ONLY WHEN NATURE EXISTS, BRANDS EXIST

When we think of our Mother, the thoughts that flash across our minds have always been of a person who is compassionate, kind, selfless, and who finds extreme happiness in giving. Can we ever think of her being harmed in any manner? A Mother never measures out her blessings, she lets them flow in abundance.

So too Mother Earth. She has been showering us with her blessings, which have never abated in any way. She is kind enough to provide us with everything that we need to survive and thrive on, be it oxygen, food, water, medicine or materials for shelter. So don't we have a duty towards protecting her resources, not using them nonchalantly, and preserving her rich resources for the next generation? Sustainable development is the key and this is impossible without a change in our attitude towards Mother Earth.

The need for sustainability calls for a behavioural change in each one of us. What better time than now, when we are in the process of controlling and overcoming the pandemic, which, on the flip side, has acted as a great leveller, to understand this reality? The activists and the government are playing their roles, but isn't it the responsibility of the corporates to contribute to this behavioural change and thus pay back to the society which has helped them flourish? If each corporate helps in inculcating and fostering in the world a single habit of conservation, this would usher in a sea change in human behaviour towards Mother Earth.

Companies and brands, therefore, need to be purpose-driven. They need to identify their higher purpose. They need to move away from their basic goal of creating value for the shareholders and shift their attention to focus on the larger interest of the environment and the community, which includes all the stakeholders. Remember, only when nature exists, brands exist. To put it more precisely, it's in brands' interest to see that the nature exists.