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Lowitt takes a sceptical view of green and sustainable efforts of business. For many companies, he says, Earth Day, is simply seen as an opportunity to issue press releases and special edition minimally reduced product packages.
He distinguishes between “green” and “sustainable” and says that they are not interchangeable.
Businesses should recognise the differences between quick-fixes and lasting habitual changes that promote sustainability over the vagaries of green.
Shockingly, he reveals that $11.4 billion of packaging materials that could be reused is instead simply discarded as if resources were infinite and free. China and India's economic developments will only compound this problems and the mind-set must change, he says.
Our planet is sick and nursing it back to good health is a goal that can only be achieved through collaboration, Lowitt says.
He offers a formula for how both the public and the private sector can successfully collaborate to steward resources such as water, food and energy, which he says could also lead to a new era of prosperity.
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