Despite the fact that some of the environmental concerns of the 90s were addressed in 2000s, the hype for environmentalism seems to be gaining increasingly more significance. Green economy is often viewed as the alternative to the current approach towards consumption. Traditionally, green economy is defined as the attempt of developing the economic strategy that will allow for a reasonable allocation of natural resources and the practice of sustainability.
Emerging in 1990s and gaining significance in 2000s, the above-mentioned approach is also known as “a range of activities which are dependent on the regions’ natural and historic built environment or which are involved in protecting or improving the environment” (Sydney Olympic Park Authority 9). The concept of sustainability, which is often mentioned as the key building block of green economy, can be interpreted as rational usage of natural resources, both inexhaustible and exhaustible ones.
In regard to the above-mentioned definitions, the issues raised in the interview conducted with a representative of the concerned party, i.e., an “instructor at UCRI” (Lastname, personal communication, 2015), as the respondent called herself, sheds some light on the idea of integrating the basic principles of sustainability into the framework of a company’s operations.
Being interested in the promotion of a sustainable approach in all domains of modern life, the interviewee makes it very clear that her concept of sustainability as the development of industry that may coexist with the environment without altering it drastically. In fact, the interviewee has raised a very peculiar point concerning the definition of sustainability by saying that coming up with one is rather hard due to the numerous factors involved.
In other words, the interview with the person in question prompts the idea that the definition for the subject matter, in fact, cannot be coined at all. The above-mentioned remark leads to a rather dark supposition concerning the impossibility to reach the level of sustainable development.
In other words, it can be assumed that, no matter how the production process in industries might be improved, negative consequences affecting nature will always remain a problem. Therefore, the interview shows in a rather graphic way that sustainable development cannot be attained in its entirety, yet needs to be strived for.
In addition, the interviewee provides a rather peculiar idea of what entrepreneurships need to do in order to enhance the sustainability based policy in their operations: “We need increased transparency about not only how these things are being conducted, but also, you know, ultimately, at some level I think it comes down to people voting with their wallet and, you know, the cheaper product is always going to win” (Lastname, personal communication, 2015).
Particularly, the interviewee mentions the significance of transparency as the key towards management of modern organizations. Indeed, by keeping a close focus on the key steps that an organization makes, the society is most likely to affect the choices of the organization under analysis, therefore, making it incline towards a more sustainable use of resources.
One must admit, though, that the suggested approach may conflict with the policies concerning the non-disclosure ethics in most organizations; unless the necessity for companies to be transparent is established on a statewide level officially and is acknowledged by the existing legal system, further violations of the environmental ethics are most likely to become a possibility.
The food security, as well as the security of energy and water security, can also be considered very vast topics that need to be addressed separately with the further synthesis of the information acquired in the process.
Indeed, seeing that the issues mentioned above are dependent on a variety of factors, including the social, the economic and the political ones, they do need a separate study: “With all these questions in order for us to develop some sort of like sustainability idea or consumption we have to think about it as a whole ecosystem” (Lastname, personal communication, 2015).
However, the link that exists between them still requires that the outcomes of these studies should be put together in a search for the solution that could accommodate every stakeholder involved. As far as the issue that could connect the three problems in question, the consumption concern needs to be addressed.
As the respondent explains, the increased rates of consumption affect the environment not only as the key cause of natural resources exhaustion, but also the enhancement of industries and, thus, the increase of their negative impact on the environment. Indeed, the current rates of consumerism are beyond admissible; defining the problems that the humankind has to face regarding the lack of resources, the rise in the environmental pollution rates, etc.
Despite the fact that similar concerns were raised several decades ago, a comparatively small progress has been made so far, the current industries still putting a very strong emphasis on the enhancement of their performance rather than on the effects that their operations have on the environment and health issues development. In this regard, it was rather unexpected to hear the respondent omit the concept of green economy and green philosophy in general.
An essential step towards reasonable use of resources, sustainability must be incorporated into the framework of modern organizational along with other tools suggested by the respondent, including green economy. It would be naĂŻve to assume that the introduction of green economy principles will eradicate the current environmental concerns; however, it will provide more avenues for addressing the latter. As long as people realize the significance of the green strategy, new opportunities for improvement will emerge
Works Cited
Sydney Olympic Park Authority 2005, State of Environment Report. 2015. Web.