The enrichment of previously poor countries is the most inspiring development of our time. It is also worrying. The environment is already under strain. What will happen when the global population rises from 7.156 billion today (that just happened according to UNPF) to 9.3 billion in 2050, as demographers expect, and a growing proportion of these people can afford goods that were once reserved for the elite? Can the planet support so much economic activity ?
Many policymakers adopt a topdown and Western-centric approach to such planetary problems. They discuss ambitions regulations in global forums, But since most people live in the emerging world, it makes sense to look at what successful companies there are doing to make growth more sustainable.
A new study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) identifies 16 emerging- market firms that they say are turning eco-consciousness into a source of competitive advantage. These highly profitable companies (which the study dubs "the new sustainability champions") are using greenery to reduce costs, motivate workers and forge relationships. Their home-grown ideas will probably be easier for their peers to copy than anything cooked up in the West.
The most sailent quality of these companies is that they turn limitations ( of resource, labour and infrastructure) into opportunities.
Exemplifying this, India's Shree Cement, which has long suffered from water shortages, developed the world's most water- efficient method for making cement, in part by using air-cooling rather than water-cooling.
Manila Water, a utility in the Philippines, reduced the amount of water it was losing, through wastage and illegal tapping, from 63% in 1997 to 12% in 2011 by making water affordable for the poor.
Seeting green goals is a common practice, Sekem, an Egyptian food producer, set itself the task of reclaiming desert land through organic farming. Florida Ice & Farm, a Costa Rican food and drink company, has adopted exacting standards for the amount of water it can consume in producing drinks. THese firms measure themselves by their greenery, too. There are examples galore to authenticate this attitudinal / intentional change that is happening in the business sector.
There are other logistical issues that needs to be taken into considerations.
In emerging markets it is hard for companies to stick to one specialism, because they have to worry about so many wider problems, from lousy infrastructure to unreliable supplly chains. So the sustainability champions seek to shape the business environment in which they operate. They lobby regulators: Grupo Balbo, a Brazilian organic-sugar producer, is working with the Brazilian government to establish a certification system for organic products. They from partnership with governments and NGOs. Kenya's Equity Bank has formed an alliance with groups such as The International Fund for Agricultural Development to reduce its risks when leading to smallholders to produce sustainable packaging , including a new "green" plastic derived from sugar cane.
The firms also work hard to reach and educate poor consumers, often sacrificing short-term profits to create future markets. Masisa organises local carpenters into networks and connects them to low- income furniture buyers. Broad Group has measuring air pollution that can fit into mobile phones.
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