Introduction

 Industrialization and modernism has caused

environmental threats to ourselves and future generations.
 Three main threats of today’s environment:
1) Global warming refers to rising weather temperatures
of nations across the globe despite climatic differences.
2) Pollution refers to the undesirable and unintended
contamination of the environment by the manufacture
or use of commodities. Types of pollution include air,
water and land. There are also other forms such as sound
and light pollution.
3) Resource depletion refers to the consumption of finite
or scarce resources.
Industrialization, Modernism and
Sustainability in the 21st Century
 There are new threats and challenges to our
environment as we step into the 21st Century. These
include:
Population Growth
Rising Temperature

Falling Water Tables

Shrinking Cropland per Person

Collapsing Fisheries
Shrinking Forests
Loss of Plants and Animal Species
Sustainability and Sustainable
Development
 Sustainability may be classified into three classes:

Environmental reporting, eco-design,

Environmental environmental management systems,
Sustainability executive commitment to environmental
issues.
Strategic planning, quality and
Economic knowledge management, supply-chain
Sustainability management, corporate governance
mechanisms.
Employment policies, management
Social development, stakeholder dialogue,
Sustainability affirmative action and human rights
policies, anti-corruption policies.
Free Market Arguments and Their
Impact on Environment
 Some steps taken by the government to control
negative externalities:
Impose regulations for firms to comply
with the environmental acts
Impose taxes on the producers or manufacturers
e.g. pollution taxes

Impose penalties for non–compliance

Introduction of funds or public expenditure

to improve the environment

Centralization of manufacturing activities

Barriers towards Sustainable
Consumption
Willingness to act
 Some people state that they simply do not want to change their
behaviour or do not have time to do so. Thus, people are just too
lazy or do not care about the environment.
Lack of awareness and information
 Often, daily activities are carried out on a low level of
consciousness. A lot of the environmentally significant behavioural
patterns are a matter of habit and daily routine, thus they are not
even considered.
Habits and routines
 General routine often prevents consumers from implementing
changes in their consumption patterns. Their habits and routines
are closely related to their priorities, thus, friends and financial
resources are often valued higher than sustainable consumption.
Steps towards Sustainable
Consumption
Producing environmentally responsible products
 Perhaps the most obvious way for firms to respond to the challenge of
sustainable consumption is to develop and market products that impact
less harmfully on the environment. This has been an area of activity for
some 25 years or so and has led to the development of a vast array of
products.
Product recapture
 Current business systems of production tend to operate on a linear model
where products are consumed and disposed of. Usually, that is the last we
see of the products. Moving towards a circular use of resources not only
minimizes waste, but also means that less ‘virgin’ material is needed.
Service replacement for products
 By replacing the sale of the product with an agreement to provide an
ongoing service, firms can substantially reduce the amount of material
goods being produced, as well as managing certain emissions and energy
inputs more effectively.