Reconciling Economic Development with Sustainability

• First speaker is Ronald Denom, President of SNC-Lavalin

  • Introduces the term: Sustainable Development. Despite being 20 years old (Brundtland Commission, 1987), there is still no consensus on the definition. It was defined then as

  “Meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

  • Talks a lot about everyone doing their little bit. Lots of the same rhetoric we always hear.

  • SD implicitly recognizes the right of future generations. In theory this is great, but is it realistic? That statement puts me a big on edge

  • Lots of generalities about how to explore SD on an institutional level, but no real discussion of big changes, how to develop them, what they might be.

  • Why is the problem how we define Sustainable Development so that it fits in with economic development? Why is no one starting with SD and asking if our concept of economic development fits in with that? What is our definition of economic development? Despite all the exploration of SD, ED is never discussed. Maybe we should look at that.

  • SNC is making deliberate efforts with their projects in LDCs to encourage local development. By implementing “small packages”, the project needs are better suited to small, local businesses: fencing installed in sections by local contractors; uniforms and protective clothing sewn by local seamstresses with textiles manufactured by locals; work areas using bamboo mats rather than carpeting.

  • Overall, he sounds disconnected from the situation and a genuine understanding of it, but SNC-Lavalin does sound like they're on the right path.

• Next is Donald Kaberuka – President of the African Development Bank

  • 2 types of sustainability:

1. Standard. Global pressure on natural resources

2. Sustainability for the losers – those who are left out of growth and development in the first place.

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  • The effects of changing lifestyles directly connect the developed to the developing world: if North Americans eat more beef, beef eats more grain, and there is less food for the global poor.

  • How do we reconcile sustainability for us and for the “bottom billion”? I don't know. I don't think we can. We need to rethink development, wealth, everything we know.

  • It is evident that the problem in Africa is lack of infrastructure. This connects to access to energy discussed earlier today. Nice to see those links.

  • What's the balance between biofuels and food production? Interesting that he doesn't condemn biofuels.

  • Many African countries are being forced to build coal/carbon-fuel based power generators due to lack of technology, funding and insfrastructure

  • He makes lots of interesting points. Too many to mention.

• Gérard Mestrallet – CEO of Suez

  • Identifies 4 time horizons we must look at

    • Markets – Immediate

    • Organizational – 10 to 50 years

    • Industrial – 60 to 100 years

    • Natural – generations to come

  • Evolution towards SD does not need to mean decreased growth. Suez believes technology exists and will be developed to allow sustainable economic growth. Good ideas, but still framing sustainable as secondary to economic development.

  Everybody spoke well, but there's still a feeling of Business as Usual. It feels like so much lip-service to the idea. They seem to recognize that it is important, but only because the markets and the news tell them to. They seem to understand the reasons for its importance, but not how they connect to their own lives. They seem to accept the actions their organizations are taking towards it, but not that they will in any meaningful way change the world in which they live or the business environment in which they operate. Even Mr. Kaberuka seems to be more comfortable with the established system, mind-set and philosophies than be anticipating drastic paradigm shifts. It's actually kind of chilling.