Copyright JFS
In this lecture, I would like to explain why sustainability has become a prominent issue in global politics, and why we need a paradigm change now. I shall then review the principal issues and debates surrounding sustainability, before presenting my own vision and strategy.
1. Definition of sustainability
The most widely quoted definition of "sustainable development" is the one presented by the Brundtland commission (World Commission on Environment and Development) in 1987. It emphasizes the value of fairness between generations (inter-generation) and within a generation (intra-generation).
Fairness between generations means that the current generation avoids threatening the ecosystem by limiting the volume of production, consumption and waste-disposal within the earth's carrying capacity, not to compromise the living standard of the future generations. On the other hand, fairness within a generation means to solve problems of poverty and the North-South problem to ensure all people in the present generation to meet their basic needs.
2. Why it is discussed
What triggered the discussion about sustainability are the following two problems; 1) limited capacity of resources and the environment, and 2) poverty and the North-South problem.
1) Limited capacity of resources and the environment
2) Poverty and the North-South problem
3. What we need is a paradigm shift
What we need to achieve a sustainable world is a paradigm shift. Thomas Kuhn who coined the phrase "paradigm shift" argued that the great revolutions and major breakthroughs in science result not from solving existing problems but from discovering entirely new ways to think about those problems. We must have the courage to defy the common sense that has been controlling our thought and acts. In other words, we have to discard the conventional paradigm to form an alternative vision of a sustainable world and develop a strategy to change lifestyles as well as production methods to realize this vision.
Today's paradigm is producing a reality that is totally different from the image of the world we originally sought to create. Conventional wisdom tells us that free competition would lead to the most efficient allocation of resources from which all the people would benefit eventually -- but, in actuality, the income and wealth gap has been expanding and the problems of poverty have not been solved. Our faith in technology and endless economic growth was betrayed by ever-increasing risks and uncertainties as demonstrated in a growing variety of epidemics, environmental destruction, and disputes on natural resources in many parts of the world. It is clear that the conventional paradigm is unsustainable.
As Kuhn has argued, paradigm shift occurs when it becomes evident that the conventional paradigm contradicts the empirical evidence. Rejecting then-conventional notion of cumulative linear progress of science, he maintained that science undergoes periodic revolutions. A Copernican change from the Ptolemaic theory to the heliocentric theory is a good example.
A crisis that needs a paradigm shift may well be an opportunity to mobilize extraordinary power. The oil crisis in 1970's, for example, accelerated development of energy-saving and labor-saving technologies. If we acknowledge that now is the time of crisis, we should be able to create revolutionary ideas and demonstrate the power of execution. The Earth Summits in Stockholm in 1972, in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and in Johannesburg in 2002 encouraged a paradigm shift on a global scale slowly but surely. Now, sustainability has become a guidepost for new paradigm shift.
4. Achieving sustainability
The representative views on a sustainable world can be classified into a reformist and a radical group. The reformist group considers it possible to achieve necessary changes within the existing global political and economic systems without radically changing their frameworks. The radical group argues that it requires revolutionary change in the current system to achieve a sustainable world.
An advantage of the former is its ability to generate practical ideas to improve the situation. The latter excels in identifying fundamental structural problems of the current system and coming up with alternative visions, although this group tends to be indifferent to producing concrete, practical ideas. Unfortunately, little productive communication has been conducted between them, even as the complimentary nature of the two groups suggests that their dialogue would facilitate progress in human quest for more sustainable paths to socio-economic development.
1) Within-system reformist approaches
This group of approaches is also called "ecological modernization". It posits that modernization itself (or technological improvement and economic liberalization) is not evil but that we need to overcome its inherent indifference to the environment. As concrete means, they propose such measures as the internalization of environmental/social costs, development of indices of to measure sustainability, building a closed-loop system of renewable resources, and a shift to the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). In essence, they argue that economic growth and the preservation of the environment can not only coexist but also "co-prosper" so to speak. This is the position shared by governments, private companies and NGOs in many developed nations.
Let me briefly explain representative arguments:
Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute and author of Eco-Economy, is one of the best-known reform advocates. He predicts that the restructuring of the market economy to make it reflect indirect social and ecological costs in prices will generate the largest investment opportunity in history. He foresees the blossoming of new industries and new jobs.
"Eco-Efficiency" is another practical conceptual tool to guide business and government action. It is advocated by WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development), a coalition started by the leaders of the world's leading companies in preparation for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It aims at producing the same amount of goods and services while reducing the resource intensity and environmental impacts, by improving efficiency in terms of both the economy and ecology. Eco-efficiency is a ratio of an output (goods and services produced) divided by an input (the sum of the ecological impacts generated by the production). Both the EU and the OECD acknowledged its usefulness. The OECD studied the potential of eco-efficiency and suggests that factor-of-ten efficiency improvements are both necessary and possible in the next thirty years.
The IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development) mapped out a new sustainable development strategy, based on a decade of fieldwork in five African and other developing nations. It proposes an appreciative approach focused on local communities' strengths and achievements rather than weaknesses and problems, to help communities create a shared vision of an equitable and sustainable future and work toward it through projects initiated and managed locally.
Paul Hawken, Hunter and Amory Lovins advocate "Natural Capitalism". They argue that today's capitalism appreciates only industrial capital, and fails to assign any value to the natural capital -- natural resources and living systems that are indispensable for the maintenance of life. It also neglects the social and cultural systems that support human capital. These deficiencies must be corrected by recognizing that the natural capital and social/cultural systems provide us with services that have no substitutes at any prices1.
