Land development design is a complex process that requires expertise in architecture, engineering, and other disciplines. Challenges such as sustainability, regulations, and cost considerations can be difficult to navigate. Add this to the demands of stakeholders, and it’s clear that a successful land development design is no easy feat. Fortunately, there are some key strategies that you can use to increase your chances of success. Here are five tips for a successful land development design:
1. Conduct Thorough Research
Before designing, ensure you understand the local context, legal requirements, and other relevant information. Investigate the land’s history, its current use, and what regulations you must comply with throughout the process. Without this knowledge base to build upon, your design decisions may be misguided or ill-informed. Environmental site assessment is also an important consideration. Find out as much as possible about the ecosystem and wildlife in the area, as well as any potential risks to human health or safety.
2. Involve Stakeholders Early On
Stakeholder involvement is critical for a successful land development design project. Make sure you identify your stakeholders and try to bring them into the process early. Ask for their feedback throughout, and make sure they are aware of any changes along the way. This will help ensure that all parties are on board with your design decisions and reduce potential conflicts.
3. Consider Sustainability
Sustainability is more important than ever when it comes to the land development design. Ensure you consider energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and other environmental considerations. This will ensure that your design is compliant with regulations and helps protect the environment for future generations. Ideally, the site should be designed to take full advantage of the natural environment and resources. This means considering nearby bodies of water, wildlife habitats, and renewable energy sources.
4. Focus On Cost-Effective Solutions
The success of any project depends on how effectively you manage the budget. Look for cost-effective solutions throughout the design process, such as using recycled materials, maximizing energy efficiency, and utilizing local resources whenever possible. This will help you stay within your budget while creating a successful land development design.
Hiring professionals can also help you save money. An experienced architect or engineer can provide valuable insight and help ensure that your design is cost-effective and meets all the necessary requirements.
5. Develop an Implementation Plan
The goal of the design phase is to create a plan ready for implementation. Create a timeline, identify resources, and anticipate any risks or challenges. This will ensure that you’re prepared to move forward with your project efficiently and cost-effectively. You should involve professionals such as architects, engineers, and legal experts throughout the process. This will help ensure that all your design decisions comply with local regulations and best practices while also helping to keep costs down.
However, your plan should not dictate every step of the process. Instead, it should provide a framework that allows for flexibility and adaptation as needed. Keep an open mind and be willing to adjust your plans according to the changing landscape.
Many factors can influence the success of a land development design project. By conducting thorough research, involving stakeholders early on, focusing on sustainability and cost-effectiveness, and developing an implementation plan with the help of professionals, you can increase your chances of creating a successful project.
Ways Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) Sinar Mas is Driving Stronger Sustainability Goals in the Pulp & Paper Industry
Robust sustainability goals are imperative to creating a brighter, more resilient, and more responsible organisation. Some business leaders consider such targets an impediment to their financial objectives. Yet designing and implementing an effective organisation-wide sustainable development plan can drive growth, reduce risk and enhance capital while protecting the earth.
Research has even found that businesses actively addressing their environmental impact benefit from an 18% greater return on investment; and these financial gains aren’t just coming from eco-conscious consumers, but investors and stakeholders who recognise the value of sustainable development in a dynamic and changing world.
Many organisations often look to the United Nations and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) when producing their sustainability plan. Launched in 2015, these objectives help address numerous global environmental, social and economic issues. While implementing sustainable business practices is undoubtedly complex, the SDGs provide a practical framework that helps organisations plan and deliver meaningful changes that align with larger and shared sustainability targets.
For corporations and organisations based in Hong Kong and beyond, considering and shaping your business practices in line with the 17 SDGs could help you address crucial organisational issues that affect success. Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) Sinar Mas is one such company that has used these SDGs to develop its Sustainability Roadmap Vision 2030 – a comprehensive long-term company-wide sustainable development framework that sets ambitious targets for 10 key impact areas throughout its supply chain.
This integration of the SDGs provides the business and its stakeholders with a benchmark to measure and assess Asia Pulp & Paper’s sustainability performance over time. For organisations working in the pulp and paper industry, displaying a sincere commitment to sustainable forest management practices, community engagement and energy-efficient production methods ensure you work towards a better society that satisfies the demands of all stakeholders – including your own business goals.
Here, we explore some steps businesses must take to meet their sustainability targets now and in the future.
Create a positive work environment
Simply setting robust sustainability targets isn’t enough to secure employee buy-in. Achieving transformative organisation-wide cultural change requires leadership to actively engage employees and show how their individual efforts make a cumulative difference. Many organisations inadvertently discover success by making sustainability the job of everyone in the business hierarchy, with a collaborative and unified mindset helping to produce incredible results.
It’s important to keep in mind that this process doesn’t happen overnight, regardless of the size, scale, or resource availability of your organisation. Instead, management must inspire employees to take part in this journey by defining their long-term goals and highlighting how positive changes can deliver a powerful impact. In many cases, employees often understand the need for a more sustainable approach through an economic lens. Convincing workers to engage becomes natural if you can show how delivering on SDGs improves the company’s bottom line.
