ATCA Briefings

Short Term Capitalism and Long Term Environmental Damage

Dear ATCA Colleagues

[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and threats.]

Anouradha Goburdhun Bakshi is the Director of Project WHY in New Delhi, India. She is the descendent of an indentured labourer and an Indian freedom fighter's daughter, born in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, in 1952 and raised in numerous world capitals where her diplomat father was posted, including Prague, Beijing, Paris, Rabat, Saigon and Ankara. At 16 she returned to India, where she completed her studies and obtained a masters In French. She qualified for the elite Indian Administrative Service (IAS) examination but preferred to follow a different path. Fluent in French she was Assistant professor in Jawaharlal Nehru university for a few years. After marriage in 1974 to a young aviation executive, she pursued a career as an interpreter and conference manager working for Indira Gandhi, Jacques Chirac, and many other world leaders. The loss of her parents and the last words of her father "Don't lose faith in India" made her question the validity of an almost perfect life in an India were things were wrong. After a period of retrospection and the realisation that many "WHYs" needed to be answered she decided to find some of the answers by setting up Project WHY in 1998. Anouradha was voted "Citizen One" by the India Today Group in 2005 and has received the Red and White Silver medal for Social Bravery. Anouradha is a member of The Philanthropia network and blogs on IntentBlog.

Project WHY came into being as an answer to a simple question: why do so many children drop out in India's capital city? It began with 20 children in 2000. Today over 500 children enjoy the education delivered to them by committed teachers, many of whom are the products of slums themselves. 'Success' as measured by examination results is also remarkable. It has also established strong ties with the community and is today engaged in a medley of programmes ranging from medical assistance to children in distress to community empowerment initiatives! Project WHY does not receive any institutional funding and is supported by a network of friends and well wishers. She writes:

Dear DK and Colleagues

Re: Where is the Empathy? Short Term Capitalism and Long Term Environmental Damage

When we met in New Delhi, I had talked about the onslaught of the plastic metallised pouch in slums and villages in India. these are mostly used by multinationals to access the huge market of the "poor." A simple study revealed that one home unit consumes an average of 10 such pouches and these are just thrown away thereby loading an already choked environment as they are far from being biodegradable. A simple legislation from governments directing multinationals to ensure green packaging would be a step in the right direction. This is a simple suggestion but it could go a long way to counter the colossal damage to the environment.

In the last seven years of working in an urban slum of India's capital city I have witnessed the onslaught of multinational marketing targeting the underprivileged through the plastic pouch often priced at 1 or 2 Indian Rupees (INR). It began with shampoos and detergents and grew insidiously to cover what one sees in any supermarket: shaving foams, hair conditioners, jams, ketchup, coffee, potato chips, instant noodles and more.

The urban poor live in abysmal conditions but in most of the houses one finds a TV set and hence the very products sold in pouches at every street corner shop find their way into their homes. The sophisticated marketing mechanisms utilise well designed TV ad campaigns often using movie and sports stars and fuelling dreams. People are quick to abandon old ways and embrace new ones as these are accessible at a tiny price, and hence each home uses over 10 such pouches a day.

The power of advertising and the irresistible lure of a colossal market are the two ingredients brewing a heady cocktail that supposedly has the power to thrill both ends of the spectrum -- the user and the provider. I am no specialist in any field and would in no way dare to propound any theory. I simply speak from observation and first hand experience.

One is not questioning the value of the products but in the light of the ATCA article on "Tomorrow's Global Company: Challenges and Choices" it would be a huge step in the right direction if governments directed multinationals to develop appropriate green packaging if they were to access these staggering markets in the least environmentally damaging way.

Warm regards

Anouradha

[ENDS]