I love how Breeze’s latest commercial hits so many aspects with their smooth, real talk:
“We all need to change for a better world, but real change…
It doesn’t just happen by typing comments,
Hashtags can’t plant trees; Tweets won’t clean oceans.
For real change to happen,
We all need to play our part and get dirty.”
As I watched this, it was a wake-up call―may it be taken in the context of politics or environment.
I have wanted to write about sustainability from this term’s leadership seminar that struck me. The seminar was held last October 22, 2021, via Zoom and was entitled: Leading Business for the Common Good featuring the covenant for shared prosperity.
At first, it was just another meeting for me, similar to what we had during our undergraduate years. So while listening to the seminar, we were bombarded with facts on sustainability, how real this risk of having insufficient resources for human consumption, and how 2 degrees Celsius will reshape the future, unfortunately, for the worse… or worst?
With the world getting warmer, there will be great shifts in our environment and our food and water security. Livelihoods will also shift as farming becomes more challenging with warmer temperatures, and coral reefs will be non-existent (Buis, 2019).
Now let them sink in. What kind of world are we looking forward to? What would be a world with no marine ecosystem? A world where there will be more food and water shortages, where only the rich can survive and still enjoy their “benefits,” temporarily. Just like this pandemic which revealed our true colors… who were left to die and get fewer privileges because they were in the “laylayan,” as one presidentiable aspirant calls them?
I have been extremely bothered since this seminar, and I kept thinking about how I could help in my little ways, hoping I could make a difference too. Sometimes, I envision myself being a part of the congress where I would propose a law where it would be mandatory for all Filipinos to plant a tree every year during their birthdays until their lifetime.
Sometimes, I dream of working again for the projects of the United Nations so I can have a better platform to speak and raise awareness. Sometimes, I think of taking Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering to know more about these facts, hoping I get to inform more people and be more credible if I have more “commas” and competencies on my name. Like that Breeze advertisement, I am just like everybody else who uses hashtags and all, but my impact on sustainability is almost zero. These efforts are just not enough.
When I took my MBA degree, I only wanted to pursue my dream of having that certificate because I wanted to prove that Chemical Engineering is not for me and that I will have my coffee shop soon. Then, my passion for building my line of businesses was fueled more. In my mind and heart, I wanted to reach out and help people by creating more jobs that would give them more value and make them feel less of themselves (especially for the physically challenged).
But I realized everybody else could do this. Lack of jobs is not just the problem but also how to secure a future for everyone, especially for the next generations. We do not need another “me-too” entrepreneur for CSR activities. What we need most are game-changers.
Game changers who will become advocates for the environment.
Game changers will make sure that the next generations will experience a better tomorrow than what we have today.
Game changers who will be pursuing more projects on environmental protection.
Game changers will fight corruption and bring down all laws that prohibit us from moving forward (e.g., power generation, incineration plants ― waste to energy).
Game changers will be the next leaders of this country towards a greener, sustainable future.
Let’s start the #sustainable2050 movement, shall we?
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU. She can be reached at [email protected]
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.