By Miley Robert
From a movement originating in the 1800s, the discourse on sustainability has taken center stage in various industries today. The COVID-19 pandemic has only ushered in numerous climate actions around America, including the number of historic clean energy mandates in California.
We see how the topic of sustainability has seeped into the food industry with the increase of clean-label food options in grocery stores, and even the car industry with the emergence of electric vehicles.
This trend is manifesting on a wider scale, with growth in the sustainability job market in various sectors from design, corporate services, to public administration and more. And this in-turn is leading to a big demand for professionals who have been trained in sustainability practices. More students are consequently taking degrees in sustainability studies, which use an interdisciplinary approach to different fields from conservation, ecology, and even agriculture.
It is evident that sustainability is a thriving movement that manifests in our everyday lives. To know more tips and reasons to join in the trend, continue reading below.
Sustainable practices are good for the environment
The Earth’s resources are getting more limited by the day. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted this fact and shifted global consumer attitudes towards environmental issues. Research shows that at least 70% of the global population are more aware now that human activity threatens the climate and the environment, than prior to the pandemic.
The pandemic has helped people to recognize individual responsibility. Simple yet meaningful tasks done individually for the collective good include reducing household energy consumption, increasing recycling and composting, and buying locally produced goods.
Sustainable practices are good for the economy
More policy makers are understanding how our economy is tied together with the environment. “Natural capital” is a highly underestimated value in society’s concept of wealth. Defined as the world’s stocks of natural assets, research estimates that this will be fully incorporated by financial institutions in their decision making by 2030.
The benefits of doing so have already been proven. More often than not, global investments that degrade nature can exceed conservation efforts by $600 billion to $824 billion annually. By considering our natural capital and applying sustainable practices, balancing the short-term economic gains with the longer-term ecological benefits will become common practice.
Sustainable practices are good for our health
Aside from environmental or economic concerns, one of the most obvious concerns made popular by the COVID-19 pandemic is how human health is affected by the health of the planet. This relationship isn’t new, however.
Shrinking habitats have been shown to concentrate howler monkey populations, and increase the pathogens that result in yellow fever from the 1900s. Ebola, from 1976 and the 2014 outbreak, has been shown to increase with deforestation as a corridor for pathogen-carrying animals to spread the virus over large areas.
Sustainability movements are conscious of the environment, which in turn, benefits us as individuals and as members of society.
Sustainable options are more accessible than ever
The undeniable benefits of sustainability justify the growing demand. Sustainable options are thereby available in every industry or sector. Because of this, you might already be implementing sustainable practices in your own lifestyle.
Our previous article discusses how you can implement sustainability in your daily routine — it’s as simple as using Skoy cloth instead of paper towels, or paper-based cartons instead of plastic. You can also opt to swap out your home and personal care products like toilet cleaners or laundry detergent with clean and sustainable options as an investment for the future.
There's no excuse to not choose sustainability, so why not start today? You can find the rest of our environmentally-friendly product line for the kitchen — from our best-selling Skoy Cloth and the Skoy Scrub — on this website.
exclusively written for skoycloth.com
Comments