As entrepreneurs, we have a shared responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint and conduct sustainable business practices. Below are three industries that need further disruption to ensure we all dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.
1. Food.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) suggests, “Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year -- approximately 1.3 billion tonnes -- gets lost or wasted.” Yet, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), “Some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on earth.”
2. Clothing.
In an article in The Atlantic, Elizabeth Cline reported that Americans send approximately 10.5 million tons of clothing straight to landfills each year. Although some donate their used clothes to Goodwill and other charitable institutions, most consumers toss their old wares in with regular trash.
Retailers are too complicit by encouraging wasteful practices. Inaccurate trend forecasting often leads to excess supply. The leftover clothes later find their way to the clearance aisle where impulsive shoppers purchase dozens of items at a steep discount. Instead of manufacturing new clothing, companies should aim to recycle and re-circulate any items that are still like-new.
3. Technology.
Our insatiable desire for faster, smarter and more energy-efficient technology is arguably counter-productive. While we thrive thanks to lightning speed Internet connections, cell phones that are smarter than the average human being and other neat gadgets that make our lives feel and seem easier, we are exhausting a number of non-renewable resources. Tons of cheap, harmful chemicals are used, and emitted as pollutants, to build the devices we buy.
Business profits should not have such a high social cost. The more entrepreneurs take responsibility for protecting the environment by giving consumers better choices about what they buy, the more likely it is future generations will enjoy a healthier world than we live in today.
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