Triple bottom line in business: People, planet, profit

Ranjit Barthakur

(The writer is founder and president, Balipara Foundation)

To fight the climate crisis, we need to start putting efforts in building a nature-positive future. According to the report, The Future of Nature and Business, 15 nature-positive transitions by businesses can generate $10.1 trillion and 395 million jobs. Scientists have continuously been warning that the Eastern Himalayas are warming faster than the rest of the world, heralding a future of vicious floods, water insecurity and land degradation. Research shows that over 70% of the Northeast depends on agriculture and of these 80% are smallholder farmers who are highly dependent on healthy ecosystems.

60% of India's GDP depends heavily on healthy, functioning ecosystems. Countries especially in Europe are pushing for a green recovery, recognizing that the COVID-19 economic crisis an unprecedent moment for an economic reset. The Green Deal in Europe uses a new growth strategy for the EU, which aims to garner the twin benefits of stimulating economies and creating jobs while accelerating the green transition in a cost-efficient way. For instance, over 30% of Germany's COVID-19 recovery plan, for instance, invests in renewable and electric devices. We need to focus on establishing a strong foundation for these changes.

Well-managed forests offer a nature-based solution to the society's immediate needs such as poverty, health and economic recovery among rural communities. Forests also provide long-term benefits to tackle water scarcity, climate change, building energy and food security. Thus, ecology and forests need to be at the heart of green recovery. The key is to create a Nature-Action agenda which realizes the importance of ecology at the centre of economic activities.

According to the World Economic Forum, transforming the food, land and ocean use system has the potential to create business opportunities worth almost $3.6 trillion and 191 million new jobs over the last 10 years. A new approach for Environment Impact Assessment should be made, like measuring businesses and projects not just by their negative impacts but also noting their positive environment and social impact. Business responsibility index, green accounting, natural capital investment and sustainable supply-value chains are some of the major innovative changes seen to address environmental degradation issues.

Decarbonizing the economy will be a crucial step towards attaining sustainable development goals. This phenomenon primarily refers to divesting from fossil fuels and rather investing in renewable.

The rural and forest-fringe communities are prone to extreme weather conditions and fragile financial states. The new paradigm, "Ecology is Economy" which works in tandem to the Triple Bottom Line approach, must be brought to fore. Inclusion, trans-national governance, integrated policy approaches and strategies to navigate the green recovery must collaborate while working towards collective action for 'Ecology in Economy'.

Given the existing situation, industry leaders have to come to terms with the fact that COVID-19 and nature degradation are interlinking factors in the long run. By proactively transitioning to the Green Recovery Plan, one supports not just sustainable growth in terms of economy, but also biodiversity conservation, thereby mitigating the disastrous aftermath of climate change which is upon us.