Moreover, creating lasting sustainable change within a business is impossible without a happy workforce. Ekamas Fortuna, a business unit of Asia Pulp & Paper, recently received the Gold Awards: Zero Conflict 2022, an accolade that recognises the organisation’s employee satisfaction through workplace agreements and practices that enhance welfare and comfort. While setting impressive sustainability targets is key to creating a better world, persuading your workforce to participate is just as important – and in fact, forms a key part of a sustainable outlook for your business as a whole.
Develop a safe workplace
If businesses are serious about their sustainability targets, employee safety must remain a primary concern.
Every business in the pulp and paper industry, no matter how big or small, must contend with dangerous hazards throughout the supply chain. On the factory floor, the accumulation of combustible dust is a significant problem, as it can lead to major fires and explosions if left unaddressed. Plus, heavy machinery and chemicals can also cause injury to employees when mishandled
In fact, employee safety and welfare are addressed across several of the 17 SDGs – including 3.9, 8.8 and 16.6 – which consider issues ranging from hazardous chemical exposures to labour rights and transparent institutions. Asia Pulp and Paper has taken significant strides in these areas, with 28 of its business units and supply partners recognised by Indonesia’s Minister of Manpower at the recent OHS Management Awards.
These awards are given to organisations that successfully implemented the Occupational Health Safety Management System (SMK3) – a certification designed to control workplace risks and deliver a safe, efficient and productive environment. The Asia Pulp & Paper business unit, PT IKPP Tangerang, was especially highly regarded, receiving extra recognition for its effective COVID-19 policies and for having zero work accidents during the assessed period.
Master social responsibility
Delivering stronger sustainability targets isn’t just about what you can do internally. Organisations with the power to influence communities near and far should also plan and execute targets through the corporate social responsibility (CSR) model. This self-regulatory approach is ideal for proving your sustainable development credentials with the public, business stakeholders and yourself.
So, how do you align a CSR strategy with your business goals?
First, your corporate hierarchy must define what corporate social responsibility means to the organisation. Then it can identify strategies that realise this definition by partnering with like-minded charities, social enterprises and other philanthropic endeavours. Alongside tangible goals that detail the meaning of success, a well-defined CSR strategy can offer numerous business advantages.
For example, businesses with an effective CSR plan often experience increased customer loyalty, enhanced revenue and employee commitment. As more consumers in Hong Kong and around the globe want to support businesses that aren’t solely driven by profit, creating and delivering a meaningful CSR strategy can help your organisation stand out from its competition in the pulp and paper industry.
Awards, certifications, and other third-party assessments are easy ways for companies to ensure that their sustainability goals are feasible, traceable, and transparent.
At the Top CSR Awards 2022, three Asia Pulp and Paper business units received awards for their commitment to corporate social responsibility. Based on implementing ISO 2600 – an international standard for social responsibility – PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper received the “Excellent” four-star award. Meanwhile, PT Paper Factory Tjiwi Kimia received the “Very Excellent” five-star designation.
Achieving such accomplishments not only enables you to assess your own progress via impartial third-party criteria, but holds you accountable to a wider group of stakeholders as well.
Deliver sustainability targets
Adopting sustainability targets is only the beginning when building a better and more responsible business. You also have to show stakeholders how your efforts have delivered tangible change. With a transparent and mindful approach, you can set measurable targets that give internal and external stakeholders a way to assess your performance.
Four of Asia Pulp and Paper’s business units were recognised at the recent 2022 Indonesia Asia Green Awards for their dedication to sustainability. In the Water Resources Savings category, PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills received an award for its work in South Sumatra. Here, the company used reverse osmosis to process peat water into ready-to-drink water for 21 remote villages, reducing local spending on drinking water by up to 50%.
In the Pollution Prevention Pioneering category, PT Kertas Tjiwi Kimia Tbk transformed coal waste into paving blocks for local infrastructure, including roads, mosques and school facilities. Elsewhere, PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper repurposed waste from paper rope machines to provide the women of Tegal Maja village with extra materials to increase their craft-making income.
These initiatives reflect that business growth, sustainability, and community development can be interconnected, rather than disparate and disconnected. In fact, it’s when organisations are able to address all three considerations simultaneously that they are able to see the biggest payoffs in terms of long-term sustainable change.
With a dedicated approach to sustainable development, empowering local communities while increasing business outcomes is more than possible. Asia Pulp & Paper is just one such organisation in the pulp and paper industry taking a forward-thinking approach to its sustainability targets, making them a possible blueprint for other companies in Hong Kong and beyond looking to strengthen their sustainability goals.
Waste is the result of collective failure from public, legislative rules, lack of funds and technical support. Public awareness and proper knowledge of waste management and end use of different types of waste, health effects, environmental problems and economic issues that are related to waste management is very important for successful execution of any waste management related practices. Everyone needs to get better knowledge, proper understanding of waste management issues and their practices to curb it. Basic training needs to be initiated from governments in this regard, which can be very effective. Poor knowledge can make the best planned technique questionable.
