Sustainability

by Claudia Ullrich

The concept of Sustainability

Sustainability has become a very common term in the media, e.g. within the climate debate. The term is used in any context, often not being aware of what sustainability or sustainable development is all about

The term sustainable development entered the public stage in the 1980`s, having its roots in environmentalism . It emerged from the natural sciences where issues of yields, the earth's carrying capacity, and the intricate ecosystems of the environment were first discussed. (as in: Tregida/Milne, 2005) The limited resources of earth were subject in the first report of the Club of Rome “The Limits to Growth” (1972). This book for the first time pointed out the necessity to transform ways of thinking about how to handle the limited natural resources of earth. If the present growth trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food production, and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached in the near future. (as in: The Club of Rome, 2002, p. 2 )

But the concept of sustainability has a much longer history . First documented indications have been found in the history of Native American tribes in Northern America. In Europe the concept was invented as early as the 13th century. At that time first ordinances have been made on the sustainable use of wood . Later on, in the 17th century the problem of extensive clear cutting without considering reforestation has been discussed the first time by a Saxon nobleman. The first commandment in forestry was that forests must be harvested only to the point where enough will remain for future generations.

The wellbeing of future generations is a main aspect of sustainable development. The World Commission on Environment and Development titled sustainable development in its report Our Common Future (1987, also known as “Brundtland Report” ) as a “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ”. (WCED, 1987, p. 8). Sustainable development can therefore be conceptualised as a system of intra- and intergenerational justice. All human beings, within and between generations , should be able to satisfy their needs and have equal opportunities. This can only be realized within the surroundings of a save and unharmed environment that has enough resources.

Sustainability is not a static target, but a future state to strive for. Sustainable development can be seen as the processes to achieve sustainability. It calls for long-term structural change in economic and social systems, with the aim of reducing the consumption of the environment and resources to a permanently affordable level, while maintaining economic output potential and social cohesion. (http://www.are.admin.ch/themen/nachhaltig/00260/02006/index.html?lang=en )

To measure the progress on the way to sustainability, three dimensions have to be taken in account: the economic, ecologic and social dimension. Every dimension has the same importance and they all should be equally balanced. In the history of the sustainable development debate, the emphasis was often put on the two aspects economy and ecology and the relationship between them. This way of proceeding has its origin in the environmental movement, which addressed mainly the environmental damage caused by certain economic activities. Economical development and the protection of the environment do not fit together at first glance. But with increases in efficiency, new technologies and less resource intensive lifestyles the one does not exclude the other. (as in: Partridge, 2005, pp. 2 and 5)

Sustainable production and consumption deals not only with the problem of overconsumption but also underconsumption and poverty. Even nowadays the social dimension of sustainable development is often neglected. (as in: Partridge, 2005, pp. 2 and 5). Yet the social dimension gains weight in times of increasing gaps the material wealth between north and south/east and even within countries. A very wide income gap between the wealthy and the poor exists in India, with only 15% of the population reaping the benefits of India's economic growth and nearly 20% living below the poverty line. The gap in income between India and the western world is even bigger, an obstacle on the way to sustainability.

1992 a plan for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century “Agenda 21” was adopted on the first Earth Summit. Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by government, organizations and major groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment. It includes issues like combating poverty and handling population and demographic dynamics.

With nearly 1.1 billion people living today in India and a projected growth up to 1.6 billions in the year 2050 the population pressure will become a serious task for India's future social, environmental and economic development. Combating poverty and hunger besides dealing with environmental problems is also part of the United Nations development targets called the Millennium Development Goals (2000). The MDG address issues concerning the UN's future development strategies until 2015.

