sd conference aiaer jan. 2008
DESCRIPTION
the delicate topic of Sustainable Development through a book which I have co-authored and give to the audience also a perspective on how Education can sensitively provide support for this framework. I will participate in my role of affiliate professor of management and behavior for Grenoble Graduate School of Business, France ( www.ggsb.com) by mark esposito ([email protected])TRANSCRIPT
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF AIAER
onInternationalizing Higher Education
January 28-30, 2008
Sustainable Future of Mankind:„A Roadmap journey“
Mark Esposito, Ph.D.Affiliate Professor of Management & Behavior
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Outline
Hypothetical analysis
StrategicQuestions
Sustainable Development
Strategiesand Tools
Global Trends
• Population increases
• Natural systems decline
• Questions raised by trends
• SD definitions• New
approaches needed
• Eco-efficiency• Industrial
ecology• Design for
environment• Natural Step• Stakeholder
engagement/ dialogue
• Key performance indicators
Sections can be used individually or in combination and tailored as appropriate to any educational program or company’s situation. However, please note that these sections are intended as a resource to supplement internal presentations, rather than as the sole basis for the creation of such presentations.
What is a classical definition of sustainable development?
Social/Society Economy
Environment
Governance issue
Traditional domain of political economy (ethics and economy/management)
Time dimension
Space dimension
development seeking to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Source: Bruntland report (1987)
interdependencies
GlobalIssues
LocalIssues
old rich millions
affluence
“global people”
resource surpluses
causes of climate change
technological knowledge
theory driven researchpoor, young billions
poverty
“local people”
resource shortages
impacts of climate change
traditional knowledge
action driven researchDig
ital a
nd c
apac
ity d
ivid
es
Reveal profound differences in problems and perspectives…
What we Know - State of the world environment warrants attention
1. Population (x billion people) 2.5 3.8 5.8 10.7 2. Megacities (>8 million) 2 9 25 200 3. Food (calories/capita) 1980 2450 2770 22004. Fisheries (Million ton/yr) 19 58 91 355. Water Use (km3/yr) 1300 2600 4200 75006. Rainforest (1950=100) 100 85 70 457. CO2 Emissions (billion ton/yr) 1.6 4.9 7.0 14.0
8. Ozone Layer (CFC’s in ppb) – 1.4 3.0 7.0
Source: World Resource Institute, 1996
1950 1972 1997 2050
The challenge of sustainable development arises from these two major converging trends.
Decline in resource availability and ecosystems
Impact = Population x Consumption x Technology
Diminishing margin for action
Sustainability
World population is increasing to unprecedented levels.
Massive flows of material and energy are used to meet the needs of this expanding population.
Source: USGS
1900 19601920 1940 1980 19950
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000Millions of Metric Short Tons
Raw Materials Consumed in the US -More than all previous societies combined
Graph of population growth
These trends are leading to a decline in the health and capacity of natural systems worldwide.
Biologists: greatest extinction rate in 63 million years
Global 50% drop in freshwater available per person
13 out of 17 fisheries collapsed or endangered
Forest losses equal to area of UK/year, plus reduced diversity, acid rain etc.
30-80% topsoil losses significantly reduce diversity, absorptive capacity, and agricultural productivity
Carbon Emissions from Fossil Fuel and Cement
0
1000000
2000000
3000000
4000000
5000000
6000000
7000000
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
Mil
lio
n M
etri
c T
on
s o
f C
arb
on
Central and South America
Africa
Far East
Centrally Planned Asia
Middle East
Centrally Planned Europe
Oceania
Western Europe
Germany
North America
Source: CDIAC
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are rising.
Surface temperatures have warmed over the past century.
WORLDWORLDRESOURCESRESOURCES
INSTITUTEINSTITUTE
At the same time, millions of people worldwide are struggling to meet their basic needs.
1.3 billion people live in absolute poverty, with incomes less than $1/day (World Bank)
841 million people in developing countries suffer from basic protein-energy malnutrition (UN Food and Agriculture Organization)
Nearly 1 billion people either cannot work or are employed in jobs where they cannot support their family (International Labor Organization)
11.7%
2.3%
1.9%
1.4%
Richest Fifth
Poorest Fifth
(UNDP, Human Development Report 1992)
82.7%
Distribution of Total World Income
This discussion is framed under the term Sustainable Development, which can be defined several ways.
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
The simultaneous pursuit of a triple bottom line:
Economic prosperity Environmental quality Social equity
A better quality of life for everyone now and for generations to come
Companies evolve in how they manage
environmental and related issues.
Environmental Compliance
Risk Management
Sustainable Development
“End-of-pipe”
Limit impact of current activities
Pollution prevention;Management systems Redesign to eliminate impacts of activities
Strategic integration Change activities and design of industrial system
Given the scale and nature of environmental problems, we need new mental models and ways of thinking to solve them.
Problems cannot be solved within the mindset that created them.
Albert Einstein
Developing strategies to pursue sustainable development requires new approaches.
Compartmentalized thinking - focused on parts in isolation
Traditional Approach Sustainable Approach
Systems thinking - focused on interdependence of parts and optimizing whole system
Environment/social implications addressed by staff specialist after strategic decisions made
Environmental/social implications considered by decision-makers in designing strategy
Forecasting: where are we today- how do we improve 5%
Backcasting: what would sustainable world look like in 30 years – how do we get there?
