With The First Sustainable Generation, we are building a hopeful, sustainable future together.
There are more paths leading to sustainability and they reinforce each other. The green movement is well-known and important. When we talk about a more sustainable world, it is often said that we need to cut back. Consuming less, going back to nature and shorter chains.
Building a hopeful future together
This movement is valuable and has achieved a lot. But the debate is too one-sided. I also argue for those other currents that pull the world in the right direction. Because besides organic production and consumerism, there is another solution direction that is still too often underexposed: high-tech production. Technology and innovation can actually play a key role in achieving a sustainable future.
With that idea, we launched The First Sustainable Generation last year. It is a hopeful story: Our past was unsustainable because humanity was unsustainable. The 20th century was unsustainable because the planet suffered. Now, in the 21st century, we have a unique opportunity: we can be the first generation to make both humans and the planet prosper. If we put our shoulders to the wheel, if we keep innovating, we will become increasingly prosperous while our impact on the planet decreases. The technologist-narrative makes this possible: producing a lot with few resources, leaving a lot of space for nature.
Of course, I worry about the climate. We too burden the environment with our greenhouses. We have shown this honestly in the Reward and Pricing project. But there we also showed that we can contribute a lot to society and that we are actively working to reduce our environmental costs.
How we do that?
By investing in technology and innovation.
Innovation allows us to achieve more with fewer resources. That means: less energy, less water, less space. And thus more space for nature and a healthy planet. In this way, prosperity and a healthy planet reinforce each other. Moreover, in our greenhouses we produce healthy food for millions of people. That is the unique strength of greenhouse horticulture.
Those who know me, know that I am a connector. How great would it be if we could connect our story of The First Sustainable Generation to all the other initiatives that help move our world forward? From industry peers to agricultural heroes and from green groups to policymakers. Let's inspire each other, share knowledge and work together to innovate.
The First Sustainable Generation believes in the power of people. Join us, draw hope from this story and help build a sustainable future!