In this TED video, Jason Clay raises an interesting point about sustainability. We've all been thinking about itfrom a consumer point of view, but he argues that consumers can never make fully informed decisions. Instead sustainabilty has to be a precompetitive issue. If we can just change the way 100 companies do business, global markets will shift to make our world more sustainable.
- The way we live is unsustainable: since 1990 we crossed the line of living sustainably in relation to the planet; the avg. American consumes 43 times more than the avg. African
- Consumers are not informed: the avg. American takes 1.8 seconds to make a decision about a product
- Need to target certain places and industries: 35 target regions to work on (most bio diverse areas in the world) and 15 commodities that threaten those areas
- Need to target certain producers: about 100 companies control 25% of the trade of those 15 commodities and can leverage 40-50% of their production.
I think his idea is very thought provoking - 100 big brands to change the world!! However, I do find it hard to agree with his dismissive attitude towards consumers. I think buying power is persuasive, but consumers (who take 1.8 sec to make a decision!!!) are unaware of how their seemingly trivial choices can impact the market. In reality, they should be the force to pressure these 100 into change.
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