Remembering the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, one of his quotes come to mind. He once remarked that “The earth has enough resources for our need but not for our greed”. The interesting times we live in, the quote is more significant than ever. The nature has sustained human life-form for thousands of years and will continue to do so if we are mindful of our actions.

For centuries mankind has been deriving resources from the planet often a little more than we ‘need’, thinking our environment is inexhaustible. Today, we have reached a point where a clock exists to solely remind us that our world needs action, it needs protection and most importantly it needs our attention. The time to act and possibly repair the damage is now and it remains our collective responsibility to work towards it.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a renewed perspective for many people about nature and their environment. For companies, the time to act is now. No longer can brands feel that sustainability does not concern them. According to a research conducted, consumers are closely monitoring the progress and performance of brands on the sustainability front. Indian consumers increasingly prefer to back brands that are committed to doing good, a large portion of consumers actively pursuing sustainability issues.

Moral obligation

Regardless of who we are, where we live, and what we do, we all have a moral obligation towards each other, our future generations, and other species to sustain the planet. Therefore, businesses and organisations, must adopt a well-rounded approach towards sustainability, taking everything into account.

We need to accelerate our efforts towards integrating environmental considerations into the business planning, be it the product research and development, new manufacturing methods, integrating supply chains etc.

We must implement new ways of doing business and that might mean using more advanced technologies, automation and remote system operations. What also needs to be incorporated is to set clear policy and institutional framework, systematically monitor the performance and encourage continuous improvements and innovative practices.

In our country groundwater depletion is a serious threat to our environment. The need is for efficient utilisation and conservation of water. As an example, in addition to efficient use of water in manufacturing, recycling treated water for steam generation in factories can help substantially reduce ground water extraction, which can in turn increase availability of water for the needs of local community.

Similarly, through traceability and responsible sourcing, corporates can not only ensure environmental sustainability and biodiversity in farms, but also safe living and better working conditions, for the farmer communities. Stakeholders can come together to initiate or elevate such reformative initiatives.

Over the last decade, we have seen governments, corporates and industries hold active conversations around conserving the environment, which has led many to get accustomed to the idea of ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’. Good intentions are no longer enough, organisations need to join hands and work towards the greater cause.

This new decade should focus on the ‘implementation’ and ‘execution’ of the many eco-friendly practices. It has been demonstrated time and again that no one can prosper alone and business depends on a thriving society and planet. In my several years as a professional, there is a quote that I truly believe in, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go further, go together”.

The writer is Chairman and Managing Director, Nestlé India

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