Notice is served. While outrage simmers over our tenuous electricity supply, business realises that whining is a waste of time. Survival is dependent on finding alternatives that will yield lower energy consumption and less reliance on Eskom supply.
It is only now that the reality of our limited power supply has begun to shape a constructive response. But the collective call to action has to go further. Industry and the public face a massive change in mindset. To put it simply, there are not enough resources to go around. This is not a South African problem, but a global one.
We have to stop consuming so much. For example, why do banks and municipalities continue to mail out consumer statements when they have already sent them electronically? If they could cut the energy costs of printing, packaging and transporting mail, surely they would see positive returns on the business?
We have to consume less water, less paper, less electricity, less plastic, less tin, fewer cartridges, less glass. To survive, our greedy lifestyles have to change.
South Africans take blackouts seriously. We insisted that Eskom provide load-shedding schedules. Many businesses and homes invested in generators. But how many of us take our carbon footprint as seriously? Our behaviour is more like carbon foot-stomping.
Sales of exotic and overpowered sports cars and SUVs are on the increase. So are the sales of home air conditioning units and under-floor heating systems. Our gardens — often the pavements included — are watered by extravagant irrigation systems that spew water irrespective of need. We wash cars and driveways with hosepipes, insensitive to the litres of water wasted.
Few of us recycle the tonnes of plastic, tin, paper and glass that we consume daily. Everything we buy is packaged, not once, not twice, but three times in plastic. What is the cost of this wastefulness and indulgence? Is anyone calculating it?
Industry needs to lead the way. It can set the tone for human behaviour and so its response to the environmental crisis has to have the required urgency.
The information and communication technology industry has the energy star standard, which grades the laptop and home PC you buy according to how much energy the product uses. Where is the grading standard for the motor industry? Or for the transport industry?
Consumers react well to industry-led initiatives that appeal to their sense of what is right. In a consumer-driven society buying what is right makes people feel better about their choice. They rely on industry to inform them whether a product is recycled, free-range, not tested on animals, preservative-free or organic. This is how the consumer’s sense of quality is enhanced.
When industry adopts environmentally acceptable standards, consumers are encouraged to separate their glass, paper, tin and plastic. They are inspired to buy a hybrid-drive vehicle and invest in a “green” home. When business behaves responsibly, the public follows suit.
The greening effort is gaining momentum. If the energy crisis succeeds in changing reckless attitudes, then something positive will be achieved.
In the past the nation was encouraged to help save the planet and its resources for future generations. Today the plea is to save the planet and its resources for us. This is no longer about the planet or future generations. It is about us. Now. We have run out of time.
Donald Kau is a director at Meropa Communications and a judge of the Greening the Future Awards