The Preamble
Climate change is a reality that we have to deal with. “Slowing it down” though is no longer enough. Our planet is in jeopardy and we have to reverse the trend. Every one of us has to contribute.
The sooner we realize this, the better off we will be: taking care of the world around us and the natural resources that support us means taking care of ourselves.
Unfortunately, this cultural and philosophical approach has been of little interest to most individuals up until now, starting from the economic powers that be which insist on quick success: where every action around the world is measured by the word “profit.”
In today’s prevailing culture, with no communal projects in hand and only short term individual goals, the eventual exhaustion of resources is likely to lead to new wars, poverty and desolation.
A new economic and social philosophy would not be a revolution though: it would simply be a different approach, one that is based on the foundation of free market enterprise, the rights of businesses and the markets, as before, but with an awareness that the free market cannot stand above social rights or respect for the environment.
Business activity must be positioned with an awareness of these new scenarios, and entrepreneurial and managerial culture must become a vocation oriented towards producing economic and social wealth and the improvement of the world in which we all live.
A new business model
A circular or regenerative economy is the new frontier for business activity.
The old, linear economic model, “take-make-dispose” is based on accessibility to enormous amounts of resources and energy and is increasingly less suited to the reality we now live in and the one will have to act in in the future. By themselves, initiatives to support efficiency, which work to reduce resources and fossil fuels consumed per production unit, can delay the crisis of our current socio-economic model, but are not enough to solve the problems caused by the finite nature of our raw material stocks.
The transition from a linear economic model to a circular one is therefore necessary. By considering all phases of production – planning, production, consumption, and end of life disposal – a circular economic model allows for the recognition of every possible opportunity to limit material and energy expenditures, and to minimize waste and loss, with
particular attention given to the prevention of negative environmental impact and the creative of positive social and territorial value.
A relationship exists between human economic activity and the environment in which it takes place: damage to any part of the relationship damages every other part as well.
This is the definition of holistic wealth, i.e., wealth that is not only monetary, but that is defined and achieved by a shared well-being and prosperity, obtained by harmonizing all types of riches and capital, including social, cultural, residential, and experiential wealth.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
