Collective action to save our Earth

The year 2022 is a historic milestone for environmental sustainability, as it marks 50 years since the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment led to the launch of a host of new global agreements to collectively protect our planet.

However, during this half a century of rapid industrialization, we are now using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life. Ecosystems simply cannot keep up with our demands.

As a result, our Earth is currently facing a triple planetary crisis: climate disruption, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Notably, the Philippines’ experiences with typhoons, including the impact of Tropical Depression “Agaton,” saw tens of thousands of families displaced in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, damaging over $1.6-billion worth of properties.

This fact makes this World Environment Day especially poignant, calling us to reflect on how there is “Only One Earth.” We need to recognize that production and consumption are not only key aspects of human life; they also have major environmental impact, calling for collective attention and action.

Investing more toward using less. To reduce our carbon emissions, we need to address our staggering consumption of natural resources. Global consumption will continue to increase unless we rethink our approach and learn to live with less. By reconfiguring our key systems—water, energy, and food—we can drastically prevent the Earth’s environmental decline.

One way for us to achieve this is by implementing sustainable solutions. Notably, water has been called the most crucial link in climate action, and also the most ignored. I recently spoke at a panel in this year’s World Economic Forum, where I highlighted how water plays an important, interconnected role across key economic, social, and environmental agendas.

If we overlook and omit water in our strategies, we risk derailing our efforts on climate and the decarbonization of industry sectors. Additionally, the sheer volume of water being moved and treated every day leads to greater energy consumption, consequently contributing to climate change.

There are ways to address this. For example, new technology featuring data analytics and sensors enables water systems to be intuitively adjusted based on current demand, reducing unnecessary energy use and reducing the risks of water being wasted. Utilities globally are also exploring ways to integrate intelligence into their systems, such as cloud-based platforms for existing water technology.

While such solutions can call for significant investment, national and local governments can look at supporting businesses to adopt sustainable solutions through grants and subsidies, such as the Green Jobs Act in the Philippines.

And this doesn’t have to stop at the municipal level—our renewed relationship with water can start right at home. Homeowners can adapt their consumption rate for the better through digitalization and data, keeping an eye on our water usage and responding with “water-wise” behavior.

Striving for circularity. Beyond addressing our carbon footprint by being a water steward, tackling our vast use of resources is equally important. As manufacturers, we have all the responsibility to strive for circularity and promote reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling, notably through recycling and reuse initiatives and implementing take-back programs. It is also crucial that industries ensure wastewater is effectively treated to a quality that makes it possible to feed back into our water cycles.

However, to establish best practices and compliance toward a sustainable supply chain, industry collaboration is key. Notably, the global Rare Earth Industry Association or REIA is working with organizations, including Grundfos, to tap into blockchain to help companies improve the transparency and sustainability of their supply chains when it comes to critical and rare earth materials.

By combining expertise and knowledge across industries and academia, we can accomplish much more in advancing our supply chains toward our sustainable ambitions.

Planning for the next 50 years. Fifty years ago, the world’s first environmental movement was sparked through the Stockholm Conference. Since then, we have seen the power of what we can achieve through collective action. By working toward a common goal, we can achieve monumental change. So far, we have seen sustainability as a movement gaining tremendous traction. However, we need to do more and at a faster rate.

This World Environment Day (June 5), let us continue to march together, and with each conscious step toward our sustainability goals, let us remember we only have one chance and only one earth.

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Poul Due Jensen is CEO of Grundfos, which is considered the world’s leading manufacturer of products that provide energy-efficient and intelligent water solutions.