Introduction to Sustainability

1. Introduction to Sustainability Nooshin Rouhani Senior Coordinator – CSR Sama Dubai Wednesday February 13, 2008 Zayed Universtiy

2. Agenda • Your changing world • Global challenges • Species under threat • World water crisis • Meeting energy demands • Feeding the world • Fighting pollution • Climate change • Sustainability defined • Needs?? • LOHAS • Conclusion

3. Your Changing world… picture of Table Mountain: "How the Cape Flats have changed over the last hundred years. Cape Town is still one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but this early morning look shows the smog and concrete that have reformed the landscape of this Eden.”

4. Your Changing World… Helsinki floods "The ongoing winter in Finland has been extremely freaky: very mild, with record storms, culminating in a rise in the sea level of nearly two metres in Helsinki. "The city erected flood barriers of cardboard bales, but they didn't do much to help; the water reached the streets."

5. Your Changing World… Mount Rainier Oregon, US: "So far, the snow pack is 79% below normal, and we've had unseasonably warm weather this winter. "In a normal year, all of the surrounding mountains in these areas would be white. Most of the ski resorts are closed now, when it should be peak season."

6. Your Changing World… Oil refinery Ben Heron, UK

7. Your Changing World… Garden or lake? Canada: "As you can see, we now have enough water to qualify as a lake in winter - although it is lawn in summer.

8. Your Changing World… New Zealand "This picture is of the parched hills just south of Christchurch, New Zealand, during the summer heat wave and drought of 2003-2004." According to climate scientists, heat waves in the 21st Century will become more frequent, more intense and longer lasting.

9. Your Changing World… Samoa "A house damaged when cyclone Heta hit Samoa in January 2004." It is possible that global warming may trigger more violent weather in the future. According to some scientists, the ferocity and frequency of hurricanes in the Caribbean last year were caused by warming water in the Atlantic

10. Global Challenges • Species under threat • World water crisis • Meeting energy demands • Feeding the world • Fighting pollution • Climate change

11. Species under threat • We have more than doubled our numbers in half a century, and that is the most obvious reason why there is less room for any other species • We are taking their living room to grow our food, their food to feed ourselves

12. World water crisis • The amount of water in the world is finite • One third of the world’spopulation lives in water-stressed countries, by 2025 this is expected to rise to 2/3

13. World water crisis… con’t • The UN recommends that people need a minimum of 50 liters of water a day – in 1990 over a billion didn’t have that! • Global water consumption rose six times between 1900 & 1995 (in 95 years!!)

14. Meeting energy demands • Most important problem with energy is that we are running short! • The world will need almost 60% more energy in 2030 than in 2002 • We depend on oil for 90% of our modern lifestyle – but oil industry experts estimate that current reserves will only last for about 40 years

15. Feeding the world • In 2003, 842 million people did not have enough to eat • 10 million people a year, 25,000 a day – one every five seconds die from hunger

16. Feeding the world…con’t • World cereal consumption has more than doubled since 1970 • Meat consumption has tripled since 1961 • Global fish catch grew more than six times from 1950 to 1997 • Globally, we have taken 26% of the planets land area for cropland and pastures

17. Fighting pollution • Air – • 3 million people are killed worldwide by outdoor air pollution annually • Water – • Diseases carried in water are responsible for 80% of illnesses and deaths in developing countries (one child is killed every 8 seconds) • Each year 2.1 million people die from diarrheal diseases associated with poor water • Soil – • Waste like heavy metals may be poured onto the soil • Agriculture can pollute the land with pesticides (DDT) • Toxins are dumped on the soil and then get into ground water, or washed into lakes, streams, oceans

18. Fighting pollution… con’t • One study says that 7 – 20 % of cancers are attributed to poor air and pollution in homes and workplaces

19. Climate Change • Average global surface temp. has risen by 0.6C in the last 140 years • Many water-scarce regions now will become thirstier • Some countries may be able to produce bigger harvests, but in others yields will drop • Sea level rises may make many coastal areas uninhabitable • Weather patters may change, producing more heat waves, droughts, floods and violent storms

20. Sustainability defined Sustainable development is often defined as: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” World Commission on Economic Development (1987) Our Common Future

21. What needs??? • Economic Growth • Foster responsible long-term growth while ensuring that no nation or community is left behind From: World Summit on Sustainable Development brochure, 2002

22. What needs?? • Conserving Natural Resources and the Environment • For future generations, reduce resource consumption, stop pollution and conserve natural habitats From: World Summit on Sustainable Development brochure, 2002

23. What needs?? • Social Development • Throughout the world, people need jobs, food, education, energy, health care, water and sanitation. People also need respect for cultural and social diversity and the rights of workers. All members of society need a role in determining their futures. From: World Summit on Sustainable Development brochure, 2002

24. Sustainable Responsibility

25. Sustainability Throughout the World- • USA • Interagency working group on sustainable development • President’s council on sustainable development • Australia • Brisbane City Council – clean and green city • Victoria sustainability and environment agency • United Kingdom • Sustainable Scotland network • International • Environmental sustainability index (ESI) • Millennium development goals

26. LOHAS LOHAS – is an acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, a market segment focusing on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living, and social justice.

27. LOHAS… con’t Video clip on Green Design

28. Conclusion Any questions?