Part 1: “Adopting CSR (Commercially Sustainable Reform)
To Satisfy Power-Hungry Nations”
The world moves ahead towards a new era in clean energy generation, to find a better long term solution for power hungry nations which seem to match their ever growing population with the average power usage per household. In the past, the number of households without electricity in some rural parts of the world mainly in third world and developing countries has been on the rise and efforts had been taken to introduce short term relief for these groups of minorities. Well that’s the past and way behind us in this new century. Looking at the current scenario among larger nations at present, the alarming statistics indicates also the rise in the average power usage per household with the increase in electronic devices per person and its counterfeit Made in China power-hungry chargers that keep them alive.
Taking from a perspective of the working class, an average male worker owns at least a mobile phone, a tablet or touch screen device, a mobile computer or laptop and a few other gadgets including Bluetooth headsets, handheld music devices or even e-cigarettes for instance which has seen its rise here in Asia. All this devices that has suddenly mushroomed into our lives no doubt makes it convenient and provides a higher quality of living, however the bad news for the power producers is that more and more kilowatts of electricity needs to be channelled to households and commercials to cope with the demand that has leapfrogged in just a single decade with the inclusion of these devices into our lives. High consumption levels at record low prices have pushed the demand for energy to one of its highest point in many years and not many power producers are capable of making higher returns and as well invest in cleaner and greener technology. Till this point of time, many countries are still heavily relying on fossil fuels and conventional power producing methods with the usage of coal and also diesel generators.
Finding the Solution.
In determining the best solution for energy alternatives to cope with this demand, large and developing nations are also learning from the aftermaths of the recent nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant in Japan caused by the March 11th tsunami, which was raised to Level 7, putting it on par with the meltdown at Chernobyl, 25 years ago. Level 7 is the Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)'s highest rating: meaning a leak of a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere and wider environment. The amount of risk that nuclear energy imposes on to the environment and the hazard it poses to the health of its immediate employees and the surroundings of the plant is debatable. Notoriously in countries like Malaysia with its infamous public debate and outcry, the recent revelation by the Malaysian Government to introduce Nuclear Power as one of the chosen alternative to sustain the increase in power demand had received much opposition from many parties and environment friendly bodies. Asia needs to look at power generating alternatives that are greener and cleaner to prevent a major power shortage come 2050 when the projected population reaches 5.2 billion people.
The way forward for South East Asia
Rising oil prices and dilapidated power infrastructures begin to exact their toll on most Asian economies at present and most parts of Asia are currently looking towards Wind Turbines and Solar Farms as an immediate alternative for power. However due to irregularities in terms of consistency such as wind speeds for Wind Turbines and cloud interference as a major stumbling block for Solar Power to take off in the region, the shift should be placed on alternatives such as Geothermal Energy instead. With the latest advancements in technologies revolving turbines and the fact that parts of South East Asia itself lies within the ring of fire, Geothermal Energy has not been developed to its fullest potential and promises a lot to nations to be powered by heat from the earth’s core.
However there are obstacles with Geothermal Energy itself as reported by Reuters in South East Asia, for example Indonesia's Bedugul project, set among volcanoes on the Hindu enclave of Bali, aims to develop up to 175 MW of power, or roughly half of the resort island's needs. But the project is now on hold because local residents fear it could damage a sacred area and affect water supplies from the nearby lakes.
In the Philippines, currently the world's second-biggest geothermal producer behind the United States, one of the main obstacles to developing the reserves is the high acidity associated with active volcanoes, which can corrode the pipes. May it be a short term solution or long term effort, the adaptation of new power alternatives will definitely take more time, and efforts by the governments to plan and execute the shift towards non dependency on fossil fuel and conventional power could take decades.
For a short term solution, immediate measures can be taken by the consumers itself to use less. Some large Multi-National Corporations in South East Asia are already embracing cost effective technologies to reduce the daily power consumption in operations and management. For justification purposes, the industrial power usage may account to a larger percentage of overall energy consumption due to the equivalent end-product it produces, however the chunk of power that can potentially be reduced from this figure comes from the Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially in countries in South East Asia where small businesses thrive. In order to get small business to participate in the reforms, new policies should be introduced as a guideline for businesses to follow.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) came in to common use in the late 1960s to the early 1970s for corporations to promote their social agenda, according to wikipedia. The goal of CSR is to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.
Commercially Sustainable Reform, the new (CSR)
At present the new term for CSR should be redefined as Commercially Sustainable Reform, with priority for Multi-National Company’s (MNCs) and SMEs to adopt the new CSR as part of their contributions back towards the society. The new CSR is all about conserving the environment by reducing the dependency on power and as well reducing emissions as well. Corporations can adopt CSR by taking a big green step ahead in business practice and be rewarded along the way.
So how does the new CSR work?
Simple and impactful, similar to the conventional CSR- with adaptation of reforms that are meant to encourage the sustainability of corporations in making changes to their operations at management level. The reforms can be as simple as measure to reduce the carbon footprint of every employee, which in return could be turned into incentives, or as complex as the reduction in operation wastage by using regenerative technology to reuse electricity and water, creating self-sustainable operations.
The question now comes to capacity if the new CSR is generally accepted and applied, do we really need to generate more electricity or resort to alternatives to satisfy the demands of the majority, when the savings we can obtain from them be reused to sustain their usage and to prevent wastage?
Will this result in more corporations especially SMEs embracing greener technology to reduce their electricity usage daily and in return making prices of consumer goods lower? And in return, will governments look into the new CSR seriously with a tax exemption by according a rating based system to reward corporations that embrace the new CSR?
Many thoughts on our minds as we race towards the Malaysian Green SME Expo (MyGSE) 2011 scheduled to be in December 2011 to showcase Commercially Sustainable Reform (CSR) as the overall theme for the Expo. For more information, kindly log on to our official website at www.mygse2011.com. This article is the first part of a planned 7-episode series that will highlight the various aspects of green initiatives in the region and some insights to MyGSE2011 as we look to host the Largest Green SME Expo dedicated to SMEs this year.
by Harish J Hariraj
Consultant and founder of MyGSE2011, Harish pursued Mechanical Engineering from Universiti Tenaga Nasional in Malaysia and currently runs his own consultancy firm in Kuala Lumpur providing solutions to businesses in adapting green, clean, and cost effective solutions. Harish also coaches SMEs and large corporations with a group of experienced professionals and has a huge passion in green and sustainability.
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This is the first article of my dedicated green column in SME & Entrepreneurship Magazine, South East Asia's Best Selling Business Magazine, published and distributed regionally including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia.
