Under a Blood Red Sky

According to Pinchot (1910), the human race’s first duty is to control the earth it lives upon. Conservation, which ought to have been humanity’s primary focus, is what we call Sustainability today. Consequently, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by the United Nations (UN) members in 2015 are a global call to end the perennial poverty conundrum, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace through realizing the 17 goals. These goals are interconnected as the key to success on one often requires tackling issues more commonly associated with another. As this realization dawns upon the human race, organizations have embraced this planetary movement – trying to rectify the skewness perpetrated against our blue planet through concerted actions embodied in their individual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.

More importantly, true CSR is about putting people at the centre of all our endeavours. Moving beyond financial returns and embedding sustainable practices across various strategies, policies, and mindsets has become imperative. Consequently, many large international organizations have the ability, given their impetus, to bolster their impacts on communities and succinctly create a better and brighter future for their stakeholders and everyone. On the other hand, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which consist of a more significant portion of the economy, can even outsize the corporate sector, both in terms of contribution to GDP and employment. Therefore, SMEs should also align with the UN SDGs by aiming at one particular goal at a time, goals which they can truly handle and embed into their core operations. Many would agree that today, the talent and customer retention dyad is based on the organization’s values and virtues. Consequently, aligning with SDGs can navigate organizations to the right path.

According to Aguinis and Glavas (2013), it is unusual for an organization to embed Sustainability fully. They engage it to a certain level, but CSR will always linger on the peripheral and embedded continuum. Moreover, recent research has shown that CSR is only effective if companies have a genuine and substantive commitment to CSR; otherwise, a symbolic CSR engagement is an inefficient way of using organizational resources, incapable of generating any positive impact on employees (Donia et al., 2019; Nejati, 2019).

Therefore, when it comes to practising CSR and addressing SDGs in your organization:

1. Ensure that your organization’s commitment to SDGs is neither equivocal nor transient, as the goals will not be compounded or interconnected.

2. Refrain from confusing CSR with human resources or health and safety, as the aim is somehow distinct. Ultimately, this leads to the belief that CSR in most organizations could still be bolted on and not fully embedded (Laszlo & Zhexembayeva, 2011). In essence, for an organization to fully embed Sustainability, change management should first occur, and simultaneously, inspirational leaders with high emotional intelligence should guide their employees in fostering a more vital team spirit by weaving Sustainability into their DNA. Correspondingly, current research has demonstrated the crucial role played by ethical leaders in driving employees’ CSR engagement (Nejati et al., 2019).

3. As Laszlo & Zhexembayeva (2011) suggested, organizations must seize the “Wholeness” approach, an essential skill to master the complex challenge of embedding Sustainability across the entire business spectrum. Therefore, it’s not only about seeing the big picture but also about comprehending the interconnectedness within its system, for example, how the Marketing and Sales department is linked to Sustainability.

4. Worry less about corporate image and strive to weave Sustainability more profoundly into the organization’s core beliefs. The relevance and effectiveness of each CSR initiative and its impact on specific objectives have to be measured systematically. Otherwise, the overall essence and purpose will be unsustainable.

5. Use materiality assessment to identify the most critical social and environmental issues for your stakeholders. According to Forstater et al. (2006), a Materiality assessment is executed by an organization to identify which environmental aspects are critical to long-term success by understanding which aspects are material that help guide corporate strategy and the allocation of resources. Understanding what is material to critical stakeholders is essential to ensure the relationship with that stakeholder and others (Eccles & Krzus, 2014).

Henceforth, below are innovative methods linked to the UN SDGs which could be used in various organizations (Corporates and SMEs):

Climate action (link to SDG 13, 7)

a. Reduction of CO2 by gradually shifting to high-performance rechargeable batteries. Renewable Energy should power these rechargeable batteries. Renewable Energy Companies supply portable solar power charging points at production sites or even tailor-made solar power versions in their showroom for their daily users—for example, car manufacturers, courier delivery services, etc.

b. Neoline (project developed by French and partnering with Renault, Manitou & Beneteau) sails targeted for 2022 – Neoline cargo with 80-90% savings in fuel efficiency. This new cleaner shipping solution will optimise international transport dynamics by creating environmentally friendly transport. Neoline will develop tailor-made solutions for its customers to reduce the carbon footprint of its supply chains. https://www.neoline.eu/en/the-project/#vision

c. Funding to support research on kite-powered Energy – The high-altitude wind of the troposphere represents an untapped energy source larger than the world’s current energy needs. KPS (UK) is a company which received funding for research from Shell Technology ventures and others. Consequently, major contributors to GHG need to invest in kite energy to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies to help meet future global energy needs. Henceforth, this technology could replace wind turbines. http://www.kps.energy/technology/

d. Corporates should deploy energy efficiency solutions at offices and showrooms using energy-saving devices and be less dependent on air-conditioning or heating. We are designing smart or retrofit buildings to promote energy efficiency solutions and reduce total electricity use.

