A sustainable society can continue indefinitely as its consumption level reflects environmental and resource balance. Therefore, it should ensure that there is equality, freedom, and a good standard of living to all its citizens. Moreover, a sustainable society focus on the present and future well-being of its people. The pursuit of continuous growth in population and consumption is not environmentally, socially, and fiscally sustainable for the society. Thus, the long-term interests of individuals should be balanced within the society. That is the cycle of human records over repeated overexploitation of resources and suffering through consequent destructions should be broken. The usual business scenarios dictate the economic growth; hence doubling consumption.
Instead of viewing the society as a market and an individual consumer, the objectives of a sustainable society relies on the health of humans and its institutional and environmental assets. Consequently, the current economic policies should revolve around simple concepts of growth where maximum consumption in the economy is the main objective. However, this ignores the welfare of human beings, environmental health, and fiscal problems. Thus, a sustainable society measures human and environmental health in terms real-world indicators, but not in dollars.
Growth is not equivalent to prosperity. However, the building blocks of low unemployment, low debt, and educated population that are employed with strong social security. Hence, this makes a nation successful. Once the success is balanced with nature, the society is said to be truly sustainable.
Quality of life
The growth domestic product alone is no appropriate measure of quality life (Kelly and Coggan 1-3). But quality sustainability is a personal as well as an inward-looking economic concept with both factual and subjective components. The quality life of a person can be influenced by external issues such as services, and facilities. This directly connects sustainability to regional issues and quality of life. The subjective part is essential since it reflects how individuals are feeling about their conditions. Thus, it cannot be evaluated by objective indicators.
Food
Tackling food wastes can assist in resolving many sustainable challenges that are faced by the food industry (Ecoviaint.com n.p). Therefore, food wastage is related to food inflation, security, resource inputs and climate change. For instance, the food industry around the world is experiencing food inflation due to poor agricultural practices. This has constantly led to hiking food prices which have raised concerns about food security and its political and social consequences. As a result, food shortages have been responsible for the unrest in developing countries.
As the world population is projected to increase to about 9 billion over the next three decades as resources increasingly became strained, there is a growing realization that raising the level of production alone cannot provide solutions to the problems in the food sector (Ecoviaint.com n.p). However, better efficiencies in the supply chains can increase food output. Thereby, reducing consumer prices. By realizing the importance of undertaking food wastes, manufacturers, retailers, and restaurant operators allied on food waste reduction. So, such enterprises have set up food recovery programs in order to divert food from the landfill to hunger relief agencies and for use as animal feed. The retailers are becoming concerned with the economic advantages. Hence, waste reduction in food industry implies that there should be lower hauling costs to landfill. For example, the largest chain of natural food is sustainable because it composts food waste in its stores.
Also, other retailers have adopted zero-waste programs whereby most wastes are diverted from landfill. Moreover, foodservice operators have also introduced strategies with the aim of reducing food wastes. On the other hand, the main challenge to food waste reduction is the changing consumer behavior since almost half of the food waste comes from households. Therefore, the responsibility of food companies and retailers should comply with sustainable policies in order to promote responsible consumption. Such compliance should include education customer adhere to product labels, practice-wise shopping, and use food items more efficiently.
Externalities: Effects of externalities on sustainable development
Regarding the effects of externalities in the sustainable development of public-private partnership (PPPs), people have been facing the expansion of monopolistic trends particularly in service provision as well as decreased availability of public resources (Mouraviev and Kakabadse 660-669). Moreover, the support of governments towards the partnerships restores a negative externality in the form of high-risk premiums on the interest rates that are used by financial institutions to finance the PPPs. Similarly, the impact of the partnerships on sustainable development are always detrimental because they intensify the economic struggle between the government and increased transfers from the national budget.
In order to maintain equitable sustainability, government agencies should incorporate appraisals of PPP externalities and their effects on the society concerning decision making. Even though governments are interested in the positive externalities of PPPs, but several negative externalities can offset the positive spillovers. Consequently, contributions of partnerships to the economic and social sustainability remain contentious. Besides, the value for money that is incorporated in the assessment of PPP externalities can significantly promote conceptualization in partnerships.
Works Cited
"Ecoviaint.Com." Food Waste: Sustainability Implications – Ecovia. N.p., 2018. Web. 18 Mar. 2018. .
Kelly, Gail, and Anthea Coggan. Quality Of Life and Sustainability. CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 2007. Print. Final Report.
Mouraviev, Nikolai, and Nada Kakabadse. "Impact of Externalities on Sustainable Development: Evidence from Public-Private Partnerships." The International Journal of Business in Society 14.5 (2014): 653-669. Print.