The increasing cost of waste disposal is a cause of major concern in developing nations
In developing countries, participation level of most citizens in waste management is very low, with residents in urban areas are not actively involved in the process of waste management. Even though it’s low, but very beneficial for future prospect and for more meaningful involvement of majority of public in waste management practices.
People should be educated about sorting out waste based on their type e.g. recyclable waste, hazardous waste, green waste etc. Majority of people across the world are not aware of waste as recycling material, amazingly most of them think plastic is recyclable waste. Involving people who are unaware of waste management practice is extremely difficult.
In developing countries, practices of waste management are usually carried by poor, for their survival. It has been estimated that 2% of population in Asia, Latin America and Africa are dependent on waste for their livelihood. Family organized, or individual manual scavengers are often involved with waste management practices with very limited supportive network and facilities with increased risk of health effects. Also, this practice prevents their children from further education.
Despite the bad consequences, it should be kept in mind that this practice keeps them employed and provide livelihood in countries with high unemployed population. But measure need to be taken to provide their better lifestyles, social behaviour towards people involved in waste management practices, provide them with facilities to reduce their health-related risk and increase their working efficiency.
In developing countries, where government support for waste management is scarce, people need to come strongly against their local municipal office or government if they see things are not changing and stacks of waste are piling up. They should protest to protect their environment, health and keep living secure and healthy for their children.
Sustainability has become a key element of doing business in any industry. However, running a sustainable business can be challenging and involves engaging employees in your sustainability mission. Developing a strong sustainability culture allows employees to commit to sustainability and implement the environmentally friendly initiatives that best suit the company. Your organisational culture refers to the company’s mission and vision. However, there is much more to consider, such as the daily interaction between employees and managers or your team’s attitude to their daily responsibilities. Today we will provide you with our expert tips to cultivate a culture of sustainability and ensure that your company is striving for a greater purpose other than profit.
Create A Sustainability Vision
Establishing a sustainability vision will help your company determine the direction in which it wants to move in. Therefore, it is critical to develop a picture of the future that is easy to communicate. As new challenges arise, you should adapt the sustainability vision accordingly. Then you will need to ensure that your company’s sustainability vision is remembered and celebrated in different ways.
For example, this might involve organising events, such as sustainability weeks, team competitions, as well as communication campaigns. It might also be a good idea to involve employees’ families, encouraging them to introduce sustainable practices at home.
Explore Effective Solutions
You will need to develop a solid understanding of your company’s impact and potential for sustainable growth. This can be done by exploring effective solutions and strategies to tackle environmental issues, such as climate change.
Take a look at this Business and Climate Change online short course from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, which is designed to show you how to combat climate change in your context and, through the process of decarbonising your business, identify new opportunities for innovation. It delves deep into the importance of this topic, providing you with guidelines on how to create a positive impact within your sphere of influence. You will also learn more about real-world examples of low carbon initiatives.
Get Involved In Local Initiatives
No matter how much effort you put into designing a sustainability strategy, there might be a few employees who might not want to get involved straightaway. It is advisable to provide them with a sense of relevance by looking for local community initiatives that your company can support.
Following successful involvement with community initiatives, these employees can witness the tangible results, which can increase their motivation to get involved again. To ensure success, focus on achieving goals related to employees’ daily lives and personal values.
Participate In Sustainability Forums
There are many issues that your business might want to learn about. However, nowadays, it can be challenging to always keep up with the best practices out there.
Consider participating in sustainability forums where public, private, and third sectors meet to discuss innovative sustainability practices. This can provide you with ideas on how to develop a culture of sustainability that will show your employees that you are committed to making positive changes. You may also have the chance to make new business connections and partnerships.
Implement Green Practices
Think about creating a more sustainable office so that you can save money and energy. For example, you may consider using renewable energy, as green power sources are now more accessible than ever. Also, you can try going paperless by printing less in general and using e-statements and invoices instead of paper documents.
There are also many benefits of choosing LED lighting in your office, such as providing a better work setting for employees and increasing energy efficiency. Where possible, you should try to maximise natural light as well.
Provide Sustainability Training
Employees should not only understand the idea of sustainability and developing a green culture, but they should also be aware of the reasons why the company is focused on sustainability. This means that your message needs to be clear so that employees feel more aligned with the company’s mission. Sustainability training can take place in a variety of ways by using a combination of internal and external resources.
For instance, you can start by hosting monthly meetings with the aim of discussing different topics related to business sustainability. Also, it might be helpful to establish a training budget that enables employees to attend seminars or conferences.
Put Together A Green Team
If you are looking to truly engage employees and establish a sustainability culture, you will not only just need leadership from management, but at all levels of the organisation.
It can be helpful to set up a green team made up of passionate individuals across all levels and departments of the company. These people should be eager to contribute to the organisation’s sustainability efforts. This will confirm the idea of a greater movement happening and will encourage participation from other team members as well. You will find that many employees will be interested in participating in something that aligns with their core values.
