March 04, 2016

Indian Prime Minister says sustainability is everyone’s responsibility

In September 2015 the UN General Assembly outlined the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) they want all nations to commit to and achieve by 2030.

Last week the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that these sustainable development goals can be achieved collectively, and that India has always believed in sustainability due to their culture of living in harmony with nature.

Prime Minister Modi said: “Anything which compromises on the ability of future generations, and is not sustainable, cannot be called development.” He added: “Our commitments at COP-21 underline the Indian ethos which aims at changing human lifestyle along with changes in the manner in which we engage in economic activity.”

In his address on sustainable development, Mr Modi pointed out that environmental problems are largely due to mankind's consumptive modern lifestyle, and that individuals as well as governments must commit to living in more sustainable ways if policies are to have a meaningful impact. Large, developing economies such as India need to commit to the UN’s SDGs, just as developed nations also must, if widespread sustainability is to succeed.

But what impact will the pressure to develop sustainable businesses have on the labor market? Green energy policies could have numerous effects on employment. Nico Pestel asks “Does a switch in energy policy toward more renewable sources create or destroy jobs in an industrial country?” The evidence in his article Employment effects of green energy policies reveals both positive and negative employment effects. Although promoting renewables could destroy jobs in conventional power plants, it could create new “green jobs” which would balance this loss out.

Olivier Deschenes has written an article on the impact of environmental regulations on labor markets. He notes that environmental regulations can lead to improvements to the environment and consequently have health benefits, but they also “impose additional production costs on firms and may reduce productivity, earnings, and employment.” However, Deschenes concludes that “the limited empirical evidence suggests that the benefits are likely to outweigh the costs.”

Finally, a positive implication for business is that firms who are committed to being socially responsible attract responsible and motivated employees who work harder for lower wages. Karine Nyborg writes, in her article on this subject, that “data indicate that many employees prefer a socially responsible employer and will accept a lower wage to achieve this.” Even if sustainable development and corporate social responsibility is costly, firms who commit to these goals can attract more motivated, productive employees whilst being able to pay them lower wages, thus balancing the costs and improving their reputations.

Read more articles on the environment.
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