By George Cheriyan

Jaipur, Oct. 10, 2021: Green Action Week, observed each year during the first week of October (Oct. 4-10), is a global people’s campaign to promote sustainable consumption. Around 60 organizations in 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North- and South America are participating in the campaign this year.

The Green Action Week is an initiative by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and is carried out in India coordinated by CUTS International, a global consumer advocacy group, headquartered in Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan state. “Sharing Community” is the theme for the campaign since 2018.

Daan and Seva (Charity and Philanthropy) are ethos of Indian culture and even Bhagwat Gita says, “If one enjoys abundance without sharing with others, is a thief.”

Circular economy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are two important buss-words and debates presently happening at the global level. ‘Circular Economy’ promotes ethical consumption, which has become a popular word in the global economy as an alternative to the presently practiced linear economy (make, use, dispose) model.

Circular economies keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life. It is based on the realization that natural resources are limited and the current model of linear economy, which demands unlimited extraction of natural resources and perpetual growth, whereas perpetual growth is a mathematical impossibility in any finite system like Earth.

SDGs or Global Goals are a universal call to action for transforming the world to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity, which consist of a set of 17 goals, to be achieved by 2030, which started from January 1, 2016. Goal 12 talks about responsible consumption and production.

“Use of goods and services, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations” is what we call the Sustainable Consumption as defined by the United Nations.

Indian Culture

This is nothing new for a country like India. India has a history of low carbon footprint and sustainable lifestyle. Sustainability has always been a core component of Indian culture. That’s why this recent hype on the importance of adopting the ten principles or R’s of circular economy – Refuse , Reduce, Renew, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Re-cycle, Recover – in everyday living though might be relatively new globally, is nothing new to India as this concept has been a part of India’s culture since ages.

Vedic philosophy proposed the right action on the use of wealth on self, commotion and donation for the welfare of others. Religious scriptures preach that people have no right to claim more than what is required for their basic purposes. It recommends that one third of the wealth be used for philanthropic purposes.

There are various examples from the life of people like Mahatma Gandhi and ancient kings who recognized the importance of sharing and respectful use of resources according to need rather than greed. Mahatma Gandhi laid emphasis on minimizing one’s wants even if resources are in abundance.

Sharing Economy

SDGs and circular economy underlines the need limiting use of natural resources and sharing resources, and this resulted in the emergence of sharing economy.

Sharing Economy is an economic activity, where assets and services are shared between two or more individuals, either free of cost or for a nominal price. It emphasizes the re-use of assets rather than absolute ownership, which helps individuals to experience the benefits of these assets without really owning them. Socioeconomic and technological factors are drivers for a sharing economy.

Cyber world is connecting people to share almost everything – from books, furniture, home appliances, vehicles, work spaces, homes, agricultural tools, electronic gadgets, and even clothes. Start-ups that facilitate this sharing are now everywhere and the most prominent of this fast growing sector of the economy is the online transportation network that offers shared taxi rides like Ola and Uber in various cities.

In addition start-up companies rent out designer and everyday clothing, furniture and appliances for a monthly subscription. In the same way, there are numerous other firms, mostly in prominent cities, in India that rent out various other consumer goods like luxury bags, cars and villas. Renting out wedding dresses, which is usually expensive, is another thread that is picking up.

Homestays have boomed in India especially with the arrival of Airbnb (Air-bed and breakfast), the online marketplace that enables people to rent their homes and apartments to short-term lodgers. However, the growth of the country through a sharing economy is not just limited to cabs, furniture, coworking spaces and homestays. They are taking it into areas that are largely unimaginable.

Emerging local markets are quite common across various cities that sell exclusively used goods where not only the poor and middle class reach, but all sections of society avail it. Almost hundreds of kilograms of e-waste, plastics, textiles, metals and other wastes are reused and recycled in such local markers which would otherwise have ended up filling the dump yards.

Such markets chips in greatly for reducing the carbon footprint since ages and is an ideal model to showcase how even the informal sector contributes to sustainable waste management and circular economy, something that is overlooked usually. The size of the sharing economy is estimated to grow to US$335 billion by 2025, which was $14 billion in 2014.

Emergence of Sharing Communities

The people who share or committed to “reshaping the world through sharing” are known as the community of sharing. Or in other words, a group of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and engage in joint action of sharing in a geographical location or setting. We can further define it by the shared attributes of the people in it, and/or by the strength of the connections among them.

Even today it is not an unusual sight in rural and semi-urban areas where neighbors shared common household items like utensils particularly during functions and large gatherings at once place. Small scale farmers have always shared agricultural implements such as, tractor, sprayer or other farm equipment as they find such machinery unaffordable, besides the fact that the number of calendar days spent operating it each year is getting smaller.

In cities, it is still a common trend for the people to give away used goods and clothes that are not any more needed to others in need, rather than ending up as landfills. Even high end products like television, refrigerators, washing machines, mobile phones and cars have a good second-hand market. If given the required thrust now, the remanufacturing sector can prove to be a more sustainable alternative as it restores a used product into new and saves considerable amounts of energy and material in comparison to manufacturing a new part.

This needs to be addressed and our old-age practices be revived, rather than waiting to be completely replaced by more modern but unsustainable practices and technologies. In many cities the ‘Wall of Kindness’ are emerging, a space where people can keep the used goods in good condition they want to share, and people in need can take what they want.

People of Kerala have seen an unusual level of sharing during the floods that happened last year. Sharing of resources such as house/place, food, clothing, household items etc. etc. However such sharing should not be limited only in the face of any natural calamity or disaster. There is a need to sustain such neighborhood sharing, beyond acrisis.

Balanced Approach

Therefore, in India to encourage sharing community a balanced focus needs to be taken giving equal importance to both commercial, scalable sharing economy stalwarts like Airbnb and Uber, at the same time to the historical roots of sharing in communities. We need to regain and retain the sharing practices, which existed in our communities.

If managed and promoted well, the sharing economy can create a lasting and transformative impact across the country. Not just boosting the economy but it can cultivate a sense of community belongingness, it used to exist decades back by bringing people into contact with one another and assisting neighborhoods and more importantly better the environment by making the most efficient use of resources.

The SDGs of the United Nations envisage that by 2030 countries should substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction and reuse. Existing sustainable practices therefore can be encouraged and successful community models be replicated in other parts, so that it would become easier for growing cities to manage their resources sustainably– wasting less and sharing more.

(George Cheriyan is director, CUTS International and a member of Global Think Tank on Sustainable Consumption, Stockholm. Can be contacted at: gc@cuts.org)