Introduction: Planet earth has sustained life for about 3.5 billion years, providing resources for sustenance of life. But gradually, we have forgotten the path of co-existence and we race ahead ignoring the fact that we are an integral part of earth and the earth is an integral part of us. Rapid demographic changes, over-consumption, use of technologies that damage environment, combined with climate change, are pushing our planet to the so called ‘Sixth Mass Extinction’.
We completely depend on nature for the air we breathe, water we drink, climate stability, the food & materials we use & the economy we rely on. Thoughtless and insensitive use of these resources has caused an impact which can be felt in all aspects –from social, economic and climate stability to energy, food and water security – resulting in environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity.
In recent decades, the world has experienced unprecedented biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The anthropogenic (human caused) drastic extinction of plants and animals is more rapid than the natural rate of any extinction in the planet’s long history. This is probably the severest wave of perishing species, a new era in earth’s history, the Anthropocene in which humans, rather than natural forces, are the primary drivers of planetary change.
While environmental degradation continues, there are also exceptional signs of a ‘great transition’ towards an ecologically sustainable future. Today, at a global level, to have a diverse, healthy, resilient and productive natural environment, it is crucial to understand and battle poverty, improve health and build economies. The interdependencies between the social, economic, and environmental agendas is now acknowledged at all levels and the agenda of building a sustainable future is pushed through various revolutionary approaches adopted in achieving the new set of world’s Sustainable Development Goals.
This report features case studies from:
- BIOCARE
- DABUR
- DSCL SUGAR
- GODREJ MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA
- ITC
- TATA CHEMICALS
- TATA HOUSING
- TATA STEEL
Access the report here.