The world feels threatened of the enormous growing demand for natural resources of countries like India and China caused by its booming economy. India's GDP has grown by 9.2 % in the fiscal year 2006-2007 and India joined the club of 12 countries with a trillion dollar economy. ( http://www.iloveindia.com/economy-of-india/india-gdp.html ) This growth is accompanied by a huge demand on raw materials and energy. As the Indian energy system is largely coal - dominated coal provides half of India's energy. Therefore future efforts to slow global climate change are central to India as it ranks forth in emitting climate-altering carbon dioxide. ( http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3893 ) In oil consumption India holds the 6th place with 2,450,000 barrels of oil per day. ( http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con-energy-oil-consumption )

Meanwhile India is making inroads in sustainable energy use and energy efficiency, according to the report "State of the World 2006" (Worldwatch Institute, 2006). For example India already has the fourth largest wind power industry in the world. ( http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3893 ) With its economic power and influence India can be one of the key drivers to transform the ecological future of the Earth. (as in: China and India Set to Steer Global Sustainability http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2006/2006-01-12-10.asp , 10.08.2007) Rather as Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, says “ India has no choice but to reinvent the development trajectory." http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3866

India's policymakers have recognized the need for a national sustainable development strategy to push the country forward into the 21 st century. The report of the Ministry of Environment and Forests “Empowering People for Sustainable Development” (2002) presents India's perspectives on sustainable development. Having a population of one billion people being sustained on a comparatively low natural resource base has shaped the Indian sustainable development strategy. On the one hand the strategy includes combating poverty and empowering people.

On the other hand emphasis is put on using appreciable scientific and technological capabilities and setting specific environmental standards for different sectors to reduce pressure on the environment. Issues like safe drinking water, sanitation, agriculture productivity, forest conservation, vehicular emissions, cleaner energy and atmosphere monitoring call for stricter regulations and application of science and new technologies. (see: Empowering People for Sustainable Development, Foreword, http://envfor.nic.in/divisions/ic/wssd/doc1/forward.htm ) But India's National Strategy on Sustainable Development is still under development. (Rajat Chaudhuri, Getting the Goods: India's national sustainability strategy. http://isforum.org/pubs/gtg/2004-04/chaudhuri.aspx , 10.08.2007)

Another step on the path towards sustainability is a national strategy to tackle the effects of global warming . Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked policymakers to come up with a detailed national plan by November his office announced in July 2007. A comprehensive roadmap for energy efficiency and sustainable development ought to be prepared by the members of the Council on Climate Change until November. http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjU1Mjk ,

The need for more policy based efforts can't be denied, if the pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) data are considered . The Environmental Performance Index measures the outcomes of national environment protection and can be used for benchmarking pollution control and natural resource management results. India is ranked among the countries with the lowest EPI (position 118 out of 133). Within the sub index air quality e.g. India and China are in the bottom decile, as are several other South Asian nations, reflecting their rapid industrialization with limited pollution control. (see http://www.yale.edu/epi/ , 10.08.2007: 2006, Appendix C, p.169)

Have you ever wondered how your personal lifestyle affects nature? How resource intensive is your daily living: nutrition, dwelling, working, leisure and travelling compared to other people e.g. with different social status or from other nations? The impact of mankind's or your personal current consumption habits on earth and its consequences can be demonstrated on the basis of ecological footprinting.

Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is used to calculate the land area needed to sustain human consumption and absorb its ensuing wastes. It is a measure for humanity's demand on nature. The footprint of a country is the total area required to produce the food, fibre and timber it consumes, absorb its waste and provide space for its infrastructure. In 2001, the global Ecological Footprint was 13.5 billion gha, or 2.2 gha per person (a global hectare -gha- is a hectare whose biological productivity equals the global average). This demand on nature can be compared with the Earth's biocapacity , a measure of nature's ability to produce resources from its biologically productive area. In 2001, the Earth's biocapacity was 11.3 billion gha, a quarter of the planet's surface, or 1.8 gha per person. In 2001, humanity's ecological footprint exceeded global biocapacity by 0.4 global hectares per person, or 21 %. When a population's footprint is larger than available biocapacity it is running a negative ecological balance. Nature's capital is being spent faster than it is being regenerated. (WWF, 2005, p. 4)

In 1999 the ecological footprint of India was 0.8 gha versus a current carrying capacity of 0.7 gha. (see Redefining Progress, 2002). This is still a very low ecological footprint compared to the world's average footprint of 1.8 gha and the footprints of leading western nations like the USA (2002: 9,7 gha/person). Nevertheless it is already above India's current carrying capacity. This means, even today India cannot sustain its own population without support.

