Sustainability Thinking and Business Practices

This assignment delves into the concept of sustainability thinking and its application in business. It examines the benefits of sustainable practices, including reduced costs, enhanced employee morale, and improved brand image. The text highlights the challenges of integrating sustainability due to its complexity as a 'wicked problem'. It introduces frameworks for addressing these challenges, such as monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and adopting renewable energy sources. The assignment emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary understanding, diverse perspectives, and clear boundaries when tackling sustainability issues.

Running Head: Water Scarcity In Near Future 1
Water Scarcity In Near Future
Authors Name
University of Affiliation.

Water Scarcity In Near Future 2
Introduction
Globally there are a lot of people who have no access to water resources or, suppose they do
have an opportunity to access, it can't be utilized. Approximately 70% of the water that is on
earth surface is salty water, and only 3% of it is really freshwater that is fit for human
consumption (Conserve Energy Future, 2015). As indicated by WWF, exactly 1.1 billion people
require access to water.
Fresh water is very scarce, many people are in constant search for water in daily basis. However,
individuals who access protected, fresh water underestimate it and don't utilize it shrewdly
(Town, 2015).
Water scarcity comprises of water emergency, lack of water, and water shortfall or water
pressure. Water scarcity can take form of financial water shortage or physical water shortage.
Physical water scarcity is when the local demand and the financial scarcity of water is due to the
effect of administration of water resources that is poor. That being stated, what are the reasons
for water shortage, what are the impacts of water shortage, and are there any arrangements that
we can begin to investigate(Conserve Energy Future, 2015)?
Causes of water scarcity.
First, expansion of the population .50 years ago the population of human beings on earth has
continued to double up. This has been made possible with the better provision of health care and
lifestyle resulting to larger families. This has resulted to increase in the use of water for cooking,
drinking, cleaning, and sewage tripling. It is evident that human being is more careless when it
comes to utilization of water. This has placed a lot of pressure on the water that is available.
Secondly urbanization. Urbanization is a major cause of water scarcity. The growth of cities and
towns are expanding at a rapid rate. Cities tend to accommodate more people as compared to the
villages and upcoming towns. This results in an increased need to take care of the construction
and manufacturing, cleaning and sewage (Rinkesh, 2015).

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Thirdly, water pollution. Areas that do not have good water sewage tend to have a huge problem
with water pollution. Air, land and water pollution greatly contribute to the quality of water
reduction. Radioactive waste that comes from mining activities, industries dumping their waste
into water bodies, sewage, hospitals dirty water that comes from the sanitation. All these
activities led to water to water contamination (Eschooltoday.com, 2012).
Lastly, climate change. Globally, places that were known to have a lot of rainfalls are no longer
known for that. The places that were considered dry have suddenly become wetter and cold. In
both cases, the end result is water scarcity. This is because when rainfall becomes less, it means
water will be less while excessive rainfalls are the cause of flooding (Eschooltoday.com, 2012).
Effects of water scarcity.
Water scarcity has a lot of effects on the people as well as the country at large. First water
scarcity result to lack of access to fresh water for drinking. One of the major problems that
happen when there is water scarcity is that people are not able to get fresh water for drinking
purposes. The human body cannot go for long without drinking water(Water Filter Answers,
2016).
Secondly, there is economic slowdown. According to an estimate done by the united nation, half
of the world population will live in those areas that have high water stress by 2030.It is very hard
for a country to have a difficult and thriving economy when there is a scarcity of fresh water for
activities such as industrial, individual use and farming. Manufacturing of goods that are water
intensive could be limited by the scarcity of freshwater resources. The scarcity of fresh water can
cause poor workers’ productivity through reduction of household disposable income due to the
high cost of water.
Thirdly, water scarcity will cause food shortages. Shrinking water resources poses a threat to the
food production in order to keep up the rising demand. Agricultures activities accounts to 70%of
the global fresh water in order to keep up with the current food demand. Lastly, energy
shortages. There is a rapid increase in the population growth and increased modernization. It is
evident that energy production is the greatest end user of freshwater resources.it is projected that

