Sustainable practices, both global and local, can be realistically adopted in Sarawak, with eco efforts demonstrating how meaningful change begins at the community level.
The word “sustainable” is thrown around a lot nowadays. We hear it on the news, on social media, in advertisements, and in taglines for all kinds of organisations. We are living in the 21st century, after all, and most of us are aware of pressing environmental issues. These range from depleting natural resources to rising sea levels.
Some of us may be aware of excessive consumption, enormous food waste, and marine plastic pollution resulting in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Amid these enormous environmental problems, we are encouraged to live sustainably, but what does that mean? And is it possible in the real world?
Both for-profit and non-profit organisations do encourage us to shop sustainably. However, sometimes it seems that “sustainable” is simply a catchword that absolves us, the consumers, and them, the producers, of our collective proverbial environmental sins.
We assume that if we shop from environmentally friendly “sustainable” shops, we are doing our part in saving the Earth and protecting future generations. But it’s important to read the fine print and look into the practices of the organisations we might choose to buy from and/or support.
Sustainability and Global Brands
There are well-known global brands like The Body Shop and Patagonia which were founded on environmentally friendly “sustainable” principles. For example, Patagonia declares that “everything we make has an impact on the planet” and that only through environmental and animal welfare do they produce useful products.
According to their website, their products are produced under safe, fair, legal and humane conditions and the company shares information about their owned facilities and suppliers, so consumers know where and how the clothes are made.
As for The Body Shop, their late founder Anita Roddick is quoted on their webpage on the company’s Sustainability Commitments: “Social and environmental dimensions are woven into the fabric of the company itself. They are neither first nor last among our objectives, but an ongoing part of everything we do.”
Famously, The Body Shop does not test on animals, and it recycles its containers and bottles, sources community Fair Trade recycled plastics, and uses vegan and vegetarian ingredients for its products. From its humble beginnings, it was a pioneer in promoting ethical choices and providing products made from natural ingredients produced by indigenous peoples around the world.
Then there is the innovative Kaffeform whose founder Julian Nachtigall-Lechner spent three years researching and experimenting, trying to create a durable coffee cup made from used coffee grounds. Today, Kaffeform collects used coffee grounds via a bicycle courier collective.
At a social workshop, the grounds are dried and preserved then in small plants in Germany, the material is compounded with renewable raw materials and shaped into coffee cups. On a strip at the bottom of their website, Kaffeform’s message is: Unwaste and Reshape. A pertinent message, indeed.
People, Planet, Profit: The Triple Bottom Line Explained
Organisations like these appear to practise the business framework known as the Triple Bottom Line, so named in 1994 by John Elkington, a business writer and serial entrepreneur. Instead of the single original “bottom line” – either profit or loss – in the accounting world, the Triple Bottom line adds social and environmental concerns.
In other words, the bottom line is not just about an organisation’s economic profit or loss, but it is also about the harm and good brought upon society and the environment. Elkington referred to this as ‘people, planet and profit’, with the goal of sustainability.
You may well ask, what about here in Sarawak? How can we live more sustainable lives? In fact, how sustainable is it if we need to buy eco-friendly foreign products that were shipped thousands of miles away, burning fossil fuels that are fast depleting?
Happily, there are home-grown organisations that are leading the way. If you enjoy yoghurt and would like it fresh with natural probiotics and without preservatives or stablisers, YourgutBB is the place to frequent. The brainchild of Ang Tse Chwan and his younger brother Wilson, YourgutBB stands for “Your gut’s best buddy’. It is handmade and consists of local produce such as gula apong and pineapple.
Customers are encouraged to bring their used yoghurt containers back to the shop so that they can be cleansed and recycled. By returning these, the customers will enjoy a discount on their next purchase. It’s a positive way to combine consuming a locally produced healthy alternative that has a lower carbon footprint to similar products shipped or flown from overseas or even just across the South China Sea.
Supporting Sustainability Through Local Plant Sales
Another local social enterprise that aims to supply only local products is the ironically named Plants for Plastic. Set up by Kuching-born Mark Liao, a Swinburne alumnus and Founding Director of the conservation organisation Sarawak Eco Warriors, Plants for Plastic came into being to earn the profits that would fund the Sarawak Eco Warriors’ activities. In other words, a for-profit social enterprise was created to fund conservation work done by its sister organisation.
Beach clean-ups, tree-planting exercises, and workshops for young people need a constant flow of funds. Plants for Plastic offers only endemic plants for sale in the hope to discourage the purchase of exotics that have been introduced to our shores or which might have just been flown from foreign soil.
Finally, there’s the unique local social enterprise called WormingUp. Founded in 2015 by college students Jeff Wee and Tan Pei Chin, the social enterprise’s aim is to transform waste into sustainable resources. Through the natural power of bioconversion, WormingUp’s Black Soldier Fly maggots help convert organic waste into high-protein feed and organic fertilizer.
This is a powerful process that transforms food waste into very useful and sought-after products. Like Kaffeform, a type of organic waste is being processed and transformed into an organic product that benefits the organisation, its customers, and society at large. We benefit from WormingUp’s practical eco-friendly processes and principles.
Local Choices and Conscious Living Through Sustainability
These six organisations have earned the right to be called sustainable. Other local organisations can take a page out of their proverbial books and make an effort to embrace true sustainability. Meanwhile, we can follow their example by examining our own daily habits: turning off the tap when brushing our teeth; walking instead of driving; composting or burying our organic waste in the garden.
It’s as simple as bringing along a cloth bag when shopping or refusing a plastic straw when ordering a cold drink. And we don’t need to be afraid of seeming to be cheap if we buy pre-loved clothes from a bundle shop. We don’t need to feel embarrassed about bringing our own containers for a take-away lunch. The more we make the effort to change our habits, the more we can aim to live sustainable lives.