Sustainability -
It's a word used by most corporates and governments today and it incorporates several meanings. The term has an aura of being responsible, having a sense of responsibility, awareness and being law-abiding all with a common goal of preserving the earth and its resources.
Most corporates and governments across the world seem to be doing something about it - either as a part of their daily activities and production cycles, or by doing something special towards maintaining sustainability; and of course by specially reporting these at various platforms such as the sustainability report, tracking carbon credits and so on.
The goal of all these measures is simple: to measure the ecological impact of each company, to help ensure that they leave back enough of the earth for generations to come.
The Turning Point -
Last year M&M implemented Mahindra Hariyali - a project to plant 1 million trees across the country. The vision that began right at the top today seems to have permeated down the length and breadth of its employees.
This literal translation of a company's initiative, into an employee's individual initiative has been possible, thanks to 'Esops'.
No no, I am not talking about Stock Options here, but this is a different kind of Esops, which is unique to M&M - Employee Social Options. It's a unique platform for all M&M employees to volunteer in various social work initiatives.
To implement Mahindra Hariyali, Esops volunteers (M&M employees) themselves go on outbound trips, plant saplings, water them and make regular visits to ensure their survival. This has created a sense of responsibility amongst each individual employee. Each plantation is not just one-amongst-a-million. Each sapling now belongs to some one, somewhere within the group in a direct or indirect way.
That is when I thought about a very intriguing question -
How does this heavy-duty word "Sustainability" really affect me as an individual?
What can I really do myself?
Let us keep aside the fact that most of the pressure of maintaining sustainability seems to be on corporates and global conglomerates.
It's now time to take a look within, and to understand what sustainability means to individuals like you and me, and what we can do about it.
Getting down to the basics -
To define it wiki-ly, sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely -
This implies, that even after all of us are long buried and gone, when our great great great grand children get out of their houses to play; will they be able to enjoy the green canopies and the buzz of the bees?
Are we sustainable enough to maintain the same level of green cover for them? Or will they have to pay a thousand bucks to see the extinct species, flora and fauna, in protected museums (which we now have in our own building compounds)?
That question makes one realise the importance of sustainability.
This song seems apt to describe how being sustainable or not, would affect you and me ...
Let's appreciate what we have, and do something to preserve it ourselves.
In my next post, I will talk about little things you and I can do ourselves to preserve our immediate environment for generations to come.
It's a word used by most corporates and governments today and it incorporates several meanings. The term has an aura of being responsible, having a sense of responsibility, awareness and being law-abiding all with a common goal of preserving the earth and its resources.
Most corporates and governments across the world seem to be doing something about it - either as a part of their daily activities and production cycles, or by doing something special towards maintaining sustainability; and of course by specially reporting these at various platforms such as the sustainability report, tracking carbon credits and so on.
The goal of all these measures is simple: to measure the ecological impact of each company, to help ensure that they leave back enough of the earth for generations to come.
The Turning Point -
Last year M&M implemented Mahindra Hariyali - a project to plant 1 million trees across the country. The vision that began right at the top today seems to have permeated down the length and breadth of its employees.
This literal translation of a company's initiative, into an employee's individual initiative has been possible, thanks to 'Esops'.
No no, I am not talking about Stock Options here, but this is a different kind of Esops, which is unique to M&M - Employee Social Options. It's a unique platform for all M&M employees to volunteer in various social work initiatives.
To implement Mahindra Hariyali, Esops volunteers (M&M employees) themselves go on outbound trips, plant saplings, water them and make regular visits to ensure their survival. This has created a sense of responsibility amongst each individual employee. Each plantation is not just one-amongst-a-million. Each sapling now belongs to some one, somewhere within the group in a direct or indirect way.
That is when I thought about a very intriguing question -
How does this heavy-duty word "Sustainability" really affect me as an individual?
What can I really do myself?
Let us keep aside the fact that most of the pressure of maintaining sustainability seems to be on corporates and global conglomerates.
It's now time to take a look within, and to understand what sustainability means to individuals like you and me, and what we can do about it.
Getting down to the basics -
To define it wiki-ly, sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely -
This implies, that even after all of us are long buried and gone, when our great great great grand children get out of their houses to play; will they be able to enjoy the green canopies and the buzz of the bees?
Are we sustainable enough to maintain the same level of green cover for them? Or will they have to pay a thousand bucks to see the extinct species, flora and fauna, in protected museums (which we now have in our own building compounds)?
That question makes one realise the importance of sustainability.
This song seems apt to describe how being sustainable or not, would affect you and me ...
"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"
Let's not wait, until it is all gone.- Big Yellow Taxi by the Counting Crows
Let's appreciate what we have, and do something to preserve it ourselves.
In my next post, I will talk about little things you and I can do ourselves to preserve our immediate environment for generations to come.
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