1. Recycling (link to SDG 12)

a. Recycling plastic bottles into fabric materials for car seat covers, planes and yarns for apparel. Back in 2014, in the apparel industry, my team made it possible to convert 1.3 million plastic bottles into 100,000 Jeans, yet we were an SME. Remember that even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

b. Convert initially used metal into recycled lighter metal material for less energy consumption, especially in car manufacturing and computer industries.

c. For the mining, agricultural and courier services, trucks and forklifts can be painted into three colours to highlight the reduction of CO2 emissions:

1. Red for High Energy usage, e.g. high CO2 emissions.
2. Orange for Hybrids, e.g. conventional materials with high battery power.
3. Green for Recycled lighter materials such as metals and plastics, renewable electric batteries. Technically, by 2030, companies should set targets to have all fleets painted Green. Consequently, the government should arrange number plates in these three colours for private cars accordingly.

d. By 2030, ensure re-cycle innovative action which will allow a substantial reduction in the mining of precious elements from the Earth.

2. No Poverty – Zero Hunger – Clean Water & Sanitation – Partnership with NGOs – Sustainable Development – Gender Equality – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

a. Multinational organizations should open production sites in Africa to provide job and social support to poor communities and help eradicate poverty and hunger (Link to SDGs 1, 2).

b. Investing in children’s well-being (especially in Africa and South East Asia) to get children out of the circle of poverty, give them hope by building schools and providing them with education to ensure a better future (Link to SDGs 4, 1).

c. Sharing knowledge, expertise, technology and help with financial resources to support local communities in Least Developed Countries (LDC) (Link to SDGs 4, 8).

d. Establishing a program with NGOs to train more teachers and researchers (Link to SDG 4).

e. Sustainability development program should be introduced from the primary school level (Link to SDG 4).

f. Substantially increasing female job involvement in countries like India, the Middle East and Africa. Otherwise, females are pushed to early forced marriage and female genital mutilation (Link to SDG 5).

g. Sub-Saharan Africa lacks electricity, internet, computers and essential drinking water. Organizations must ensure that funding meets basic needs (Link to SDG 9).

h. Bring better sanitation and clean water to poor communities to reduce major outbreaks (Link to SDG 6, 3).

i. Organizations should partner with NGOs working in underdeveloped countries to have a meaningful impact. It should measure and monitor the progress of communities in education, health conditions, empowerment, and technology transfer (Link to SDG 17).

j. Apparel, especially Denim Jeans industries, should heavily use the Ozone Machine (Jeanologia, Spain) to reduce their water intake in laundries drastically. The usual water intake is 90L on Bleached Jeans, which can be significantly reduced to 15L per pair. Factories should reduce freshwater usage and use recycled water. https://www.jeanologia.com/. (Link to SDG 6).

k. Help your stakeholders to make the same energy transition as you are making and demonstrate your leadership. Organizations should work with stakeholders committed in the stride towards CSR and not CSI (Corporate Social Irresponsibility). If they are unaware, relevant coaching is required (Link to All SDGs).

To implement sustainable development goals, relentless awareness campaigns from all– politicians, industry leaders, movie and pop stars, etc., are required. It necessitates involvement, commitment, dedication and innovation. Such innovation could perhaps come from youngsters, who, by default now, have a higher stake in this, by genuinely engaging themselves to plot a new course for our planet. Only then can we hope to restore the planet’s ecosystem. Unfortunately, we are running out of time, and as John Lennon said, there’s no other time but the present; anything else is a waste of time (1971).

Acknowledgements.

I would like to thank Dr. Mehran Nejati for his guidance (Senior Lecturer and Director of PRME and Sustainability, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Perth, Western Australia) and the truth and light of my good friend Beas Cheekhooree (Founder of Graphene Technologies Ltd, Curepipe, Mauritius)