Grow responsibly

When people say “you cannot do it,” do not listen until you have considered all of the reasons why you can. You can help disadvantaged children find opportunities. You can help people get off the street who have had absolutely no opportunities. Some will even go on to live amazing lives and become the fabric of a new society. But how can we help businesses accelerate sustainability?

There no need to convince businesses of the value of engaging in corporate social responsibility efforts. The problem is, it is often not enough. The clock is ticking. Efforts to curb global carbon emissions are falling short. The US Department of Energy reported that 2010 saw the largest increase in carbon emissions ever. The world is at a tipping point, and we must accelerate the pace of change. Society is on the brink, teetering
between an outdated paradigm and a new, innovative future.

Instead of benchmarking sustainability initiatives against the competition, they need to measure progress against what is possible. Companies need to reframe the discussion more broadly around opportunity, innovation, and growth. Why make sustainability only about “doing good?” Why not make sustainability about innovation? And why stop there? Why not tackle the single-largest environmental concern today - land use?

Land use is complicated. It started centuries ago with burning grasslands to enhance the availability of wild game, accelerating with the birth of agriculture and the concentration of urban populations. It is behind major changes in terrestrial emissions. Agriculture uses large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, but the agriculture threat goes deeper. Simultaneously meeting environmental and productivity objectives are a contradiction in terms. Land degradation by overgrazing and intensive agriculture on marginal lands is a major driver of land loss jeopardizing the very future of agriculture.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) claims that "sustainable farming must replace intensive agriculture if the world is to feed a global population of about 9.2 billion in 2050." The United Nations (UN) argues that between 2015 and 2030, an estimated 80 percent of the required food production increases will have to come from intensification and yield increases. That makes sustainable land management a challenge. Protecting agricultural land is a priority, but it is understood that agriculture contributes to climate change. It releases powerful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere: Methane (CH4) from livestock digestion processes and stored animal manure and Nitrous oxide (N2O) from organic and mineral nitrogen fertilizers.