Organise Regular Meetings
Holding meetings on a regular basis is a great way to allow cross-collaboration between different departments and areas of the business. It will also enable you to track progress and communicate results with the rest of the team. Keep employees fully informed about company updates when it comes to broader sustainability goals. Explain how company initiatives are benefiting the environment and your local community.
You may also want to include general news about eco-trends or worldwide sustainability activities that might interest your employees. Regular meetings will help you stay on track with your goals, ensuring that every employee can feel like a sustainability champion.
Be Open To Suggestions
When employees are empowered with education and the tools they need to make a positive environmental impact, they are more likely to embed sustainability into their daily routines. This means that you can avoid unwanted disruption to regular business culture. Instead, you can focus on making gradual changes and moving towards a culture of sustainability.
It is crucial to ensure that employees feel confident to share their ideas and suggestions, which may influence company actions. As a result, all employees can gain common ground on sustainability strategies.
Share Success Stories
It is important to show appreciation to employees who have adopted this culture by featuring their stories in a visible or public manner. If you are looking to promote employee engagement, you may also want to organise competitions with attractive incentives, such as a paid company volunteer day.
Remember to celebrate your employees’ success and show them that the company is committed to helping all stakeholders, including customers, partners, and the local community. For example, you can share awards, pictures, videos, and quotes on social media so that you can get more people involved.
Embed Sustainability In Employees’ Minds
Sustainability should become part of everyday interaction between employees and managers, from senior board meetings to sub-department lunches. When it comes to adopting new habits and getting accustomed to new ideas, repetition is key. Therefore, it might be beneficial for managers to mention sustainability during important speeches and presentations. This will portray sustainability as a main personal and organisational goal.
Managers can demonstrate that the company’s sustainability vision is not empty words but rather a top priority. As a result, the concept of sustainability and a green workplace culture will be embedded in employees’ minds.
Since catapulting to the frontlines of news headlines and global consciousness, climate change is one of the most talked about and concerning topics of the modern age. Fortunately with this shift in cognition, manufacturers all across the globe have banded together to create green products in hopes of a more eco-friendly future. It’s these very products that can transform any business from a wasteful guzzler to a green success. With this guide, we’ll walk you through how you can incorporate sustainability into your daily business practice.
1. LED bulbs
Switch out the incandescent light bulbs with CFL or LED bulbs for a longer-lasting and more energy-efficient brilliance. Compact-fluorescent (CFL) and LED light bulbs tend to carry higher price tags than the average fluorescent bulb, however they offer a far more attractive projected lifespan than typical fluorescent bulbs which tend to offer 1,200 hours of light.
LED bulbs, on average, cost around $5 and offer 25,000 hours of light, while CFL light bulbs cost about $2 and offer 10,000 hours of projected lifespan. Not only are CFL and LED lights more practical from a sustainability standpoint, but they will also save you thousands on your business’s electric bill.
2. Biodegradable Kitchen Supplies
Using biodegradable kitchen supplies to save on plastic waste. Unless your office is the type of place where employees keep personal dishes in the kitchen cupboard, you will likely need to keep a stash of utensils, cups, and plates on deck for any catered lunches or work parties.
Instead of giving into the cheap prices of eco-unfriendly plastic ware, invest in biodegradable kitchen packaging for a greener feast. With fewer resource requirements, these biodegradable forks, spoons, and knives will leave your business with a reduced carbon footprint.
3. Ink cartridge recycling
Recycling ink cartridges is a great practice to put in place for businesses equipped with a number of printers. Believe it or not, the vast majority of discarded ink cartridges end up in harmful, toxic landfills that eventually end up in our oceans. Ink cartridge recycling is the most eco-friendly solution to this preventable problem. There are a number of simple ways to take those empty cartridges off your hands and into the hands of a trusted recycler:
Find a local office supply store: Did you know most office supply stores offer recycle programs? Check online or call in to see if they accept ink cartridges.
Consider refilling original cartridges: Do a bit of research on the brand of your empty ink cartridge. You may find that they are able to refill your cartridge and you won’t ever have to worry about tossing them!
4. Opening windows
Opening up windows is an easy solution to a stuffy, warm office. When people are packed like sardines into their tiny cubicles, the air can quickly become stale and stifling. Instead of wasting money and energy on air conditioning, open a few windows to let fresh air flow in.
Air conditioners put hydrofluorocarbons, a type of greenhouse gas emission, into the environment—so while you may feel refreshed, the earth is further harmed. Reduce your business’ contribution by saving the AC for the more-unbearable summer days.
5. Adopt renewable energy
Invest in renewable energy sources for a long-term, energy-efficient, and eco-friendly power solution. Every year, we see more and more solar panels sitting atop rooftops, which means the time to invest in solar panels is now. By converting sunlight into a sustainable power source, solar panels are the greenest source of energy on the planet today. Solar energy can be used heat buildings and provide energy to power lights on.
