By Jonathon Hanks
Published in Bidvest’s internal magazine
“Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest warnings, we have entered upon a period of danger. The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedience of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences; we cannot avoid this period, we are in it now.”
These words could easily have been echoing through the plenary of the Bella Centre in Copenhagen in December 2009, at one of the largest-ever gatherings of global leaders who came together with the hope of addressing one of society’s most pressing challenges: global climate change. Despite the distraction of a few dissenting voices, there is now sufficient evidence that human-induced global warming presents a fundamental threat to human security and prosperity. Global policy-makers and scientists are largely at one – the science has given us the plainest warnings, we have entered a period of danger, and the era of procrastination should be coming to its close.
For many South African executives the concept of sustainable development carries with it a great deal of baggage.
Dismissed as the rallying cry of earnest environmentalists, and as the subject of various well-meaning (but rather pointless) UN summits, sustainability is typically seen as quite distinct from the supposed ‘business of business’: maximising shareholder value.
By Georgina Combes (13 Sept 2010)
At a recent lunchtime talk at Cape Town’s Democracy Centre, Dr Guy Midgley, Chief Director of the Climate Change and BioAdaptation Division at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, spoke about climate change and how we relate to it as scientists and non-scientists. One of his first slides was this quote from Tim Harford, aka The Undercover Economist:
Few humans are capable of making serious sacrifices for the unborn grandchildren of total strangers which is the basic selling point of voluntary action on climate change.
On this basis, the outlook is depressing. As Mr Harford positions it, the likelihood that anyone will voluntarily be nice and embrace sustainable behaviours is slim.
