FEATURE
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Sustainability and NGOs
Source: Toxics link Dispatch 52, Date: , 2019
Sustainability
is often confused with Corporate Social Responsibility or looked upon exclusively
through an environmental lens. But in reality CSR happens to be only a part of
sustainability definition. Sustainability, in its broader sense is rightful allocation of resources (natural
and economical) to fulfil present day’s needs and also save enough for future needs without compromising on the
development aspect. It is governed by 4 factors viz. Social, economical, environmental
and time factor. The very idea is to attain a balance amongst the governing
factors so that all round development is made possible in the present time and
future potential for growth and development is also taken care off.
Sustainability
plays an important role for the long term growth and success of any company,
program or nation. The concept of sustainability and sustainable development
becomes even more critical for a fast developing nation like India as larger
population of India is dependent on the agrarian economy and is vulnerable to
the adverse climate effects. With economic development and infrastructural
development taking the centre stage, it becomes quintessential to consider the
sustainability aspect of any activity that the nation takes up for its
upliftment. Hence if we the people are to have sustainable development the government
has an important role to play in it. To
accomplish this government must take initiative in formulating strategies,
policies and programs that are conducive to the concept of “Precautionary Principle”. A major pre
requisite for sustainable development in any sector is to have adaptive ability
for the constantly changing needs & challenges and to be proactive in
addressing those concerns.
Sustainability
of any strategy, policy or program can only be achieved by creating a shared understanding amongst
the people who are involved in it either from the governance side or from the
beneficiary side. Also creating an enabling environment and addressing the gaps
in the system on regular basis along with the proper resource allocation to
each aspect would help the program to sustain longer and function more
efficiently which in turn would propel us in the direction of the goal with
which the programme was started. Hence, not only creating a system is important
but its proper functioning and the repair mechanism also play pivotal role in
overall success or failure.
Coming
to the NGO sector, due to their non profit status, they are not hindered by the
short term financial objectives and hence can contribute to the long standing
causes like climate change and international ban on mercury. Also NGOs enjoy
greater degree of public trust and can be very useful in addressing the issues
that have impact on the society. With more and more NGOs focusing their energy
on the government and inter-governmental processes they can act as a catalyst
for bringing out the changes in the common practices. NGOs can also help by
engaging private corporations around their sustainability initiatives. This
will not only help in developing more cost-effective and impactful
corporate sustainability programs but will also develop a sense of social and
environmental responsibility in the corporate sector.
While
some NGOs are research driven and look to engage with decision makers others
tend to work as watch dogs and provide the critical details on current
scenario. It would be interesting to see the collaboration MNCs and NGOs in
terms of values and resources as this will open the doors for endless
opportunities for business innovation with meaningful social impact and hence a
better tomorrow.
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