O PI N I O N Time to change course We all have a part to play in saving our world, one baby step at a time, says Jesse van Sas, Secretary General of FIDI Global Alliance W e humans are not fond of radical change. Instinctively, we prefer to keep things the way they are, to conserve what we have, to continue to do things the way we have always done. Its safer, it causes less headache and, above all, it avoids failure. Radical change usually only happens when we are forced to do it when outside powers dictate our new behaviour. The strange thing is, when we effect the change, we usually like it and say to ourselves that we should have made the move a long time ago. Most of the time, however, changes in our lives dont happen overnight, but rather with baby steps, gradual and almost invisible. This is also happening today in the way we treat our environment. Although many are calling for radical solutions to save the planet, most of us make small changes: we turn down the heating a few degrees; we pay some attention to what the new car consumes; we take our own bags to do the grocery shopping; and we add some money to balance the carbon footprint when booking a flight. Isthis slow pace such a bad thing? No, it is not. As Jamil Qureshi, a coach and psychologist well known to the FIDI community, once said: If we change our course by one degree, the ship will arrive in a very different place than originally planned. And the longer it sails, the more effect the one degree will have. Indeed, when it comes to climate, perhaps it would be better to change the course by more than one degree. Maybe we should consider two or three degrees. The important thing is that we all apply that one, two or three degrees change. Jointly, this will make a vast difference. As movers, we certainly have a considerable carbon footprint. The resources we use from packing materials to the fuel that drives the huge container vessels and planes this all adds up and makes moving an environmentally unfriendly undertaking. That is a fact, and we need to do something about it. Why? Whether you are a believer in climate W W W. F ID I. O R G FF290 pp18-19 Jesse opinion.indd 19 change caused by human interference or not, we can all agree that pollution is a problem that affects most of us, wherever we live. Quality of life is determined by the extent to which we can breathe clean air when cycling in the city; swim in the sea without encountering waste plastic; walk in nature without having to kick empty beer cans around; see wildlife in its natural habitat without having to visit a zoo to stare at the last remaining species through the bars of a cage. We all appreciate clean air, clear water, nature untampered with and a fauna and flora with a healthy variety of species. If we want to save what is left of our world, then we had better start working on that change today all of us. Lets try to change course and contribute to that change, to conserve what we have. These can be small changes baby steps such as reducing the quantity of resources we use, or doing whatever is needed to bring down needless waste or cut traffic fumes. It should be more than what is imposed on us by law. We really should try to go the extra mile walking, not driving please and do our bit voluntarily. If we all do something, this will have an effect. We can look our children, our colleagues, our customers and even our suppliers in the eye, and tell them: Yes, we have made an effort, more than was expected from us. Can you do so as well? JESSE VAN SAS, SECRETARY GENERAL OF FIDI GLOBAL ALLIANCE If we want to save what is left of our world, then we had better start working on that change today all ofus 19 13/03/2019 11:34