6. Make use of post-consumer waste
Turning to post-consumer waste (PCW) to escape the cycle of high-volume paper waste is an exceptional solution for any company that uses a lot of paper. PCW paper is paper re-made at recycling facilities. According to the Environmental Paper Network Paper Calculator, PCW paper saves on
5,610 gallons of water
5,000,000 BTU of energy
376 pounds of solid waste
1,035 pounds of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions
Bottom Line
In 2021, there are no more excuses for why a business is stuck in the past. The future can be a bright one if we all put our best foot forward and make the effort to make our spaces greener!
The importance of saving water cannot be understated, especially as many countries around the world are facing drought conditions. Of course, there is an endless list of small changes you can make as a homeowner to improve the water-saving efficiency of your home, and they add up to a potentially significant difference in the long-term.
1. Repurpose Water
A staggering amount of water literally goes down the drain each day, when there are plenty of smart, safe ways to conserve as much of it as possible. Your bathroom is a key contributor to single-use wastage, and by keeping a container on the floor of your shower you can collect liters with each use. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, even seemingly small things like using a container to catch the water used in washing fresh produce can make a difference over time.
2. Get Smart About Lawn Care
It’s a common misconception that maintaining a healthy lawn requires a plentiful supply of water. Even during water-restricted periods, keeping your grass green is possible – you just have to get clever about your lawn care practices. Depending on the severity of restrictions, you may only be allowed to water your garden and lawn on certain days and at set times of day, and this will probably be enough, as long as you follow a few guidelines.
If possible, it’s best to water your plants and grass in the evening so that the water has plenty of time to soak into the soil and roots without the threat of evaporation. In case you’re unsure whether to water or not, feeling the topsoil for dryness will give you the best indication. Another interesting option for a smart and healthy lawn is to go for artificial grass or drought-tolerant landscape.
3. Use the Half-flush
The second button on the toilet is more than just an aesthetic feature. In fact, the half-flush button can save as much as 70% of the water used in a full flush, owing to the difference in flushing design. A wash-down design and a large trap way make it easier for waste to flow down the drain, meaning less water is required. If you can afford to replace an old, inefficient system, you stand to save a lot of water (and by extension, money) in the long-term.
4. Use Dual Sinks
Washing dishes by hand gets a bad rap in terms of water efficiency, and it often uses more water than a dishwasher, but it’s possible to prevent a great deal of wastage by using your sink effectively. If you have a double-barreled sink, using one side for washing and the other for rinsing will allow you to wash an unlimited load without needing to refresh the water.
5. Check the Ratings
Every water-using device has an efficiency rating, and choosing a well-rated model will help you prevent unnecessary wastage at the source. In some countries, large devices like dishwashers and washing machines come with a star rating to give an indication of their efficiency, and even if they don’t, you can still do your own comparative checks.
In the US, the toilet is typically the biggest source of water wastage, followed by the shower and faucets, but with modern water-efficient designs like water-saving vacuum toilets and low-flow showerheads, much of that water could be preserved.
6. Install Water-Saving Faucets
The only thing more efficient than collecting and re-using run-off from the shower is using less water at the source, and the right faucet can help with that. You can use touchless faucets in your kitchen as well as it can save a lot of water. According to myhomeneedz, a touchless kitchen faucet can save up to 20% water compared to normal faucets.
Just like dishwashers and washing machines, faucets often come with a water-efficiency rating, but they can also be made more eco-friendly through simple add-ons like aerators. An aerator installation is a perfect project for eco-conscious lovers of DIY – once it’s done, the difference will be practically undetectable, and you’ll be saving liters without even trying.
7. Buy Smaller Machines
Devices like dishwashers and washing machines are becoming more water-efficient with each passing year, but the fact remains that large machines tend to use much more water than their smaller counterparts. A smaller device will also make it easier to commit to only running full loads, since it will take less time to fill.
You might even consider investing in a double-gallon dishwashers, designed to run smaller loads with half the amount of water – there’s plenty of technology available to help in your quest to use less.
8. Install a Water Tank
If you have the money and the space available on your property, a water tank is one of the best long-term water-saving investments you can make. Even the average backyard water tank allows for the collection of several hundred liters, which is more than enough to keep your yard in good condition or fill your bathtub many times over. Tanks can be expensive to buy, but the savings you stand to make on your water bills will make it all worthwhile.
Fresh drinking water is a precious resource, and developing efficient usage habits and adopting eco-friendly plumbing has never been more important. The bottom line is that saving water isn’t difficult, and with a few tips and tricks up your sleeve, you’re fully-equipped to start doing your bit for the environment and the world as a whole.
There is a broad consensus that human beings have the right to enjoy an environment suitable for personal development. In reality, this right is also a duty since it requires for its viability that human activity itself does not impede the enjoyment of this right. It is moving from mere enforceability to the sphere of responsibility and duties.
But to enter into the logic of responsibility implies for those of us who are culturally conditioned to advance towards a cultural change.
