If you have lived for more than 30 years, think back to how the weather was in those yesteryears. Do you notice any difference in the climate? For the past few months, Malaysia has seen its fair share of climate change impacts. Flash floods, earthquakes, intense monsoon seasons, and extreme heat waves, just to name a few. There is no doubt about it – human activity is forcing unprecedented changes in climate and biodiversity on the planet. This factor alone when combined puts human and environmental lives, livelihoods, and well-being at risk. For the past 50 years, Earth Day has been celebrated by billions to raise and promote awareness of our existing environment.
The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in Our Planet”. This direct call for action seeks to accelerate solutions to combat climate change, and to mobilize everyone – governments, citizens, and businesses to act. As inhabitants of this planet, it is our responsibility to care for the environment and be conscious of our actions. This includes being conscious of our daily habits, the businesses that we support, the governments that we vote in – all this and more creates repercussions in the future that determine the fate of our planet. The increasing conscientiousness towards the environment has created a rise of businesses in recent years embracing “social impact” as its core value.
Businesses like MAEKO set a great example as an impact company. They have a mission to end a severe problem; food wastage. According to The Lost Food Project, in Malaysia, 3,000 tonnes of food waste eventually end up in landfills everyday that emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat within the atmosphere and causes global warming. MAEKO sells commercial composting equipment that turns food waste into compost, a valuable medium for agriculture, within 24 hours. However, a lot of companies are still hesitant to invest in this equipment as they are still concerned with the costs of doing so despite the value it brings. Dumping the waste in a trash can for it to end up in a landfill is considered to be a cheaper and convenient alternative.
This hesitancy to invest in our planet does not stop with businesses alone. Even as individuals, there are still too many of us being complacent with how we conduct our daily lives and disregard sustainability efforts being presented by climate change experts. We are used to the convenience that is offered as it requires less effort and is mostly a cheaper option. Especially with an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality, unless the consequences of our actions are thrown into our face, a lot of us are still not concerned with the state of our environment. For example, single-use plastics are still being notoriously used now with bazaars and night markets being in operation again at full throttle. Just take a walk in one of these bazaars and it is obvious that the amount of plastic bags and packages being littered carelessly is at an alarming rate even with trash cans being available every 50 meters apart.
However, this does not disregard the efforts that are being made by conscious and responsible individuals and businesses. There is no doubt that there is an increasing awareness being evident as more people are exposed and educated about the threats our planet is facing. As mentioned previously, this increasing awareness gave rise to companies basing their core values on creating positive impacts towards the environment for the betterment of our well-being as a society. Issues that felt hyperlocal years ago are discussed on a national and global scale today. Among the problems social impact companies are attempting to solve are rampant deforestation, access to clean water, education for women, and environmental conservation. As a result of the rise of social impact organizations, those seeking solutions to these challenges have access to more resources than ever before by investing their time and effort to improve the state of our planet’s environment.
As responsible citizens, it is our prime duty to support mother Earth to upkeep her sanctity and natural resources. The efforts that we do today determine the future of our planet.
So, how have you invested in our planet?
