Last month, as the G20 leaders prepared to rescue the global economy, the extent to which our financial system has been damaged by greed, mismanagement and a lack of proper regulation became even clearer. But what about the other crisis? The one we have no hope of surviving if things spiral irreversibly out of control?
For many companies, there could well be something refreshing, cathartic even, about experiencing and surviving the financial crisis. Whereas before the downturn it was possible for companies to coast along inefficiently and rest complacently on their commercial laurels, the new economic world order has shaken things up and changed attitudes. So perhaps it is also time to revise the old saying about money not growing on trees. Plenty of fruit growers would already disagree with the adage, and after all, everyone needs to breathe in order to live and therefore go to work. The environment is our most precious resource and it’s future survival is clearly and inextricably tied to the future of our businesses and our livelihoods.
There are some signs that better environmental stewardship is being born out of economic necessity. Take the example of the Dutch tomato growers who have fixed their energy costs for at least the next two decades by investing huge sums in developing geothermal systems that draw heat from the ground instead of from burning coal. Sending cold water 2km down into the ground to get hot water out would have seemed like lunacy even a few years ago; but now, having checked the gas price and done the sums, it makes perfect sense.
According to a new book called The Power of Less, minimalism can be a far more productive approach. The ‘less is more’ mentality is being seen increasingly in the fresh produce trade, which is now looking to trim inefficiencies and extravagance wherever possible. In an ideal world, this would entail environment first, economy second. But, for the time being, we can only hope that the colour of money continues to be as green as possible.