While India's per person footprint has remained relatively constant over the last 40 years, available biocapacity per person has fallen. This is caused by the doubling of India's population within that timeframe. The consumption patterns of the India's emerging large middle class could shape the region's footprint in the future. (WWF, 2005, p. 4) Increasing consumption of goods and services per person will due to the huge consumer class lead to a rising ecological footprint even efficiency gains are made. The question therefore is, how long the earth will resist the increasing pressure on its ability to regenerate.

If we have sparked your interest in this topic you can calculate your own ecological footprint at the Ecological Footprint Quiz: http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp#

Figure: Ecological Footprint by region in 2001. The height of each bar is proportional to each region's average footprint per person, the width is proportional to its population, and the area of the bar is proportional to the region's total footprint. (WWF, 2005, p. 4)

(Table is part of the Report ”State of the world” 2006, http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3866 , 09.08.2007)

Sustainable consumption affects the demand side. It is about what kind of products we consume and to what amount. One has to consider that the reduced resource use in production as postulated in the sustainable development debate must not to be weight up by an increasing demand for good and services. But decreasing one's consumption is not the way the majority of consumers is likely to choose.

Labelling as guideline for consumers

Yet when it comes to buying decisions, how can sustainable buying decisions be made? There are a lot of more or less useful tips for environmental friendly buying given by all kinds of experts: Avoid excess packaging, buy products in containers that you know you will be able to recycle or buy reusable and long lasting items are only some of them. If you are to make an exceptional decision like buying a new fuel saving car, you will, of course, inform yourself before the purchase quite well about different product qualities. But how to act in your daily purchasing decisions? How to know about the environmental aspects of daily purchased products without spending time on consulting different sources?

A useful tool might be labels, which guide the consumer in their shopping behaviour. They provide an opportunity to inform consumers about product characteristics that may not be readily apparent. This is especially the case regarding environmental qualities. Environmental qualities are often experience or credence attributes. Consumers can verify given green products claims in some cases only after product use (experience attribute). More likely they will never be able to find out if the claim was really true without consulting experts (credence attribute).

With application of the label a warranty is given that the product or service complies with certain pre-determined environmental - and sometimes also social - criteria. One the one hand ecolabel therefore are a guide for consumers to choose products and services which are thought to be less harmful to the environment than other products within the same category. On the other hand ecolabel should also stimulate the development of products and services that are associated with a lesser environmental burden compared to equivalent products. (Golan et al., 2001, pp. 127-128)

Ecolabelling has its origin in Europe in the late 70ties. Germany introduced the world's first ecolabel, the “Blue Angel” in 1978. The distribution of eco-labels until now is largely concentrated in the industrialised countries, but recently there have been a number of labelling initiatives within developing countries. (Ghayur Alam, 2005; http://www.nedlac.org.za/top.asp?inc=research/fridge/eco_labelling/index.html )

The Government of India (Ministry of Environment and Forests) has introduced its own ecolabel the “Ecomark” for identification of environment-friendly products in 1991. The scheme was created covering different product categories from soaps & detergents over food items to electronic goods. The label was intended to be an incentive both for producers and consumers to contribute to environmental friendly production methods. ( http://envfor.nic.in/cpcb/ecomark/ecomark.html )

The Ecomark scheme has met with little success in India. Since introduction it has been awarded to five companies only (one detergent company and four paper mills) . But in fact only one of them has placed the label on its products. But why did the Ecomark scheme fail? Currently there are many successful labelling initiatives around the world. Why doesn't a scheme like the Ecomark work in India? Was it the industry's fault, that wasn't willing to take upon the accreditation process or was it the consumer itself?

Critics have always claimed that in a low per-capita income country like India, consumers are more price-conscious and driven by basic needs, rather than by environmental concerns. This reason might have been true in the past and perhaps there is still some truth in it in the present. Yet with economic boom and increasing incomes this reason should get less important. The reasons are mostly seen in a lack of support and a communication failure by the Indian government, e.g. there has been less effort on advertising and creating mass consumer awareness about the labelled products. (IGES, 2002, pp. 296-297)

Having an existing ecolabelling scheme, which isn't in use, is a loss of efforts that have already been brought up. Perhaps some modifications have to be done, but it is time to promote an ecolabelling scheme. Consumers should have the opportunity to decide on buying environmental friendly products without running the risk of being fooled through false product claims of the manufacturer no one can verify by oneself.