Company’s position is the way Stakeholder engagement to understand diverse points of view to find better solution
Redesigning our industrial system to be sustainable requires a shared framework to understand how nature works.
What are the root causes of why our industrial systems create environmental degradation?
Where might these environmental trends create a barrier or problem for our business in the future?
Understanding these issues can contribute to creating a strategy that avoids these problems
and finds the growth opportunity.
An organism’s survival depends on two critical functions from its
environment: provision of resources and absorption of wastes.
Organism Organism
SourceSink
Provide resources:• Water • Clean air• Nutrients
Absorb wastes and by products
The same principle applies at larger scales, e.g., to an company,
industry, or economy.
EnvironmentEnvironment
To maintain the integrity of these valuable services, we need to understand how nature works.
No Waste
• Nature works in cycles
• There is no waste - what is unused by one species becomes nutrients for the next
• The sun’s energy drives the process:
Green celled plants using photosynthesis create net concentration and structure
In contrast, our industrial system functions primarily in
a linear fashion.
Take Make Waste
Only 6% of material flow in ends up in products
Source: Hawken, Lovins, Natural Capitalism
Take “natural capital,” structured valuable material, and process it into unusable waste
This industrial system, operating on an ever larger scale, is embedded in and affecting nature’s cycle.
The impact of our expanding industrial system on the
environment affects both sources and sinks.
Sources
Key resource bases are being exploited at rates faster than their ability to regenerate.
Sinks
The available land area where nature can break down and recycle wastes is shrinking.
The quantity and types of wastes created by industrial societies cannot be fully absorbed and recycled by nature.Forests
FisheriesTopsoilGroundwaterFreshwater
CO2
NOxSynthetic compounds (CFC’s, DDT)
Urban developmentDeforestationDesertification
Economy Economy
EnvironmentEnvironment
These impacts can create unexpected barriers for business.
3M decided to phase out production of Scotchguard (2% of annual sales) after finding trace amounts in blood samples of people and wildlife worldwide, even in countries where the product was never sold or manufactured. ($1 million charge against earnings in 2000)
An activist group has convinced 250 major companies to commit to phasing out all purchases of old growth forest products.
At BHP’s large copper mine in Papa New Guinea, mine tailings have drained into a river for 15 years. This has led to class action legal claims and public scrutiny.
Shell faced NGO outrage and consumer boycotts of its gas stations over its decision to dispose the Brent Spar oil platform at sea.
Where is our company potentially vulnerable when considering these impacts?
SourcesSinks
Are we dependent on a threatened or sensitive natural resource?
What “sinks” are we dependent on that may reach capacity, for example:• Global atmosphere?• Local air quality?• Human/wildlife capacity to absorb toxic substances?
Economy Economy
EnvironmentEnvironment
How can our company find the opportunity for business growth by reacting proactively to these impacts?
• How can we help customers who may be facing a “sink” or waste limit, e.g., using waste as alternative fuels?
• How can we use more closed-loop production processes to save energy, water, or materials?
• How can we collaborate with other industrial partners to operate our industrial system in a cyclic way?
• How can we increase productive land area and improve biodiversity?
• How can we be strategic about using emission trading schemes to gain business advantage?
Other barriers for business can arise when people feel their needs are not met or they are being treated
unfairly. Testimonial: http://www.wbcsd.org/web/stream/sl/procter/pur.html
Global human rights groups and labor organizations are focusing increased attention on corporate practices.
The Internet can be used to quickly disseminate information about corporate practices worldwide.
Shell was the subject of condemnation and boycotts by NGOs associated with its operations in Nigeria. It was viewed as having complicit involvement in the violations of human rights by state security forces and the lack of economic benefits of oil production for local communities.
Redesigning our industrial system to be sustainable also requires consideration of business’ role in meeting human and societal needs.
How does our company contribute to the health of the communities it operates in?
What are the social responsibilities of our business and how effectively are we fulfilling these?
How can our business find opportunity in serving markets where basic human needs are not met?
How can our company differentiate itself in how it treats it workers to attract and retain talented employees?
The Sustainability “Stool”
Education for Sustainable
Development
Environmental
Principles
Social
Principl
es
EconomicPrinciples
STUDENT
ATTITUDE SK
ILLS
KNOWLEDGE
BUILDING CAPACITY for A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
8
ATTITUDE:
• Sustainability
• Cooperative
SKILLS
• Integral approach
• Application oriented
• Systemic
• Communicative
KNOWLEDGE
• Technology
• Culture ( Behavior, Need-orientation)
• Structure (Institutions, Economy etc)
BUILDING CAPACITY for A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
2000 UN Millenium Summit
Halve Extreme Poverty
UniversalPrimary
Education
Empowerment ofWomen/ gender
equality
Reduce <5mortality
by 2/3
Reduce maternalmortality
by 3/4
Reverse spread of diseases, esp. HIV/AIDS, Malaria
EnsureEnvironmentalSustainability
Form a Global
DevelopmentPartnership
for aid, trade, debt relief
Millennium
Development Goalsby 2015
Background/ History cont’d…
References
Video references
http://www.wbcsd.org
http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org/