What is Environmental Sustainability?
Environmental sustainability involves making decisions and
taking action that are in the interests of protecting the natural world, with
particular emphasis on preserving the capability of the environment to support
human life. It is an important topic at the present time, as people are realizing
the full impact that businesses and individuals can have on the environment.
Environmental
sustainability is about making responsible decisions that will reduce your
business' negative impact on the environment. It is not simply about reducing
the amount of waste you produce or using less energy, but is concerned with
developing processes that will lead to businesses becoming completely
sustainable in the future.
Currently,
environmental sustainability is a topical issue that receives plenty of
attention from the media and from different governmental divisions. This is a
result of the amount of research going into assessing the impact that human
activity can have on the environment. Although the long term implications of
this serious issue are not yet fully understood, it is generally agreed that
the risk is high enough to merit an immediate response. Businesses are expected
to lead in the area of environmental sustainability as they are considered to
be the biggest contributors and are also in a position where they can make a
significant difference.
Businesses can possibly cause damage to all areas of the
environment. Some of the common environmental concerns include:
·
damaging
rainforests and woodlands through logging and agricultural clearance
·
polluting
and over-fishing of oceans, rivers and lakes
·
polluting
the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels
·
damaging
prime agricultural and cultivated land through the use of unsustainable farming
practices
For much of the past, most businesses have acted with little
regard or concern for the negative impact they have on the environment. Many
large and small organizations are remorseful of pointedly polluting the
environment and engaging in practices that are simply not sustainable. However,
there are now an increasing number of businesses that are committed to reducing
their damaging impact and even working towards having a positive influence on
environmental sustainability.
Environmental sustainability forces businesses to look past
making short term improvements and look at the long term impact they are having
on the natural world. You need to consider not only the immediate impact your
actions have on the environment, but the long term consequences as well. For
example, when manufacturing a product, you need to look at the environmental
impact of the products entire life cycle, from development to disposal before finalizing
your designs (Environmental Sustainability, 2012).
Why is Sustainability Important / Our Future Depends Upon
It
Sustainability is important because all the choices we
pursue and all the actions that we make today will affect everything in the
future. We need to make comprehensive decisions at present in order to avoid
limiting the choices of generations to come.
For example, if you continue wasting water and polluting
the dwindling supply of freshwater that we have today, we leave impending
generations with no other choice than to desalinate saltwater or treat polluted
water for their consumption and daily use. We can also be assured that, if that
happens, all life that depends on clean freshwater will become extinct.
The same goes with the supply of soil that we currently
have. Without proper care, our soils can easily lose quality enough that they
will no longer be able to encourage growth and sustain life. If that happens,
future civilizations will be void of crop and other natural sources of food.
They will then have no other choice but to create man-made sources for
nourishment and sustenance.
Why is Sustainability Important / Extinction Will Prevail
The two examples described above may seem terrible but,
in fact, those are not the worst circumstances we can leave the future of
mankind with. If clean water and good soil become scarce enough, all life on
Earth can become extinct. Keep in mind that this does not just apply to soil
and water but all elements of nature that are crucial to sustaining the Earth’s
equilibrium.
In the past, the entire human population was small and
civilizations had very few needs. At that time, resources seemed infinite because the capability of nature to reinforce
was much higher than the rate at which human beings used up resources.
Why is Sustainability Important / Time to Wake Up
Today, we are painfully beginning to learn that
environmental resources are inadequate and are quite sensitive to everything
that we do. We are starting to experience the effects of the actions of
generations that came before us. To make sure that future generations will not
experience worse, we need to be aware of the ideals and desires of
sustainability.
As we become aware, we need to put what we learn into
action as that is the only way we can allow nature to catch up with the rate at
which our requirements grow. This does not mean having to stifle human
development. On the contrary, it means sustaining the supply of resources so
that we can, in turn, sustain human development (Why is Sustainability Important?, 2013).
Reference list
Environmental Sustainability. (2012). Retrieved 2012, from Trade and Investment:
http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/17/86/377
Why
is Sustainability Important?
(2013). Retrieved January 02, 2013, from Benefits of recycling :
http://www.benefits-of-recycling.com/whyissustainabilityimportant/
Dhanushki Pathirana
