On the 7th of March the students of Metropolia had a unique chance of a visit from guest lecture Hunter Lovins, the founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions (NCS), who has over 40 years experience in business, sustainability, and change management.
A few words about the organization of NCS:
Natural Capitalism Solutions is recognized internationally for its work in the field of sustainability. Together with the network of best in class sustainability professionals, the Natural Capitalism staff has an impressive record in developing innovative and practical ways to increase efficiency and environmental practices, as well as economic sustainability, for a long list of government and corporate clients.
The main aspect of the lecture concerned was sustainable ecological development and new forms of business organization.
It is not a secret that natural resources are limited and unsustainable business practices contribute to the economic collapse, which will not be resolvable until these more fundamental issues are addressed.
It is nature that provides conditions conducive for life and taking this into consideration, Finland as the European leader in green technologies, can play a great role in solving the world’s problems.
We are entering upon a new era of innovations. The era of digital networks, bio- and information technologies is changing into the era of sustainability, radical resource productivity, bio chemistry, green chemistry, industrial ecology, renewable energy and green nanotechnologies.
According to the current statistics companies in the Dow Jones sustainability index outperform the general market. It was also mentioned that “companies with the highest share price growth over the past three years paid more attention to sustainability issues”.
What are the opportunities of following the principles of sustainability?
The significant thing is it can lower the costs of production and increase the revenues by:
– reducing unnecessary lighting, water usage and packaging;
– reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting energy intensity of operations; [1]
– building in a green way, etc.
While green marketing is very important for the company’s reputation nowadays, in the future it is said to be so, that only companies that make sustainability a goal will achieve competitive advantage.
Finally, Hunter Lovins made an emphasis on the importance of education about the principles of sustainability. In order to improve the ecological and economical situation in the world we need a radical change. Hunter mentioned, that real sustainability requires transforming industry so that every aspect of manufacturing process enhances life around it, and invited everyone to think about green possibilities, new business approaches and the little steps we can do in our everyday lives.
You can read about the latest issues and researches in sustainability at NCS website: http://www.natcapsolutions.org.
Report by: Natalya Vanina
If you were at the lecture:
What is your opinion of Hunter Lovins points?
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[1] Besides, PC power costs are the largest single factor of IT energy costs and can account for a quarter of the costs in a modern office building. Turning off one computer every night for a year saves about 34$!
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