Reflective Essay of Sustainability and Social Responsibility

HOW SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CAN CURB CLIMATE
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 HOW SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CAN CURB CLIMATE CHANGE
I have heard many times on the news that the world climate is changing gradually and that something has to be done to reverse the trend. In most cases, when I hear something about global warming, what comes into my mind is what people, businesses, governments, and corporations should do to combat it. However, I have realized that one of the significant barriers in the fight against climate change is the lack of proper understanding of sustainability and social responsibility. As such, the first step in eliminating global warming is educating people on how they can achieve sustainable development by engaging in corporate social responsibility activities. In particular, sustainability refers to the ability to enhance the existence of something constantly. For example, when it comes to clean air and water, individuals and organizations should ensure that they do not pollute or use them excessively so that future generations can benefit from these resources as well. Social responsibility makes it clear that people and firms should act in the best way possible to preserve the environment and promote healthy lifestyles in society. My course has enabled me to learn various things about sustainability and social responsibility, which I will put in practice to bring awareness that little collective efforts in the right direction can help the world to curb climate change.
The world cannot combat climate change without fostering sustainability and social responsibility activities. After understanding the meaning of sustainability, I realized that it delineates that the available resources are finite, which is the reason why individuals should use them wisely and conservatively by prioritizing the future. In other terms, it is all about ensuring that the limited available resources will be there for the upcoming generations. Sustainable development means economic progression that does not compromise materials that are needed by individuals in the future. Social responsibility involves the duties entitled to organizations and people to ensure that no harm is done to society. For example, corporations should not dispose of their waste products in water or release greenhouse gases in the atmosphere without treating them.
Paul Murray asserts that “the stool will collapse if any of the legs fall away” (Murray, 2011, p.155). The author makes it clear that environmental conservation cannot be successful if various stakeholders do not come together to facilitate the process by eliminating climate change. At this juncture, some of the legs of the stool are businesses, people, governments, and manufacturers. All these entities must unite to eradicate pollution. If one of them fails to collaborate, it can be challenging to achieve sustainable development. The primary components of sustainable development include humans, ecologies, and economies. I have realized that sustainable development and social responsibility can only be achieved by engaging in everyday activities without forgetting that everything has positive or negative impacts on the environment. Consequently, people should focus on doing things that do not affect their surroundings adversely. 
In reality, people are the ones who determine how our planet will be in the future based on how they utilize the available resources. Indeed, it is intriguing to know that individuals’ behaviors or actions are guided by their values. For a long time, I believed that people do things that they learn from society and which align with their cultural beliefs. Nevertheless, I have come to realize that individuals engage in activities or behaviors that they perceive beneficial.
When our instructor showed us a PowerPoint presentation that discussed sustainability and social responsibility, the slide with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) captured my attention the most. The slide portrayed seventeen objectives that are meant to make the world a better place for the current and upcoming generations. These goals focus on eliminating climate change. Some of them include good health, eradicating poverty, quality education, climate action, clean water, zero hunger, and sustainable cities (“Sustainable Development Goals,” n.d.). If all these objectives stated in the UN SDGs are achieved, people will have a better planet to live, and they will not worry about extinction or depletion of resources in the future. Specifically, individuals’ values are what guide their behaviors and motivate them to do the right thing even if they are not followed by the authority.
Since I have known the benefits of sustainable values in making the planet a better place for existing and future generations, I will adjust my behaviors accordingly. I have realized that everyone has a role to play in facilitating environmental sustainability and combating climate change. If people keep looking at the accomplishments of each other, they will never change their behavior and welcome sustainable development. Hence, the world will continue to fall apart.
Some of the consequences of climate change are increase temperature, rate of precipitation, and floods. Indeed, one of the slides that touched my heart was the one showing floods and people using floating objects to keep themselves alive. In reality, many of these individuals appear stranded since the water had entered their homes and businesses. Flood is one of the effects of climate change. What came into my mind when I was looking to this picture is that if people and organizations do not take respective measures, they will not succeed in finding solutions for such natural calamities.
Before I enrolled in this course, I used to blame policymakers, poverty, and the government for failing to come up with effective measures to curb climate change. However, I have realized that people are significant stakeholders in the fight against global warming and that their individual actions significantly determine whether the world will succeed or fail to combat climate change. Ricardo Cavicchioli et al. (2019) say, “Human activities and their effects on the climate and environment cause unprecedented animal and plant extinctions, cause a loss in biodiversity, and endanger animal and plant life on Earth” (Cavicchioli et al., 2019, p. 569). As the world population continues to increase, individuals are cutting trees to get space and materials for building their shelter. By doing so, people never think that their actions destabilize the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
As such, people should unite to address the issue of climate change since it does not recognize national or continental borders. In most cases, I have realized that individuals fail to do the right things due to ignorance and blaming others. If this continues to be the case, the world will never combat climate change. Therefore, the most significant thing to do is for the world to unite and tackle the problem of climate change to secure the well-being of future generations. 
Although Scotland and other countries are emphasizing the use of renewable energy sources, this class enabled me to know that the feasibility of this objective is about 50%. For instance, transportation, burning fossil fuels, and agricultural emissions are the common causes of climate change. I was astonished to know that the agricultural sector significantly contributes to the issue of global warming and that resolving the problem without affecting food supply in the country can be challenging.
Since my high school years, I have learned that fossil fuel is a significant contributor to climate change. However, manufacturers prefer to use this source...