In today’s entry, we will carefully analyze our responsibilities towards our environment and nature itself. To do so, we will analyze the different aspects of environmental law and our responsibilities to respect it. Here are the four most vital components of that law.
An ecological cultural change is nourished by our modern-day behaviors. Like in many cultures, welcoming the gift of creation invites us to continue to show the love that orients and promotes all lives. However, this gift allows and also demands respect for the equilibrium of the environment itself.
This balance is not only the fruit of a simple random and fortuitous evolutionary course but must be recognized as a gift that makes human life as a whole possible. A rupture of this dynamic is what scientists are warning about, the abuse of the environment. Introducing changes that break its balance, such as the current climate change process resulting from human activity and a cultural model that allows the abuse of resources. Thus, disrupting the natural balance.
Responding to this imbalance implies recognizing and practicing some duties that are marginalized in the present culture.
Our Responsibility of Conservation
The first responsibility is the conservation of creation. Today, witnessing the signs of the globalized ecological crisis throughout the planet, it is clear that the appropriate framework for “cultivation” is guardianship or conservation.
Without conservation, there can be no responsible and fair human cultivation. From this understanding, nature’s cultivation cannot lead to its “exploitation” because it cannot be abused, breaking its balance. A current concretization of this responsibility implies fighting against climate change and the various ecological disorders.
The signs of a development that has not always known how to protect nature’s delicate balances are evident when talking about air pollution. Before it is too late, severe measures must be taken, not only when writing an air pollution essay or article, but in real-life, to re-establish a strong alliance between man and the earth.
Therefore, we need a decisive “yes” to the protection of creation and a strong commitment to reverse the trends that could lead to situations of irreversible degradation.
The Responsibility not to Alienate Nature
The second responsibility that lies in our hands is to “respect the grammar of nature”. Nature is not an “untouchable taboo.” The natural environment is not only matter subjectively available to human beings, but an admirable work of nature itself that carries within itself a “grammar” that indicates purpose and criteria for intelligent, non-instrumental, and arbitrary use.
Today, many harms to development come from these distorted ways of thinking. Completely reducing nature to a set of simple factual data ends up being a source of violence towards the environment, provoking behaviors that do not respect the nature of man himself.
The latter, insofar as it is composed not only of matter but also of the spirit, and therefore rich in meanings and transcendent ends, has a normative character even for our culture.
Integration of Justice
Third, the need to integrate ecological justice and social justice. This need implies using resources that are respectful of nature and equitable with present and future human rights. Thus, the responsibilities we have towards the environment are related to those we have towards the person and his relationship with others. We cannot demand some and violate others. This is a severe antinomy of today’s mentality and praxis, which debases the person, disrupts the environment, and damages society.
For example, the desertification and productive impoverishment of some agricultural areas is also the fruit of the impoverishment of their inhabitants who suffer resource consumption damages. These have been crucial topics that show up regularly in a water pollution essay by environmental protection advocates due to the impact it causes in our occidental society. This impoverishment includes energy, air, and water pollution, which damage their natural environment (the effects of climate change on their lands, for example) and the inequitable consumption in its enjoyment and hoarding by influential minorities of humanity. The fruit of social justice must be held at peace among our societies and also with nature.
Social injustice is the occasion for social war and natural destruction. Many natural resources are devastated by wars. Peace among peoples and between peoples would also make it possible to safeguard nature more effectively. The hoarding of resources, especially water, can lead to serious conflicts between the populations concerned. Thus, a peaceful agreement on the use of resources can safeguard nature and, at the same time, the well-being of the societies concerned.
Pursuing Sustainability
The fourth responsibility is to improve efficiency and sustainability when dealing with nature. Responsible governance of creation implies, among other things, improving energy efficiency and the search for alternative energies to reduce their harmfulness to the environment and the harm to humanity itself. But it has to be framed in a global project of relationship with nature in the key of “alliance between human being and a healthy environment,” which adequately weighs the path to the future. That considers the approach to be followed in each aspect.
This is a global responsibility: The international community and each government must know how to counteract effectively those ways of using the environment that is harmful to it. And the competent authorities must also make the necessary efforts to ensure that the economic and social costs arising from the use of common environmental rights and resources are recognized transparently and borne entirely by those who benefit, not by others or by future generations.
The protection of the environment, resources, and the climate require that all international decision-makers act together and demonstrate a readiness to act in good faith, respect for the law and solidarity with the weaker regions of the planet.
Responsibilities that can help us to assume our responsibility towards ourselves. Towards the present and future of humanity, and towards the whole of creation.
Out of all the measures that are necessary in addressing India’s impending waste management crisis, the most efficient will be changes at the national policy and planning level. It is well-known among the small but growing waste management sector that urban India will hit rock bottom due to improper waste management.
Unfortunately, they think such a crisis is required to bring about policy changes, as they generally tend to happen only after the damage has been done. This attitude is unfortunate because it indicates a lack of or failed effort from the sector to change policy, and also the level of India’s planning and preparedness.
