Townsend: Consensus Needed on Meaning of Sustainability
May 10, 2012 For a term that carries so much significance for the cotton and textile industries, it’s surprising how ambiguous and poorly understood “sustainability” is. Then again, maybe it isn’t so surprising. The United Nations released the Brundtland Report, which provided one of the most widely used definitions:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
As Terry Townsend, executive director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), tells Cotton International, that’s a place to start – but it isn’t exactly measurable. “There is no worldwide consensus on what ‘sustainability’ means for the cotton industry, so individual companies can make up their own definition,” he told Cotton International. “It also means different things in different countries.”
To help frame the discussion, ICAC has chosen “Shaping Sustainability in the Cotton Value Chain” as the theme for its 71st Plenary Meeting, to be held in Interlaken, Switzerland, Oct. 7-12, 2012. In addition to providing governments around the world with critical cotton industry information (such as reassuring them that last year’s extremely high prices were an aberration, not the beginning of a long-term trend), this year’s plenary meeting will try to engage all sectors of the cotton value chain to address concerns about environmental, social and economic sustainability.
“Stakeholders need to reach agreement on both metrics and indicators leading to constructive incentives that encourage industry growth in the decades to come,” Townsend says. “It’s a topic that affects everyone in the value chain, so it’s crucial that everyone have a voice in the discussion.”
Switzerland is appropriate as the host country for this year’s meeting, given its role as a global leader on sustainability – not just in cotton, but in agriculture and industry in general, Townsend adds.
In addition, while no cotton in grown in Switzerland, it is the home of many of the world’s top textile machinery manufacturers, making it a critical link on the cotton/textile value chain. Many of the top commodity-trading firms in the world also call Switzerland home.
For more information about this year’s Plenary Meeting, please click here.
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