Business and Sustainability

I am almost done my courses for the UBC Sustainability Management certificate and I have been thinking much more about the role of business in sustainability lately. Although there are so many little and big acts that individuals can do to save our society and environment from destruction, business is really the big player in our world and has the largest impact. Business, therefore, has the biggest potential to change our situation for the better and truly make a positive difference.
I have been thinking about this more lately because I have become more involved helping the company I work for to reduce its environmental impact. I am also finally reading Paul Hawken's famous book "The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability", that I have been meaning to read for years. I was truly inspired by his latest book, "Blessed Unrest" and still have yet to get to "Natural Capitalism" although that has also been sitting on my 'to read' book shelf for years. I chose to finally read The Ecology of Commerce, despite it being 18 years old, because of the impact it had on Ray Anderson of Interface, the most sustainable carpet company in the world (please see here for more on that). Ray Anderson has revolutionized what it means to be a large sustainable business and one cannot help but be inspired but what he has done. Thus, I realized I must read the book that inspired him.

As I read it I would like to mention some points that resonate with me.
1) The first is that this book was written in 1993, yes, that's right, 18 years ago. Paul Hawken put a call out to business to change its ways long before worldwide climate change & chaos, global food shortages, and peak oil. It is terrifying that in those 18 years most businesses have not headed his warning and that we are worse off than before with corporations spilling millions of barrels of oil into pristine waters, causing deaths through processing and selling contaminated meat, and having sales greater than most country's GDPs by selling arguably extraneous 'stuff'. What will it really take to change these businesses and create new more sustainable ones?
2) "While everything individuals do helps, these efforts are relatively insignificant when compared to the demands placed upon the environment by corporations themselves. Consider this fact: If the items used in households in America were all recycled, this would reduce our solid waste by only 1 to 2 percent." I am by no means completely against business, but I do feel that businesses have a responsibility to act more sustainably. I also feel that this can be a huge opportunity for a business to find creative solutions, possibly opening up new markets, but certainly helping to sustain their business economically, socially and environmentally over the long term, and which business owner wouldn't want that?
3) The idea that business can provide a service or long-term more durable item rather than the typical short-lived products we are currently accustomed to. Interface is an example of a carpet company that provides a carpet 'service' by taking back worn carpet and replacing with recycled tiles for the customer. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is also attempting to promote a 'circular economy' that closes the loop and encourages businesses to rethink and redesign business practices.

I look forward to more insights from this book and others as I explore how business can truly make a difference.