XLRI Students' Blog on Corporate Sustainability

  The UNCED (United Nations Conference on Economic Development) held in Rio de Janeiro in the year 1992 identified a major cause of the continued and rapid deterioration of the natural environment across the globe as ‘unsustainable production and consumption patterns’, especially prevalent in the industrialised world. It stressed on the need for changes in consumption and production patterns worldwide to ensure sustainable development. The two key driving forces of the global economy, namely, consumption and production patterns of goods and services across countries, have a lot of pressure on their rapid growth which involves a very destructive use of the natural environment and its resources thereby endangering the very foundation on which our survival and future depends. The current pandemic caused by the coronavirus presents a unique opportunity to countries to envisage efficient recovery plans that will rollback current wasteful trends in our production and consumption patterns...

Introduction What are the two forces that drive human society? That are demand and supply or consumption and production. For centuries, our ancestors lived almost the same life, but towards the fall of the 19 th century, a miracle called the Industrial Revolution took place, and human society never looked back. Technological innovations and economic growth have changed human life in such a way that an alternate way of living cannot even be thought of. But in this process, we created an enemy for ourselves, that is environmental degradation. The UN explains Sustainable Development Goal 12: “ Sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.” 11...