An average of 32,000 people will be added to urban India every day, continuously, until 2021. This number is a warning, considering how India’s waste management infrastructure went berserk trying to deal with just 25,000 new urban Indians during the last decade. The scale of urbanization in India and around the world is unprecedented with planetary consequences to Earth’s limited material and energy resources, and its natural balance.
Rate of increase in access to sanitation infrastructure generally lags behind the rate of urbanization by 33% around the world; however, the lack of planning and impromptu piecemeal responses to waste management issues observed in India might indicate a much wider gap. This means urban Indians will have to wait longer than an average urban citizen of our world for access to proper waste management infrastructure.
The clear trend in the outbreak of epidemic and public protests around India is that they are happening in the biggest cities in their respective regions. Kolkata, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Srinagar are capitals of their respective states, and Coimbatore is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu. However, long term national level plans to improve waste management in India do not exist and guidance offered to urban local bodies is meager.
Apart from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), there has been no national level effort required to address the problem. Even though JnNURM was phenomenal in stimulating the industry and local governments, it was not enough to address the scale and extent of the problem. This is because of JnNURM is not a long term waste management financing program, sorts of which are required to tackle issues like solid waste management.
Are Cities Hands-tied or is Change Possible?
In the short term, municipal corporations have their hands tied and will not be able to deliver solutions immediately. They face the task of realizing waste management facilities inside or near cities while none of their citizens want them near their residences. Officials of Hyderabad’s municipal corporation have been conducting interviews with locals for about eight years now for a new landfill site, to no avail.
In spite of the mounting pressure, most corporations will not be able to close the dumpsites that they are currently using. This might not be the good news for which local residents could be waiting, but, it is important that bureaucrats, municipal officials and politicians be clear about it. Residents near Vellalore dump protested and blocked roads leading to the site because Coimbatore municipal officials repeatedly failed to fulfill their promises after every landfill fire incident.
Due to lack of existing alternatives, other than diverting waste fractionally by increasing informal recycling sector’s role, closing existing landfills would mean finding new sites. Finding new landfills in and around cities is nearly impossible because of the track record of dumpsite operations and maintenance in India and the Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) phenomenon.
However, the corporations can and should take measures to reduce landfill fires and open burning, and control pollution due to leachate and odor and vector nuisance. This will provide much needed relief to adjacent communities and give the corporations time to plan better. While navigating through an issue as sensitive this, it is of the utmost importance that they work closely with the community by increasing clarity and transparency.
Municipal officials at the meeting repeatedly stressed the issue of scarcity of land for waste disposal, which led to overflowing dumpsites and waste treatment facilities receiving more waste than what they were designed for. Most municipal officials are of the sense that a magic solution is right around the corner which will turn all of their city’s waste into electricity or fuel oil or gas, or into recycled products. While such conversion is technologically possible with infinite energy and financial sources, that is not the reality.
Despite their inability to properly manage wastes, the majority of municipal officials consider waste as “wealth” when approached by private partners. Therefore, a significant portion of officials expect royalty from private investments without sharing business risk.
When it comes to waste minimisation and moving material up the waste hierarchy you will find partisan advocates for the roles of the public, private and community sectors. Each will tell you the reasons why their sector’s approach is the best. The private sector will extol their virtues as the only ones capable of efficiently and effectively doing the job. They rightly note that they are the providers on the front lines who actually recover the vast majority of material, that the private sector approach drives innovation and efficiency, and that if waste minimisation is to be sustainable this must include economic sustainability.
The community sector on the other hand will make a strong case to say that their model, because it commonly encompasses social, environmental, and economic outcomes, is able to leverage value from recovered materials to dig deeper into the waste stream, to optimise recovered material quality, and to maximise employment and local economic benefit.
Before recycling and composting were economically viable prospects, community sector organisations led the way, developing many of the techniques now widely used. They remain the leaders in marginal areas such as furniture reuse, running projects that deliver environmental outcomes while providing wider community benefits such as rehabilitation and training for marginalised groups.
Finally, in the public sector corner, advocates will point out that the profit-driven private sector will only ever recover those materials that are able to generate positive revenues, and so cannot maximise waste minimisation, while social outcomes are strictly a secondary consideration. The community sector, on the other hand, while encompassing non-monetary values and capable of effective action on a local scale, is not set up to deliver these benefits on a larger scale and can sometimes struggle to deliver consistent, professional levels of service.
The public sector can point to government’s role in legislating to promote consistent environmental and social outcomes, while councils are major providers and commissioners of recycling services and instrumental in shaping public perceptions around waste issues. The public sector often leads in directing activity towards non-monetary but otherwise valuable outcomes, and provides the framework and funding for equity of service levels.
So who is right? Each sector has good arguments in its favour, and each has its weaknesses. Does one approach carry the day? Should we just mix and match according to our personal taste or based on what is convenient?
