This is a time of exploration, exploring the new frontiers of sustainability, sustainable materials, sustainable energy, sustainable agricultural and fishing practices, sustainable business processes, sustainable communities and sustainable lifestyles. But what does “sustainable” entails and what does being green require from us?

We are many to share environmental, health and safety concerns. And although we are becoming more aware of the limited resources our planet can provide to sustain our needy economies and lifestyles – we are still very far from making a substantial difference to reduce our environmental footprint. Making a difference is actually much easier than it seems, and most often, it won’t involve much change in the way we live. Well, for most of us.

“A bear necessity”

It is understandable that the transition into a sustainable economy or the green age (from the carbon age) might be difficult for those with conflicting interests, but the main question is: are we in a position to wait and see? A failure to bring down carbon dioxide emissions and waste to acceptable levels in the very near future will have catastrophic consequences starting with the acidification of our oceans and the desertification of our lands. With natural disasters come human tragedies: droughts, floods, famines, pandemic illnesses, armed conflicts …

Like any problem of this magnitude, it is much more multifarious than CO2 emission and extreme whether change. Fixing our energy is a huge challenge, but without factoring how we use our – other – natural resources and the impact our activities have on the environment we would have fixed only one part of the problem. The cost we’ll have to pay – well, our kids – for not doing anything we’ll reach astronomic proportions: health care costs, clean-ups, food, energy, usable land, water …

Sustainability, one step at a time

Reducing our carbon footprint, adopting clean technologies when available, embracing green solutions seem to be the right path towards sustainability. At least, I feel these actions are the surest bet to provide a better future for all. There are many ways to enter what some call the “green revolution”. The “5 REs” for instance: Re-duce, Re-use, Re-cycle, Re-place and Re-invent.

The first two Rs are relatively easy to implement (reducing water and energy usage, reusing paper bags and containers). The third is dependent upon the availability and proximity of recycling/ waste centers. The last two are more challenging as it sometimes involves us changing the way we address our priorities. And this is particularly true when it comes to our quest for better – somewhat involving higher – living and safety standards. Thousands of products that are marketed as adding performance and convenience and/or reducing safety risks ad in fact very little to our welfare but definitely ad a toxic burden on our health and the environment. This is the case for products that contains organic compounds and chemical formulations such as bisphenol A, brominated flame-retardants, triclosan, chlorine, phenols, phthalates and vinyl polymers, that you can find nearly everywhere including your body. The same can be said of many food additives, synthetic fragrances as well as metal-based formulations.

We have the power to make a difference

What we collectively choose to buy or not to buy can change the course of and the history on this planet. We are both consumers and marketers. How we use that choice will shape the land we’ll give back to our children. Our kids should feel confident in our ability to do what’s best for them, not for us.

Information is a powerful tool, and today – thanks to the Internet – it is widely available. May be not in the format that helps us better appreciate what we do or can do as a civilization, a society, a community or an individual, but it is there. I am a firm believer we ought to share knowledge, ideas and propositions while keeping an opened mind as to debating for the purpose of the advancement of mankind in a sustainable world.

For my part, I have embarked on a journey, nearly a crusade, promoting social and environmental responsibility at home and at work, inhabited by a simple human realization: I am a citizen of the world, and share responsibility for what is happening. These are my drivers to add my voice to the growing number of people and organizations supporting these values, to contribute to the general grasp of consciousness and, oh supreme feeling, make a difference for my kids.

We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

African and Native Indian proverb

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.

Stephen Hawking
English cosmologist and physicist (1942 – )

We refuse to despair of mankind. Without having the unreasonable ambition to save men, we still want to serve them.

Dr. Rieux in The Plague, 1947,
Albert Camus, “man and thinker”, Nobel Prize in Literature (1913-1960)

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