Questioning our perceptions of sustainability Written by Henrico Adrian and Emily Venga
Notions of a green future A freshly graduated synthetic biologist walks out of the halls of their university, looking up into the sky and envisioning the countless possibilities that await them in the near future. Creating a startup sounds like the perfect first step in building their career; the numerous business ideas that were generated over their last few years of study now have a chance of coming to life and satisfying a market need, while also pocketing them some profit and developing their professional portfolio. Sustainability is the name of the game nowadays, and our graduate imagines a business that merges their scientific knowhow with environmentally friendly supply chains and an enticing marketing strategy to create a ‘green’ product that’s good for their customers and the planet. But after months of research, collaboration, and attempted implementation, they began to question the presumptions and perceptions about the true nature of sustainable products. What does ‘natural’ really mean? How does a company (or anyone, for that matter) measure ‘sustainability’ and ‘environmental friendliness’? After learning the concept of greenwashing, our synthetic biologist begins to realise how easily it influences consumer behaviour, its grip on our modern lives, and the harm it can and has caused to all.
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