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10 Sustainability
values , and this will be represented by the collective choices and actions they make.
Thus, businesses will not be able to ignore these requests as it would mean losing
money in the long run. An example of the success between a sustainable economy
is the work done by Muhammad Yunus in establishing the Grameen Bank (Yunus
1998, 1999; Yunus et al. 2010). As a social entrepreneur, he depicts the value of
sustainable economies in creating sustainable societies. This is extrapolated under
the Individual Matter section. Grameen Bank is a sustainable economy since it
created a market niche and reached the poor women. The bank has developed a
decentralized management structure and impacted rural wages positively.
One of the major debates about economic sustainability is about the limits of
growth. Is there a limit to economic growth for a particular country? Does
Rostow’s theory of development accelerate or impede economic sustainability? Provide reasons and examples from Africa.
10.6.3 Green Growth and Economy
In 2005, during the fifth “Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development” (MCED) held in the Republic of Korea, the name “Green Growth and
Economy” (GGE) started appearing, where it was adopted as a strategy for
achieving sustainable development (John 2014). According to the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Green growth means fostering
economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to
provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies.”
Though, it is fair to say that both green growth and economy act together within the
sustainable economy in order to advance, as a whole, the economy, the environment,
and social well-being. In addition, considering that GGE represents a non-specific
set of strategies, countries are encouraged to design their own paths to create
jobs that are beneficial for the twenty-first century society, and to move away
from old economic methods, such as a non-beneficial industrial development that
continuously increases the greenhouse gas emissions and destroys unpreserved ecosystems.
As a result, GGE is required to maintain low levels of greenhouse gas emissions
and pollution, while having high levels of resource productivity, and ideally
operating with renewable energy. It also must have (or intend to create) a circular
economy, in order to recreate the 3Rs approach. Therefore, even though one talks
about green growth and economy, worldwide economics cannot lead the way to
implement a system simply based on actual economic models. In fact, it is quite the
contrary, because in order to achieve a sustainable green transformation, a political
strategy is very relevant indeed.
10 Sustainability
values , and this will be represented by the collective choices and actions they make.
Thus, businesses will not be able to ignore these requests as it would mean losing
money in the long run. An example of the success between a sustainable economy
is the work done by Muhammad Yunus in establishing the Grameen Bank (Yunus
1998, 1999; Yunus et al. 2010). As a social entrepreneur, he depicts the value of
sustainable economies in creating sustainable societies. This is extrapolated under
the Individual Matter section. Grameen Bank is a sustainable economy since it
created a market niche and reached the poor women. The bank has developed a
decentralized management structure and impacted rural wages positively.
One of the major debates about economic sustainability is about the limits of
growth. Is there a limit to economic growth for a particular country? Does
Rostow’s theory of development accelerate or impede economic sustainability? Provide reasons and examples from Africa.
10.6.3 Green Growth and Economy
In 2005, during the fifth “Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development” (MCED) held in the Republic of Korea, the name “Green Growth and
Economy” (GGE) started appearing, where it was adopted as a strategy for
achieving sustainable development (John 2014). According to the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Green growth means fostering
economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to
provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies.”
Though, it is fair to say that both green growth and economy act together within the
sustainable economy in order to advance, as a whole, the economy, the environment,
and social well-being. In addition, considering that GGE represents a non-specific
set of strategies, countries are encouraged to design their own paths to create
jobs that are beneficial for the twenty-first century society, and to move away
from old economic methods, such as a non-beneficial industrial development that
continuously increases the greenhouse gas emissions and destroys unpreserved ecosystems.
As a result, GGE is required to maintain low levels of greenhouse gas emissions
and pollution, while having high levels of resource productivity, and ideally
operating with renewable energy. It also must have (or intend to create) a circular
economy, in order to recreate the 3Rs approach. Therefore, even though one talks
about green growth and economy, worldwide economics cannot lead the way to
implement a system simply based on actual economic models. In fact, it is quite the
contrary, because in order to achieve a sustainable green transformation, a political
strategy is very relevant indeed.