Going round to go forward

The seemingly endless recession that followed the global financial crisis of 2008 has finally begun to show some signs of turning around. While the global growth outlook still remains somewhat gloomy, some of the major world economies like the US, China and India are showing signs of resurgence. While the Eurozone is still roiled by the aftermath of Brexit and the refugee crisis, both these crises have passed their inflexion point.

This is both good news and bad news. Good news because higher growth signifies more jobs and greater economic security for a larger number of people. Bad news, because any resumption of the old consumption-led economy is only going to increase the stress on resources and the ability of the planet to cope with the impact of human activity. Climate change is now a painful reality for a large part of humanity, as changing weather patterns and global warming unleash climatic catastrophes with increasing frequency and ferocity.

Clearly, the ‘business as usual’ model is broken and cannot be put back together – at least the way it was. We need a dramatic change in the way we address the fundamental questions we face, both as individuals and as a collective: what we do, why we do it and the way do what we do.

Fortunately, there is a growing realisation of the problem at all levels – societal, governmental and business. An increasing number of individuals, institutions and businesses are innovating and finding more sustainable ways to improve the quality of our lives, without irrepairably damaging planet Earth, humanity’s only home.

Every year, BusinessLine partners with social enterprise Sparknews and leading media organisations around the world to bring you the stories of the people who are - in small ways and big - being the change we want to see.

In these pages (and many more online at www.thehindubusinessline.com/XXX) you can read about how how corporates are increasingly embracing solar power in India, meet a husband-wife "smart infrastructure" start-up company in Mumbai, which pioneered an innovative solution to harness rainwater and solar power simultaneously, a Dutch company which allows people to rent jeans instead of buying them, a Brazilian vegan footwear brand at the forefont of the ethical fashion movement, a Chinese social enterprise which produces biofuel from waste resources such as used cooking oil, and many more. 

These innovators and businesses are creating a new, sustainable circular economy model. They are the harbingers of hope for the future.

Do read, share and, above all, discuss these stories and the learnings they hold for us. Together, we can make change happen.

Editor