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the global electricity demand will grow by 70% by 2035.Despite the fact that alternative energy
sources such as solar energy require less water for energy production, they only contribute a
smaller percentage of today’s energy production(Seametrics.com, 2016).
Solution to water scarcity
Educating people about water conservation and impact of water scarcity can greatly influence the
water conservation process. The organization and government should create awareness about the
how individuals can prevent the problem of water scarcity from becoming worse in the near
future. People should be taught on water recycling. There are a lot of ways to ensure water
recycling. People should have an urge to learn about how they can recycle water as it helps save
money as much as it helps in prevention of water scarcity (Contributor, 2016).
A lot needs to be done in the field of water conservation. So much has to be done through
technology advancement to in relation to water conservation. Money allocation into the activities
of saving water is lifesaving activity. Farming related activities have to be improved. The huge
causes of water scarcity are irrigation and farming. These practices have to improve to ensure
that much water is not used(Spinks, 2014).
Conclusion
Water scarcity in the near future will depend on human activities today. Since the problem has
been identified measures can be taken to reduce the effect of the problem. It is possible to tackle
this problem and prevent further damage. The most important solution to this problem is to
educate a member of the society about the effects of water scarcity and prevention measures.
.
Reference

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Conserve Energy Future. (2015). Water Shortage: Causes, Effects and Solutions - Conserve
Energy Future. [online] Available at: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-
solutions-of-water-shortage.php [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].
Contributor, 3. (2016). 6 Solutions to the Water Shortage Crisis. [online] Triple Pundit: People,
Planet, Profit. Available at: https://www.triplepundit.com/2015/06/innovative-solutions-water-
shortage-crisis/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].
Eschooltoday.com. (2012). Threats to water supply and causes of water scarcity. [online]
Available at: http://www.eschooltoday.com/global-water-scarcity/threats-to-water-supply.html
[Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].
Rinkesh, T. (2015). Causes, Effects and Solutions of Water Scarcity - Conserve Energy Future.
[online] Conserve Energy Future. Available at: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-
effects-solutions-of-water-scarcity.php [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].
Seametrics.com. (2016). 5 Consequences of a Global Water Shortage. [online] Available at:
http://www.seametrics.com/blog/water-shortage-consequences/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].
Spinks, R. (2014). Could these five innovations help solve the global water crisis?. [online] the
Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-
network/2017/feb/13/global-water-crisis-innovation-solution [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].
Water Filter Answers. (2016). Water Shortages: Causes, Effects, and Solutions - Water Filter
Answers. [online] Available at: https://waterfilteranswers.com/water-shortages/ [Accessed 6 Jan.
2018].
Town, G. (2015). Water Scarcity Issues: We're running out of water. [online] FEW
Resources.org. Available at: http://www.fewresources.org/water-scarcity-issues-were-running-
out-of-water.html [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].

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2.Emerging frameworks for putting sustainability thinking into practice
Scholars have shown that sustainability thinking starts with the capacity of understanding
the social, environmental changes and problems in the contemporary world (Muñoz, 2016).
These changes include climate change, human and labour rights and food and water security.
Human beings do not borrow resources from permanently, but for a while, as they use these
resources briefly as services and goods and then return to the natural environment. This is done
through a continuous circular process that is life on earth. Human beings need to ensure that no
damage happens to the environment or other people as there a new generation on the way
coming. Thus everyone is responsible for the planet earth by making sure that he/she uses
resources efficiently, working to preserve cultures, raising aspirations, protecting natural
ecosystems and extending opportunities for everyone. Sustainability thinking helps in developing
solutions that transcend borders, building social cohesion, harnessing the economic benefits of
sustainability and also working to renew people and cultures.
Sustainability thinking can be broken down into two key ideas which are responsible
futures and systems thinking (Darnhofer, Fairweather and Moller, 2010). Responsible futures
means that the young generation needs to consider their own sense of responsibility for the future
despite them having a comprehensive understanding of complicatedness of factors and
interactions that might impact a sustainability issue. They need to have a clear understanding
how one's decisions that he/she makes do affect the future. System thinking is defined as viewing
a system as one whole thing and understanding how each part of the system works and interacts
with other parts of the system and the whole system. For the environment can be viewed as one

