Importance of Sustainability

According to Steven Pinker

And supported by many a thinker,

The world’s becoming a better place

Though at a slow but steady pace.

And yet there are problems for sure

And climate change is at the fore.

Inequality is also dire

And maybe getting much higher.

If progress on all these is slow

The consequences are grave, we know.

Their abilities and constraints are such

That governments can't do much.

NGOs have few means but ability

And businesses have means but don't see

These issues as part of their core.

For profit is how they would score.

But businesses slowly realise

That profit is a short-term prize.

After all what do businesses gain

If they die out and don’t sustain?

But how much can they afford to spend

To ensure their existence doesn't end?

That answer's not easy to find

But a thought still comes to my mind.

If the efforts of all are combined

The synergies that we can find

Reduces costs and raises gain

And obviates inevitable pain.

There’s a capitalistic strain

That enthrones shareholder gain.

And Milton Friedman could see

That this simplistic philosophy

Could lead to great efficiency

But wherever there's externality,

This capitalism, red in tooth and claw,

Can prove to be a dismal flaw.

Correction can come from regulation

Or even from self-remediation

And Adam Smith himself foresaw

That business could address this flaw.

It should be clearly understood

One can do well by doing good.

Doing it smartly we do better

So why not be the trend setter!

In capitalism's early days we see

Social responsibility in some degree.

To dissipate the urban gloom

Both Cadbury, Lord Leverhulme

Then pioneered the company town.

Some observers would surely frown

At their extremely paternal attitude

But many might view it with gratitude.

We should remember in that age

It compensated their lowly wage.

It's time to get the Tata group

Now very much into the loop.

Because it seemed morally right

The Tata group then set its sight

At such a very lofty height,

For what Trade Unions had to fight

In Europe for several years

Was gifted by these worthy seers,

From the goodness of their heart.

Undoubtedly this played a part

In honing their great reputation

And then contributing to the nation.

And doing good is very sound

What goes around does come around.

Doing good isn’t just a cost

The gain outweighs all that’s lost.

My grandfather probably saw

These examples and found no flaw.

He bought faraway marshy land.

His critics just couldn't understand.

They concluded he had gone quite mad

But today we are glad, not sad.

A township then slowly arose

And this is where our business grows.

We provided every needed tool

Housing, hospital and school.

My uncle known as SPG

Way back could clearly see

The environment was under stress

Neglect he knew would be a mess.

Our creek side land was reserved

The mangroves there well preserved.

And from my office I gaze out there,

A Mumbai view that's very rare

With greenery all the way

Until you sight New Bombay.

And now and then, with friends I float

On a gently moving boat,

With pink Flamingos in full flight,

To my mind a splendid sight.

In saving tigers, he played a role.

The environment was a major goal.

 

The Tata Trusts as we all know

Get a very constant flow

Of dividends from shares they own.

It may not be quite as well known

Our trusts also have a share

The proportion’s smaller but it’s there.

And here I think that we all ought to

Pay careful heed to Michael Porter.

With Shared Value there's no cost

For doing good as nothing's lost.

All it takes is a thinking brain

To remove a societal pain

And combine it with a business gain

To create a sustainable chain

Of endless mutual benefit.

This concept is a tremendous hit.

We thought that we should also try

And see if we could apply

This philosophy to our group

Our employees also joined the loop.

In the year 2010

Studies were commissioned and then

With the help of Dasra and FSG

Our new program, one could see.

We aptly named it Good and Green

And what a journey it has been!

And how do we define our role

What could be a proper goal?

Now the UN has a lengthy list,

So, in recounting, some would be missed!

So, I will focus on just three

That I think would be the key

For all the others to fall in place

And enable us to win the race.

Good health through perfect sanitation,

Environment and education.

All of these can be seen

In our program Good and Green.

It is no longer Climate Change

Within a tolerable range.

A crisis is what it’s about

With fires, floods as well as drought.

Every week a constant blast

Far worse than seen in the past.

If we must, we will adapt

Prevention though would be more apt.

There is a cost to adaptation,

It’s rising fast in every nation

As well as for the world at large.

 

This will be a heavy charge.

In fact, we should all conclude

Prevention would be really shrewd.

In practice it would cost much less

And avoid a lot of stress.

All industry should play a role

In the carbon neutral goal.

GHG emissions should be reduced

More green energy should be produced.

And so, without partiality

Our goal for all's neutrality.

Whether water, carbon or solid waste

And very soon we will make haste

To make our net emissions zero.

Will that make the group a hero?

In 2010 the goal looked tall

But we took a reasoned call

Technology would save the day.

So far it has turned out that way.

To achieve these goals, we will strive

To do it all by 2025.

As technology takes a leap

Green energy gets very cheap.

Keen observers quickly saw

That Solar also tracks Moore's law.

Whether groundnut shell or bagasse

Our India's full of biomass.

At first, we thought we'd have to spend

But that's not true, for in the end,

The more we thought and the more we slaved

We did invest but we also saved.

And solar is still getting cheaper

And as we start digging deeper

In India it will hit the goal

Of being cheaper than even coal

In just a handful of years.

Already we and our peers

Are sourcing solar electricity

At lower rates than from the utility.

For quite some time we've been extorted

As their finances aren't still sorted.

A silver lining can be seen,

Since it incentivises green.

Offsets help elimination

And rural electrification

With distributed solar power

Is now the need of the hour.

Our cost of water is not so high

Therefore we attempt to try

 

To reduce our water consumption

But all the same it's a safe assumption

Our water use won't disappear

And so, to be neutral, I fear,

We will have to mitigate.