The organic food market is booming, not only in Europe and North America but also in the Asia Pacific Region. An online consumer opinion survey of ACNielsen in the end of 2005 concludes organic food is purchased mainly for health reasons in the Asia Pacific region (78%). Europeans seem to be more conscious of the wider benefits of organic foods, such as protecting the environment (19%) or kindness to animals (12%). (ACNielsen, 2005, p. 3)

What in fact makes organic food healthier than conventional food and how can one protect the environment by eating organic? If a food item calls itself organic, certain production conditions have to be fulfilled during the growth and processing of the food. There are different standards for organic production all over the world. Some are more or less strict than others but they all have one thing in common: the abandonment of artificial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides or growth promoters like hormones or antibiotics.

Further the use of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) is prohibited . Keeping animals in ways appropriate to their species is the first rule in organic animal husbandry. The use of veterinary drugs is only allowed under certain circumstances like genuine remedial care but never preventive. Using natural foodstuffs and giving access to free-ranging environments is also a part of the requirements. To summarize, organic farming makes use of the environment's own system for controlling pests and diseases in agriculture as well as in animal husbandry and the organic production techniques help to sustain ecosystems and reduce environmental pollution. ( http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/Food_Facts/FAQ/Organic_Foods_faq.asp, , http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/qual/organic/def/index_en.htm )

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was founded in 1972 to bring together single organizations of the organic agriculture movement. It has passed a comprehensive minimum standard for organic farming, the “ IFOAM Basic Standards” . This standard is based on the principle of health, ecology, fairness and care. It acts as a worldwide recognized guideline for organic farming. ( http://www.isealalliance.org , http//www.ifoam.org )

Yet in 2000 the Indian Government (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) has launched its own standards for organic agriculture, the “ Indian National Standards for Organic Production” as a part of the National Programme on Organic Production (NPOP). The standard provides information on standards for organic production as well as information concerning the certification procedures. It accords to the IFOAM Standards keeping Indian requirements in mind.

The national organic logo called “India Organic” (see figure) is governed by APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) and can be displayed on all certified organic products, to allow the identification of organically produced products from India. This label can only be awarded after certification through accredited NPOP certification bodies like the Indian Organic Certification Agency (INDOCERT) or SGS India (which holds an own worldwide organic standard) to mention only some of them. ( http://organic.com.au/certify/SGSIndia ). Certification is a very strict process the producers and processors of organic food have to undergo. It covers every step in the whole product chain from primary agriculture production to the processed and packaged food as it has to ensure that the organic standard has been observed.

This process of certification and the organic production methods itself of course make organically grown food more expensive than conventional food. But besides a better taste there are some non negligible facts about organic food one should consider. Several health benefits of organic foodstuff are being discussed among scientists. Some studies suggest that organically grown vegetables have a significant higher content in nutrients than conventionally grown foods. This applies to vitamins like ascorbic acid, minerals or antioxidants like polyphenols (cancer-fighting) or flavonoids (reducing high blood pressure and lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke). Yet one thing is clear: consumption of organic foodstuff reduces the amount of toxic chemicals ingested, avoids GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and reduces the amount of food additives and colourings in your daily diet.

The traditional Indian diet with its variety of different spices and flavours combined to a wide range of dishes and its nativeness gives a good example for a nutrition incorporating sustainable aspects. As a guideline for sustainable nutrition the principle of ‘wholesome nutrition' can act: A wholesome nutrition consists mostly of foods of plant origin that have been processed as little as possible but as much as necessary. Fresh foods beneficial to health with emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products, legumes and nuts as well as milk and dairy products are prepared to tasty meals. If desired, small amounts of meat, fish and eggs may be included as production of animal based foodstuff is highly inefficient.

Production of one kcal of animal food products on the average requires 7 kcal of vegetative crops. Thus 65 - 90% of energy contained in these forage crops end up as “processing losses”. This constitutes a huge waste of resources when viewed just from the point of ecological and social criteria. To continue, other social and ecological criteria like the preference of organic and seasonal food produced locally or environmental benign packaged food have to be taken into account within the principle of wholesome nutrition. The concept of wholesome nutrition can be summarized in seven recommendations: (Leitzmann, 2005, p. 754; Koerber/Kretschmer, 2006, p. 180)