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whole system called the ecosystem. Human beings are part of the ecosystem and every action
that each person does may harm or do good to another part of the ecosystem. Systems thinking in
the business sector is carried out when a leader is making decisions as he/she focuses on the
whole firm and identifies the roles that each department plays in achieving an overall positive
result. Thus systems thinking endorses the idea that to solve a problem, we must understand the
complete issue rather than simply focusing on one area.
Businesses and industries understanding sustainability thinking have great advantages for
the environment and the business. Scholars have proved that if companies produce products and
services that are eco-friendly get a high number of sales compared to those which are no eco-
friendly (Richter, 2010). By reducing the environmental impact of a business, one is able to
improve the sustainability of the business. Environment-friendly business has many benefits
since it helps minimise the impacts on the environment and preserves natural resources.
Businesses practice sustainability thinking by using products which are made from recycled
materials such as using office supplies made from recycled plastic and using furniture made from
recycled rubber. Large companies can decide to reduce air and road travel and instead use video
conferencing calls rather than holding meetings.
By doing this, businesses are able to improve their brand image and a competitive
advantage. Research has shown that consumers prefer buying products from companies that
show positive track in environmental, personal and social values. Companies that promote
communities do have an advantage too. Brand awareness is improved when a company practices
and encourages the conservation of natural resources. Nevertheless, scholars claim that business

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that practice sustainable business practices are able to increase productivity and reduce costs.
Reducing costs involves energy conservation such as switching off lights when not in use.
Practicing sustainable business practices increases employee satisfaction thus increasing
productivity. The younger generation tends to like being associated with positive environmental
protection messages. Companies that show respect to the environment tend to attract a great
number of employees and investors to invest in the business. Due to the effects of climate change
on a country, governments are creating rules and regulations to protect the environment. This
means that different companies have to comply with these rules and regulations set. Sustainable
business practices help businesses to meet the standards set regarding natural resources.
Wicked situations are situations where identifying the issues is not easy and selecting
good solution is more difficult (Hartmann, 2012). Sustainability thinking is an example wicked
problems. Due to such situations, there are emerging frameworks for putting sustainability
thinking into practice. To solve wicked problems, scholars have created three core pillars that
must be followed. These are understanding the inter-relationship, boundaries, and perspectives.
Understanding inter-relationships means that one needs to understand how things connect with
each other while understanding perspectives mean that one understands the different ways a
situation can be inferred. Also, in terms of boundaries, one should understand what's in and
what's out. Sustainability is a wicked societal issue that seeks the current understanding of
consumption. Theories have been developed which seek to overcome many of the fundamental
shortcomings in conventional theoretical and policy approaches to this social problem. Thus one
needs to understand sustainability thinking as a whole and check to find the inter-relationship,
boundaries, and perspectives of this wicked societal problem.

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Putting sustainability thinking into practice offers an interdisciplinary and powerful
understanding of contemporary consumption routines that challenges conventional approaches to
social change premised on behavioural economics and social psychology (Turcu, 2013). Thus
putting sustainability thinking into practice regularly determines how the social practice
approach has become the best choice for behavioural and rationalistic theories of social action.
Different scholars have come with different frameworks on how to put sustainability thinking
into practice. An idea that is emerging is the monitoring of greenhouse gases released into the air
and carbon footprint. Different websites are being created to help companies monitor their
greenhouse gases release such as the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, website. Carbon
footprint calculator aims at checking if a company's carbon is neutral. Companies maintain this
by planting trees and maintaining forests. Another emerging idea is considering the use of
reusable energy options. Use solar energy instead of petroleum energy is a good idea.
Organizations can create sustainability committees. These committees should include staff from
all different departments in the organization. the committee should focus on a certain area of
change develop a sustainable policy, plan, and actions.

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Darnhofer, I., Fairweather, J. and Moller, H., 2010. Assessing a farm's sustainability: insights
from resilience thinking. International journal of agricultural sustainability, 8(3), pp.186-198.
Richter, B.D., 2010. Re‐thinking environmental flows: from allocations and reserves to
sustainability boundaries. River Research and Applications, 26(8), pp.1052-1063.
Hartmann, T., 2012. Wicked problems and clumsy solutions: Planning as expectation
management. Planning Theory, 11(3), pp.242-256.
Turcu, C., 2013. Re-thinking sustainability indicators: local perspectives of urban
sustainability. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 56(5), pp.695-719.
Muñoz, L., 2016. Paradigm Evolution and Sustainability Thinking: Using a Sustainability
Inversegram to State Paradigm Death and Shift Expectations under Win-Win and No Win-Win
Situations. British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade, 12(4), pp.1-15.