Perhaps we are asking the wrong question. Maybe the issue is not “which approach is better?” but instead “how might the different models help us get to where we ultimately want to go?”
Smells Like Waste Minimisation
So where do we want to go? What is the waste minimisation end game?
If we think about things from a zero waste perspective, the ideal is that we should move from linear processes of extraction, processing, consumption and disposal, to cyclical processes that mimic nature and that re-integrate materials into economic and natural systems. This is the nirvana – where nothing is ‘thrown away’ because everything has a further beneficial use. In other words what we have is not waste but resources. Or to put it another way – everything has value.
Assuming that we continue to operate in an essentially capitalist system, value has to be translated into economic terms. Imagine if every single thing that we now discard was worth enough money to motivate its recovery. We would throw nothing away: why would we if there was money to be made from it?
So in a zero waste nirvana the private sector and the community sector would take care of recovery almost automatically. There might evolve a community and private sector mix, with each occupying different niches depending on desired local outcomes. There would be no need for the public sector to intervene to promote waste minimisation. All it would need to do would be to set some ground rules and monitor the industry to ensure a level playing field and appropriate health and safety.
Sectoral Healing
Returning to reality, we are a long way from that zero waste nirvana. As things stand, a bunch of materials do have economic value, and are widely recycled. Another layer of materials have marginal value, and the remainder have no value in practical terms (or even a negative value in the case of hazardous wastes).
The suggested shift in perspective is most obvious in terms of how we think about the role of the public sector. To bring us closer to our goal, the public sector needs to intervene in the market to support those materials of marginal value so that they join the group that has genuine value.
Kerbside (or curbside) collection of certain materials, such as glass and lower value plastics, is an example of an activity that is in effect subsidised by public money. These subsidies enable the private sector to achieve environmental outcomes that we deem sufficiently worthwhile to fund.
However, the public sector should not just be plugging a gap in the market (as it largely does now), but be working towards largely doing itself out of a job. If we are to progress towards a cyclical economy, the role of the public sector should not be to subsidise marginal materials in perpetuity, but to progressively move them from marginal to genuinely economic, so that they no longer require support.
At the same time new materials would be progressively targeted and brought through so that the range and quantity requiring disposal constantly shrinks. This suggests a vital role for the public sector that encompasses research, funding for development of new technologies and processes, and setting appropriate policy and price structures (such as through taxes, levies, or product stewardship programmes).
Similarly, the community sector, because it is able to ‘dig deeper’ into the waste stream, has a unique and ongoing role to play in terms of being able to more effectively address those materials of marginal value as they begin to move up the hierarchy. The community sector’s unique value is its ability to work at the frontiers.
Meanwhile, the private sector’s resources and creativity will be needed to enable efficient systems to be developed to manage collection, processing and recycling of materials that reach the threshold of economic viability – and to create new, more sustainable products that fit more readily into a waste minimising world.
In the end, then, perhaps the answer is to stop seeing the three models as being in competition. Instead, we should consciously be utilising the unique characteristics of each so that we can evolve our practices towards a future that is more functional and capable of delivering the circular economy that must eventuate if we are to sustain ourselves on this planet.
Note: The article is being republished with the kind permission of our collaborative partner Isonomia. The original article can be viewed at this link
Environmental concerns are more widespread than they ever have been, thanks to high-profile documentaries, a raft of alarming science, and some determined activism from green pressure groups. And these concerns are helping to shape the modern home, too.
There are myriad environmentally-friendly ways in which the environmental impact of your home can be lessened. Some of these involve major investment and upheaval; others, however, offer a considerable return on just a little bit of effort.
Swapping out older halogen-style light bulbs for newer LED-based ones can save enormous amounts of energy in the long-term. They’re more resilient, and they’ll pay for themselves within a few weeks. Of course, there’s also an environmental cost associated with manufacturing a new bulb – and thus it may be worth waiting for your old bulbs to fail before investing in a replacement.
2. Insulate
If you’re burning gas in order to replace the heat that’s escaping through your windows, doors and walls, then you’re imposing a burden on the environment. Anything you can do to improve the insulation situation will therefore confer an environmental benefit. Often, the best results can be had by improving the situation in the loft.
3. Install a compost bin
Your kitchen will produce food waste, which can be put to use in the garden. Install a compost bin, and use the results to grow yourself some quality vegetables. You’ll be slashing your food miles in the process, too.
3. Heat Pumps
A ground-source heat pump is a device which draws energy up from deep in the ground, and uses it to help heat your house. Despite the name, the heat-pump can actually help to cool your property, too. Plus, you won’t have the visual upheaval that comes with solar panels. With that said, they’re tricky to install into existing builds, and their efficiency can vary according to the type of soil heat is being extracted from.
4. Photovoltaic Solar Panels
If you can claim a little bit of the energy that strikes your roof, then you’ll reduce the amount of fossil fuels that you’re indirectly causing to be burned. Over the course of decades, again, the investment in solar panels will pay for itself – and you’ll get the benefit of solar grants to sweeten the deal still further.
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