2) The radical system-change approaches
Those who call for fundamental changes to the current world system itself find its fatal defects in such problems as inherently expansive capitalism and destructive impacts of economic globalization, driven by mega-corporations and financial capitalists, on democracy, the states' ability to tackle global-scale issues, as well as on the environment. They also condemn rampant materialism and lament the ever diminishing physical and spiritual ties between human and Nature.
Many in this group share Aldo Leopold's "land ethic." Leopold attributed the causes of the ecological and social problems to the loss of a sense of unity with the land where not only human and other organisms but also such non-living environment as soils and waters lived in a community. He argued that if we restore sensitivity to the land not simply as real estate but as such a community, human behavior should naturally change. Kirkpatrick Sale further developed the idea and "Bioregionalism". He proposed that communities should be restructured on the basis of ecologically defined regional units instead of the current administrative units.
Herman Daly's "Steady-State Economics" aims at transforming the current growth-oriented economy to the steady-state economy to build a simple and frugal sustainable society. He emphasizes that "development", in technological, intellectual and spiritual spheres, is not only possible but also accelerate without "growth". He argues that stationary economy helps us to restore self-discipline, relearn a sense of enoughness and sharing. Instead of domination of nature, it fosters a sense of stewardship for all creation and a sense of brotherhood to future generations and non-human beings, along with a sense of humility and the attitude of holism to recognize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Another popular vision of the radical group is Rudolf Bahro's "Self-Sufficient Community". He argues that the shift of developed nations to self-sufficient economy would make a society spiritually rich and cohesive fostering a strong sense of solidarity. It also helps narrow the gap between the North and the South. By disengaging from the world market to build a self-sufficient commune economies, the developing world could enhance economic and spiritual independence and build a different type of civilization from the unsustainable Western civilization.
The common key words of the "radical system-change approaches" are the departure from economic growth, advocacy of a regionally completed closed-loop economy, a political and economic regime on a human scale, regeneration of communities, citizen participation and a network society.
It should be noted here that there are important contribution of a variety of intermediate ideas such as the criticism and proposals on restructuring of the global economy by David Korten.
3) Consensus between the two groups
Both parties agree on the vital importance of environmental conservation and social fairness. Also they agree that human beings are part of an ecosystem, but they differ in their view on the value of nature to be inherent (this position is called biocentric view) or instrumental to human use as a resource (called anthropocentric view). Both are critical of the current pattern of economic globalization. Radicals blame the system of domination and hierarchy, while within-system reformists focus upon the excesses of laissez-faire capitalism.
5. A vision and strategy of a sustainable world a proposal
To mobilize people to action, we need to have an inspiring vision and practicable strategy. I would like to share my ideas here.
In my opinion, one of the best ways for a country, especially for a developed country, is to build a sustainable society that can serve as a model for other nations, subnational communities, and eventually a global community. Japan is endowed with many conditions and qualities to experiment with building such a model of materially self-sufficient society. For one thing, Japan represents a tomorrow's world in that it has a large population in a relatively small land area, with little natural resources. Yet it has highly educated population and many leading companies with technological edges. Some companies actually put the "zero emissions" concept into practice.
Also, Japan's traditional religious beliefs are based on such notions as a sense of enoughness, nature- and ancestor- worship, and transmigration of the soul that encompass broad range of creatures. This respect for nature and a circular world view not only transcend narrow materialist concerns but could serve as an ethical foundation for a sustainable world that is built on the recycling, rental and sharing principles. Japan is well positioned to build a self-sufficient, steady-state economy, where daily necessities are supplied locally as much as possible. Favoring the local whenever a choice exists is called the principle of subsidiarity. Only those necessities that can not be satisfied locally should be sought from outside. Many things we don't need to own individually, but can rent or share with others. Restructuring our economy on the basis of rental and sharing would help restore spirit of mutual aid and a sense of solidarity.
The subsidiarity principle applies to the world as well. My vision combines the goal of self-sufficiency in materials and goods for a nation or a group of nations (in some cases, regional economic integration may be necessary) and the international exchange of ideas, information, and services. The key factor in promoting the change is a new international business norm: technology transfer and foreign investment must promote self-reliant development.
Knowledge is the only resource that cannot be worn out by use. Technology transfer and free trade of software products should be promoted to help accelerate sustainable development of the South.
Foreign direct investment, which holds a key to sustainable development of host developing countries, should be conducted in such a way to help the host country accumulate capital, generate jobs, diffuse income, and expand domestic markets. The profits, except for an equitable return for the capital and technology supplied, should be retained and used in the host country. The concept of equitable return for investment needs to be articulated as a criterion for legitimate business conduct, and as a tool for reforming the international business culture. CSR and activities of the WBCSD seem to have promising potential to develop such positive business norms. One promising example is sustainable livelihood projects undertaken by the WBCSD. They seek to develop frameworks for an building enabling environment for FDI and for stimulating markets in developing countries, where they are often nonexistent and where the rule of law does not always prevail.
I anticipate that firms gradually shift their strategy from short-term economic gains to long-term perspective for sustainability based on the enlightened self-interest, perspective leading to the localization principle proposed herein. Finally, often it is average people's values and organized voices that move those in power. The indispensable actors in building a sustainable world are those who understand what is going on and voice their opinions to change the unsustainable course we are now proceeding. I hope people here attending the sustainability college will be such actors who lead the way towards sustainability.
Shigeko N. Fukai is professor in policy studies at Nanzan University. She has published a variety of books and articles including those listed below. Her research focuses on the exploration of a vision and path to a sustainable world that can conserve the biosphere and achieve equity among human beings and the role of firms in changing the course towards sustainability.