Wholly sustainable business

Can we have truly sustainable energy without sustainable business?

Can cleantech ventures be truly successful in reducing harm to people and the environment without clean business strategies?

As long as we live in a capitalist system, technology alone cannot create change. The technology needs to be embedded in a product or service, which is then embedded into a business. But what kind of business will create the change that we need for the survival of our species?

Didn’t we create this ecological crisis with the current winner-takes-all, race-to-the-bottom, ends-justify-the-means, extractive and exploitative approach to industry and business? One that puts profit and shareholder interests first? One which doesn’t care about the impact to humans or the planet of the unfettered use of fossil fuel and the careless dumping of industrial waste, as long as it makes the rich richer?

We need more than ingenious technology to save ourselves from our own destruction. We need a new approach to the businesses that distribute the technology.

One where the intention of business is to be a creative force for good, just like the technology. Innovative business that are environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable. Businesses that support the well-being of all, not only through their products and services, but also through their impact on all stakeholders — including customers, employees, partners, communities, society, and the planet.

Where do you see your role in wholly sustainable business? Are you ready to lead the way to a wholly sustainable future?

And if not now, then when?