With so much going on in the realm of sustainability, leadership, and innovation, and only a limited amount of bandwidth for professionals in this space, we have created this weekly post to highlight articles that we feel are (1) important, (2) relevant, and (3) interesting in the areas of business sustainability. If you have an article that you feel needs to be mentioned, please do so in the comments section.
Breathing Space: Why China’s Population Worries About Air Pollution But Ignores Climate Change Talks In Paris
Many in China now recognise the issue of PM2.5 in their cities. However, despite being a product of the same systemic problem, they seem much less concerned with the issue of global warming. In this piece, Duncan Hewitt, discusses this disconnected and public feeling towards the two.
Last week, we were fortunate enough to welcome Duncan to Collective during his research and some of our thoughts are expressed within his article.
Airpocalypse Now: Toxic Smog Cloaks Beijing During Climate Talks
With news that COP21 talks in Paris will be extended, China stills struggles with airpocalyptic levels of pollution. Many outdoor activities have been cancelled and pollution warnings have been raised. Here, simple illustrations showing the outlines of famous building in China’s capital Beijing, creating an impactful image and example of just how bad the pollution can get.
Why Sustainability-Oriented Innovation Is Valuable in Every Context
“SOI allows companies to push beyond their usual innovation boundaries and their typical business protocols, it is expanding the range of businesses that are practicing sustainability and finding new fuel for their innovation processes.” It is an area that is developing and providing value across all across business, in this post the innovation is assessed further with 3 separate degrees of the practice identified.
Patagonia’s Anti-Growth Strategy
Patagonia, now in its fifth decade of private ownership, has long been a company with a strong environmental and philanthropic core. It has often been the first to adopt perceived risky strategies that incorporate societal and environmental ethics. Now adopting an “anti-cosumerism” model to encourage the long term unsafe of their products they have looked to tap into a more sophisticated client base that value quality. This couple with the encouragement of reuse and recycling of products puts them at the very top of environmentally conscious brands.