Green growth: The Hague in spring

Travel makes us only realize how similar we all are as human beings, playing under the trappings of cultures so diverse as our personalities. Yet underneath our diversity, one humanity’s heart carries issues that our Planet faces today. And so I travelled halfway across the world to meet the beginning of spring at the Hague in the Netherlands. Timely as it was, for I was there for a purpose so like spring: where green growth begins as flowers profusely make their presence felt despite the nippy wind making windmills dance.

I was invited by the Dutch government to represent ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle, and the sector of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) from a developing economy in Asia. Netherlands hosted this European Union (EU)-led UN Rio+20 Business and Industry Consultation, as a partner to the United Nations Sustainable Development Office, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The conference focused on the theme “Realizing Inclusive and Green Growth” with the purpose of bringing together representatives from all over the world, from various sectors like government, NGOs and developing organizations, but most of all, from private sector and businesses. Inputs were gathered for inclusion in the agenda for the coming world leaders’ gathering this June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The coming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) hopes to face critical issues head-on through a global comprehensive footprint on sustainable development.

Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, we are now facing issues of global warming, food security, clean energy sources and climate change that truly threaten our existence in this planet. In 1992, issues were clearly focused only on the environment, thus the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. A striking key point in this coming UN Rio+20 Conference is the inclusion of Business as a major driver for sustainable development; and that this transition towards a green economy will be fueled by a full commitment to sustainability — where sustainability is brought to the core of corporate culture, where all aspects of the businesses and value chains make that transition towards the green economy. But now, this green economy has further been defined: it needs to be inclusive. It needs to be put in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

The Parliament Lake at the Hague.

Our discussions included Innovation as a unique quality to develop or look for in people and companies during this transition phase. Innovation is the positive sister of change. You see, change is something not so readily accepted by everyone, most especially big multinationals especially when their engines are fueled by mere profit with no thought for planet and people. Financial institutions need to be changed and redefined, the whole way of doing business should be seriously and critically looked at. Even that lofty term “corporate social responsibility (CSR)” rings hollow unless the company’s DNA, business processes and corporate values are truly embraced by management and all its employees.

Collaboration is key, and now there is a need to bring everyone together for common goals of greening and looking for sustainable solutions to answer not only climate change but also poverty and women’s inequality. The message that was repeated over and over again in that conference was: No one sector is isolated anymore. We must all come together if change will happen. And we must innovate from what we already have.

What I found so relevant to what we are doing in ECHOstore is that the green economy is defined by three main societal issues (poverty, gender, equality), environmental and economic issues. One cannot be taken alone but must be woven together like the living strand of DNA helix. This is ECHOstore’s experience, where the sustainable lifestyle is the DNA of everything we are doing, in everything we are selling, in everything we are sharing. I felt so privileged to share ECHOstore’s experiences and challenges as an SME and gave input into panel discussions of recommendations. It was identified that SMEs are the real carriers for innovation and growth to help support this transition phase towards a green economy, but that SMEs’ challenges are needed to be addressed: access to finances, training, technology, markets. They also pointed out that ECHOstore was one of several really interesting case studies that identified women as a potential source of power to fuel the green economy forward.

While we never really set out to be a women’s company, we have realized that ECHOstore is indeed a women-led and -owned company, where almost 85 percent of our consumers are women, and where almost 90 percent of our supply base are women’s groups, most of them from rural communities. By creating the enabling environment for these women downstream ECHOstore’s value chain, households are helped, earning capacities are expanded, livelihood is created and sustainability can be reached.

It was fitting that the Hague was host to this conference. Its own focus on the environment and sustainability is center to life there. For example: the Netherlands is the only country with an integrated transportation system. Bikes and cyclists are king of the streets with their own bike lanes, one on each side! Trains, ferries and bus stations are all integrated in that people leave their car outskirts, and go on bicycles around the city. I had dinner in a sustainable restaurant that proudly stated it was so. I visited small fair trade stores. I stopped by Ekomarkets with their organic produce. I felt so at home. But my spring visit also included the touristic walk around the city, visit to the Gemeentemuseum to marvel at Alexander Calder sculpture and works and Dutch graphic artist M.C Escher’s prints at the former 18th-century palace (Lange Voorhout Palace) of Queen Emma.

The Netherlands has an integrated transportation system where bikes and cyclists are king of the road.

In the beginning of spring, it was wonderful to be given a special and unexpected gift by the Universe: to help fuel the transition to a new direction of a paradigm shift; to be a tiny voice for a large continent of small people and enterprises; to extend one’s personal vision and connect it to a global community of people, who together, truly and passionately care for a world we are jointly creating for the next generation.