Though fortunately I can state

That developing a watershed

Doesn't cost much and instead

Our agribusiness can benefit.

The government will do its bit

But where it fails, we'll fill the breach

And hopefully we will reach

Many farmers on the cheap

But the benefits that we reap

Will compensate for the cost

And once again nothing's lost.

There are many paths that we can see

For achieving Carbon neutrality.

But the cheapest way is certainly

Through energy efficiency.

Real interest rates are rather low

And high returns quickly flow

From any energy saving device.

For business this is very nice.

Not only are returns quite brisk,

There’s also very little risk.

In India mandated CSR

Can help us go very far.

Multiple benefits are what one sees

With water projects or growing trees.

Good livelihoods are created

Our carbon emissions are abated.

Trees planted at a river’s source

Maintain the flow throughout its course.

So many benefits we can see:

The preservation of biodiversity,

Different species can be tried.

Useful products can be supplied

Like biomass or edible fruits

And yet the trunk and the roots

Can sequester carbon, clean the air,

A win-win that is very fair.

So, while we decarbonise

Why not also monetise.

So never fall for either or.

Our hearts and minds demand much more.

Neutrality can come with ease.

Some may think that I’m a tease.

Some companies are not yet sold.

For some it’s tough, or so I’m told.

 

Energy intensive firms would say

It’s much tougher, for them to play.

If you can turn all waste to gold

And if you can be very bold

With inventing technology

Any industry can see

Eventual neutrality.

And there is so much more to gain

If it’s across our entire chain.

The case of course is very clear

And yet we are nowhere near

Any kind of firm solution

To end Greenhouse Gas pollution.

Around the world we would find

So many leaders that are blind.

Or perhaps not so benighted

But conveniently shortsighted.

Why undergo any pain

If by the time you get the gain

You will no longer be around.

To politicos this may seem sound.

Prevention is much better than cure!

So learn it now or then endure

The endless pain and aggravation

Of the heavy cost of adaptation!

If you neutralise at a cost.

Competitively much is lost.

A uniform carbon tax

Would protect all our backs.

But bear in mind it’s not a cost.

For the economy nothing’s lost.

A UBI could be instated,

Some other tax could be rebated.

And if this is indeed just so.

Each economy would still grow.

Now with the right advocacy

Someday soon we could see

An enabling global policy

That would encourage us to be

Quite Carbon neutral with no pain.

The world can only stand to gain.

We can be fair to every nation,

Avoid the cost of adaptation!

But if we don’t collaborate

We can’t escape this sorry state!

Now Covid, opened up our eyes

Let’s hope that we’ve become quite wise!

We saw the benefits of green.

But something else was also seen.

The different outcomes we could see

 

Because of inequality.

Can Covid then act as a spur.

Now couldn’t it help to stir

Our hearts and minds to newer heights

With ESG now in our sights?

The vision that we should now share

Is a brave new world both green and fair.

The environment isn’t all.

On society let’s take a call.

Throughout the chain let’s keep in sight

Every person’s human right.

It’s business as usual, not bravery

To end child labour and slavery.

And in all businesses, we should see

The broadest reach of diversity.

Not only is it fair and right.

It would give us the best insight.

Since life is full of many hard knocks

We need to think out of the box.

Diversity’s the perfect aid

When we are required to wade

Through troubled waters or quagmires

Unusual thought is what inspires!

Lack of health and education

Leads to the perpetuation

Of inequality through generations

In almost all our nations.

Without good health you never learn

If you don’t learn you cannot earn.

For health as well as climate change

It certainly isn’t strange

That prevention’s better than a cure.

On public health we should spend.

It is much cheaper in the end.

With little cost and greatest ease

We could reduce lifestyle disease!

At any rate I am quite sure

We would spend less than for a cure.

In order to achieve this goal

Businesses could play a role.

Through business models and CSR

Together we can go quite far.

And similarly, through education

We can serve ourselves and the nation.

We often think that charity

Can address disparity.

But tackling health and education

Are better means for alleviation.

Through action and advocacy

We can help all humanity

To create a world that’s just and fair

 

And everyone is free to share

Nature’s bounty and be fulfilled

And then I’m sure we’d all be thrilled.

Our people also volunteer,

Together all of us can steer

A world in which there’s harmony

Between business and society

A mutual reinforcing loop

Benefitting every group.

And once again our CSR

Can serve to take us very far.

The projects that are the biggest hits

Provide us all with benefits.

Ingeniously we can plan it

Serve profit, people and planet!

Sustainability is not a pain.

For after all it is a gain.

It helps us all to survive,

Last long as well as to thrive.

It’s a license to operate.

The ecosystem finds it’s great.

Society, Governments, Banks

Cooperate, convey their thanks.

Together with both heart and brain

Sustainably let’s sustain!

With ESG spends nothing’s lost

As benefits outweigh the cost!

And Governance also pays.

It’s an effort in the early days

But over time you are rewarded

Implicit trust is then awarded.

The values for which you stand

Help to enhance your brand.

You must persist and never balk

Consistently walk the talk.

If your Governance is strong

The payback won’t be very long.

Always keep these facts in sight

Don’t hesitate to do what’s right.

This strategy is tried and tested

In the long haul it can’t be bested.

Now ESG will take you far.

Don’t just be a shooting star

Rising high before you fall

Instead take the enduring call.

All of us can forge ahead

If we only learn to shed

The barriers that can divide.

And if cooperation's tried,

With the help of business, I foresee

A helpful, thriving society.