Pandemic “S” factor – Sustainability

In order to stop the coronavirus, the Netherlands is currently experiencing lockdown and curfew along with much of the rest of the world. To comprehend where we stand and how to deal with this health crisis, governments continuously evaluate two overall indicators: the number of new infected persons (lagging) and the reproductive or R factor (leading). As an indicator of how contagious a disease is or how easily it spreads from person to person in a community, governments use this R factor to assess the magnitude of COVID-19 outbreaks and determine their best options for progressing against the crisis. As we advance, we are learning to appreciate the virus’ movements and how to execute the most effective vaccination plans.

The degradation of our planet Earth involves different variables, yet the ecological crisis is equally alarming and pandemic. Earth is the place where we all live; the place we consider our home; the place where we eat, love and pray. However, it is precisely this place that is in danger. We must ask why there is not a sustainability or S factor for which government and corporate leaders readily assess and discuss how their activities interact with natural systems and pose potential risks and opportunities to the existential resource needs of present and future generations. Like the R factor, the time has come for leaders to establish and evaluate a daily, forward-looking, sustainability variable focused on developing viable options for planet Earth to remain a liveable place for all. 

Sustainable Endeavour: Erik Wijlhuizen, Joost Vogtlander and Todd Heller