Rio+20 is over and, as expected, it has produced a flurry of words and good intentions. But hopefully there are continued commitments from countries and companies to keep their word and do more for the good of the planet. Many wonder whether these big global events are all they are cracked up to be. Maybe just as much can be achieved by regional events. Look at Impact Forum in Singapore with its focus on social enterprise and sustainable development. Look at Singapore International Water Week – from 1 July – with its associated events, World Cities Summit and CleanEnviro Summit. These amount to much more than words. They bring people together with ideas, products, programmes and services. They mean business.  Read More

More than Business as Usual

Rio+20 is over and, as expected, it has produced a flurry of words and good intentions. But hopefully there are continued commitments from countries and companies to keep their word and do more for the good of the planet. Many wonder whether these big global events are all they are cracked up to be. Maybe just as much can be achieved by regional events. Look at Impact Forum in Singapore with its focus on social enterprise and sustainable development. Look at Singapore International Water Week – from 1 July – with its associated events, World Cities Summit and CleanEnviro Summit. These amount to much more than words. They bring people together with ideas, products, programmes and services. They mean business. We can only reiterate that unless businesses around the world – including NGOs with a business-like approach – adopt sustainability as their mantra and commit to doing good as well as making money, we will continue to see a greater divide between rich and poor and all the dire predictions of climate change will be a reality sooner than later. So there is a lot banking on business. And we can only hope that leaders of countries will continue to not only protect the environment but foster an environment where business is encouraged to invest in green growth, clean energy, energy efficiency and sustainable development. As The Economist concluded in a recent article:  “Green growth offers the best hope that the countries facing the sharpest conflicts between prosperity and preserving the environment can square the circle.” There is – in our book – a sustainable business model. It makes perfect business sense. Many companies get it as they can see that the bottom line benefits. May green growth and sustainable development flourish.- Ken Hickson