for their activities and all the resulting impacts. Call me a dreamer, but that is how you drive change! By promoting responsibility. By planting the seed of change in the minds of those who are able to drive it.

We need to transform the current cycle of irresponsibility into one where businesses are proactively incorporating sustainability and not just paying lip service to the cause. Making decisions which are both in the interest of their own financial gains and their consumers’ needs (i.e. ethical in its all-encompassing definition). From this angle, sustainable business models are a no-brainer. The knock-on effect of this change would be increasing willingness from governments to work alongside businesses to drive more ambitious and impactful changes, and to encourage innovation on a much grander scale. Lastly, and rightly so, consumers would be guaranteed responsible products and are relieved of the task of having to research and make “the right decision”.

The question is: how do we make this happen?

Mehrnaz Tajmir is the Co-Founder and Chief Science at Greener