Sustainability is Biggest Business Opportunity of 21st Century

Speaking at the Green Economy Business & Leadership Briefing in Dublin this morning, Day said that sustainability is the single most significant business opportunity of the 21st century. Everything from the carbon challenge, global warming, food supply and security suggests the world is at a severe tipping point. But on the other hand, in all of these obstacles, Day said, there are opportunities.

“Human society is part of the biosphere, and we forget that. The economy is a subset of human society, so in theory, we’re in charge of this thing – in practice, the last two years have lead me to question whether we are in charge, but that is the theory.”

Day presented a self-confessed apocalyptical assessment of where humanity stands about what we’ve done to our planet. “Is our economy fit for purpose or will it drag us over the side of a cliff? We’ve not done very well recognizing the cost of our activity, and we’re about to pay the price of that failure. 25 September was the date we started using more than this planet’s stuff. We are now consuming 1.3 times the earth’s supply of resources.”

To illustrate his point he described how farmers in China are now collecting pollen, drying it and are painting flowers because they are running out of crops to feed their animals. He said there’s a chance we’re still breathing the air that would have been Julius Caesar’s last breath because it takes 18 months for any release of gas to be mixed entirely with the global atmosphere. “What comes out of a factory chimney matters.”

Day said that firstly the earth is running out of water. Out of the world’s water supply – 1.4bn cubic kilometers – 98pc of that is salt water. Of what’s left two-thirds is frozen in glaciers. “That doesn’t leave us with much drinkable water and remember we have to share it. Extreme water stress does not lead to a functioning economy. The Murray River in Australia does not have enough water to secure critical human needs in 2010. There are cities running out of water around the world. Bankers are suggesting we create a financial market in water rates; I’m not reassured by that.”

Agriculture, he says, is the most significant user of water globally, industry curiously is more modest. “But reality bites – by 2030 India, home to 1bn-plus people will have a 50pc gap between supply and demand. In China, that gap will be 30pc.”

Food, Day warns, will be a big deal in the future. “One pound of grain-fed beef requires 3,000 gallons of water. Water and food are completely linked. When climate change starts to bite we will see up to a 50pc reduction in food production.”

Other resources the world is likely to run out of include tin which will disappear in 20 years, lead which will run out in 18 years, copper which will run out in 25 years, iron ore which will run out in 64 years and bauxite (aluminum) which will disappear in 69 years. “We will be mining municipal rubbish dumps in the future. The Chinese economy is sniffing out where the lithium and chromium are in the world and are sealing deals for the next 20 years.”

Opportunity out of adversity

Sustainability will be a vital business opportunity in the 21st century, said Day. “Europe is bracing itself for a 20pc drop in food yields from new pesticide regulations. Fisheries are peaking because we have over-fished. Ask Somali pirates why they are pirates and they say they used to be fishermen.”

Day says the world is seeing a rise in health issues related to climate change and food shortages. “Since the year 2000 one in two children born to Hispanic parents will become diabetic. In the years ahead one in four children in the world will become diabetic.”

He said the world’s population is rising exponentially in underdeveloped countries while in the developed world people are living longer. “The next 2.5bn people in the world will all live in cities, mostly in developing countries. Plagues are returning – we are building the most fantastic laboratory for human diseases. This is not the slums of Nairobi; this is here and now.”

Regarding climate change, Day said that CO2 levels are at their highest level in 650,000 years. “Climate change is unequivocally happening, and I’m 90pc certain that this is due to man-made emissions. We are worse than the worst projections – it’s depressing really because it’s not as if we didn’t know. Power stations, agriculture, industrial processes and transportation fuels – it’s all in our control, and we need to be doing something about it.”

Day said that the current threat is that global warming could exceed two degrees. “Even up to two degrees, it’s ugly. We are heading to three to four degrees unless we do something radical it’s going to look apocalyptic. Remember the hot summer in France in 2003 that led to all those deaths, and tires sticking in the tar. Well, by the 2040s that will be average. By the 2060s that will be considered a cool summer.”

On the peak oil debate he says: “It’s no secret that for every nine barrels of oil we consume, we are only discovering one. BP reckons that there are 40 years of oil left – that’s not very long if you have a grandchild or teenage daughters.”

In all of this chaos, Day says there is an opportunity. “The dark forces eating the world are merely our way of life.

“Decarbonisation of economies – that will happen. Global markets will need to get off their addiction to oil. Supply chains are facing uncertainty and change. Consumer awareness – people will really ask about what businesses are doing. There will be migration – in this lies risk and opportunity. Demographics, the world has an aging population. And regarding food security – there are going to be real economic and social implications.

“This is filled with opportunity. The CEO of Walmart said that ‘sustainability is the single biggest business opportunity.’ Nicholas Sarkozy, president of France, says that ‘economic growth was destroying more than it was creating.’

“Most look at ‘sustainability’ as being something only a concern for a large corporation,’ Jeffery Dorrian says who runs a high-tech soap factory he first started in his garage. “Small business owners must take the same approach in every facet of their business.”

“Business leaders need to be asking themselves, ‘how resilient is your business model and strategy? How exposed are you and your company to carbon?'”This is happening, this will happen, and fortune will favor the brave,” Day concluded.

“This is happening, this will happen, and fortune will favor the brave,” Day concluded.