editorial

solutions for sustainable human development

Sustainable development is now a very familiar issue to all of us. Almost all of us endeavor, at some level, to make small gestures every day that are likely to decrease somewhat the impact of mankind on Mother Nature. One of our major concerns now is the preservation of our environment, and after decades of ignoring our negative impact on the environment, this concern could be a blessing in disguise.

Dianova is committed to an additional facet of sustainable development, its social dimension, which includes the development of individuals and communities. Even if we were all to share the responsibility for preserving our natural resources, we would also consider it essential to share the responsibility of giving all of mankind an equal access to benefits that these resources make possible.

If we simply learn to use our natural resources on a sustainable basis, we would still pass on nothing to our children and to their children if we did not, at the same time, continue to offer them a high quality of life in the form of economic and social progress.

While there is a seeming contradiction between increasing quality of life and saving resources, there are also a few clues as to how to resolve it.

Some people have an interesting concept that we might call reverse development. To keep it simple, reverse development consists of breaking the link between gross domestic product (GDP) and quality of life.

Indeed, while it is an interesting idea, it is far more interesting when we have a comfortable existence and, even better, a comfortable existence in a rich country. However, it may be somewhat difficult to speak convincingly of "reverse development" to emerging countries which, after decades of almost medieval existence, finally begin to make progress.

How could we hold a grudge against Chinese peasants for dreaming of automobiles the way we dream of fresh air?

Another strategy that appears to be much more promising is the Economy of Functionality. The latter suggests replacing the selling of a product with the selling of the function of the product. It may sound like nothing special, but it is a real revolution in the way we consume that may be on the horizon.

Imagine a business man who would sell not the product itself but its function; it would then be in his best interest to make the product last as long as possible!

The throw-away society may soon be in our rear view mirrors. It is likely that we may soon begin to see the appearance of sustainable consumption models that will be part of a development that is also sustainable and which will be able to combine the preservation of our resources and the protection of our planet with the increase of well-being for all.

At Dianova, we embrace this ideal. Our vision is unequivocally of sustainable development in the sense not only of the preservation of natural resources, but also of the development of individuals and communities, the development of the access to self-sufficiency and the development of a decent quality of life for all of us.

Today, the issues of sustainable development are already part of many of our various programs and activities. However, we aim to do more, and do it better, because it is our calling to raise awareness among our clients and our staff concerning such issues as the preservation of both our human and natural resources and the equitable sharing of the latter for the benefit of all.