Peter J. Patsula, Jan. 19, 2007
Although humanity seems to have an almost unlimited imagination and
propensity to mold and control its environment, it has become quite
clea
r
that our world and its inhabitants are indeed constrained and limited
by planetary resources. It has been predicted that commercial fish supplies
might be exhausted by the year 2050 (Telegraph,
Apr. 2006), the polar ice caps might cease to exist by 2060 (Time,
Mar. 26, 2006) with half of Earth's Species eliminated (USA
Today, Jan. 11, 2007), and by 2100, 60% of the Amazon Rain Forest
might transform into less habitable savanna with enormous consequences
to the world's biodiversity (Scientific
American, Jan. 31, 2005).
But it's not just the environment we have to be concerned about. If
current business practices continue, fueled by the sole mission of incurring
profit no matter what the expense, our carefully created way of life
might suddenly implode with increasing acts of terrorism, civil wars,
and corporate corruption, leading to further governmental control and
loss of personal freedom.
Entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford, Sam Walton, J. Paul Getty, Ray Kroc,
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch, and Sony founder Morita Akio
have
all made our world a more interesting, convenient, and exciting place.
In fact, it is easily arguable that these and other such visionaries
have changed the world much more so than any politician. However, with
the good comes the bad. Air pollution, noise pollution,
water pollution, trade disputes, poverty, and many other modern day
problems and conflicts can be traced back to the ever increasing desire
for consumerism and exploitive capitalism, as the rich get richer and
the poor get forgotten.
Business is good, but business can also be bad if it remains unrestrained
by social conscious. Fortunately, the world is waking up to the paradoxes
within capitalism and increasingly entrepreneurs are not only hoping,
but striving in greater numbers to establish company policies that are
not only profitable, but also engender ethical and sustainable business
practices that help create a better world.
In the long term, sustainable business and sustainable development
will be good for business. With the right vision and right motivation,
the sooner it will become, as it most certainly needs to be, the entrepreneurial
paradigm of the new millennium.
Further Reading: Listed below are articles and links
addressing further some of the above issues.
Post comments at the "Entrepreneurs for a Sustainable Planet"
Blog at EFASP.org.
Sustainable Development
"The past 20 years have seen a growing realization that the current
model of development is unsustainable. In other words, we are living
beyond our means. From the loss of biodiversity with the felling of
rainforests or over fishing to the negative effect our consumption patterns
are having on the environment and the climate. Our way of life is placing
an increasing burden on the planet." ... continue
reading (UK Government Sustainable Development Website)
Sustainable development can be defined as "Development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs." United
Nations Division for Sustainable Development
"The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken
into four constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic
sustainability, social sustainability and political sustainability."
Wikipedia
Further Reading: Listed below are articles, quotes,
and links addressing the need for sustainable business practices and
development.
-
WBCSD.org.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development brings together
180 + international companies in a shared commitment to sustainable
development through economic growth, ecological balance and social
progress.
-
IISD.org. As
a policy research institute, the International Institute for Sustainable
Development is in the business of promoting change towards sustainable
development. Established in 1990, IISD is a Canadian-based not-for-profit
organization with a diverse team of more than 150 people located
in more than 30 countries.
-
ISO
9000 and 14000. The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards are implemented
by 800,000+ organizations in over 160 countries. The ISO 9000 family
is primarily concerned with "quality management" addressing
issues such as customer quality requirements, regulatory requirements,
and customer satisfaction. It has become an international reference
for quality management requirements in business-to-business dealings.
The ISO 14000 family is a series of international standards on environmental
management. The ISO 14001 has a number of benefits
to a business.
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Caseplace.org.
Contains teaching materials on business and sustainability - from
corporate governance to sustainable development. Its business case
studies typical pose social and environmental challenges within
traditional business problems.
-
"Can
Corporations Save the World" by Carlye Adler, Nov. 2006.
Forbes
-
"Sustainable
Development Quotes" 200+ quotes from the likes of development
emissaries such as Al Gore, Sir David Attenborough, Margaret Thatcher,
Theodore Roosevelt, Tony Blair, and Confucius.
Post comments at the "Entrepreneurs for a Sustainable Planet"
Blog at EFASP.org.
What is a Social Entrepreneur?
A social entrepreneur is "a pragmatic visionary
who achieves large scale, systemic and sustainable social change through
a new invention, a different approach, a more rigorous application of
known technologies or strategies, or a combination of these. Combines
the characteristics represented by Richard Branson and Mother Teresa."
The
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
Further Reading: Listed below are additional
articles, quotes, and links addressing social entrepreneurship and the
social entrepreneur.
-
Social entrepreneurs are "individuals with innovative solutions
to society’s most pressing social problems." Ashoka.org
-
A social entrepreneur is "someone who recognizes a social
problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create,
and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas business entrepreneurs
typically measure performance in profit and return, social entrepreneurs
assess their success in terms of the impact they have on society
and often work through nonprofits and citizen groups." Wikipedia.org
-
Dr. Muhammad Yunus (born June 28, 1940) one of the world's most
notable social entrepreneurs is a Bangladeshi banker and economist
who founded the Grameen Bank:
"Banking for the Poor." In 2006, Yunus and the bank were
jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to create
economic and social development.
-
Social Edge.
Social Edge has become a site where social entrepreneurs, nonprofit
professionals, philanthropists and other practitioners of the social
sector connect to network, learn, inspire and share resources. Great
blogs.
Post comments at the "Entrepreneurs for a Sustainable Planet"
Blog at EFASP.org.
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