Junxion Strategy principals, David Kuefler and Peter ter Weeme, are back. They’ve returned to Canada following a six-month sabbatical in Asia. During their sojourn they visited several countries including two of the world’s fastest growing economies, China and India.

David and Peter are sharing what they’ve learned through blog postings and a highly-visual presentation they’ve developed for interested audiences. They look forward to bringing their insights to clients and colleagues alike over the coming months.

After spending 15 years working to advance sustainability in a North American context, my partner and I are on sabbatical exploring Asia for six months. Why Asia?

Because it is home to 60 percent of the world’s population and two of the fastest growing economies on the planet: China and India. And, as sustainable brand practitioners, we believe it’s important to understand where these countries are now, and where they are headed. After all, the paths they choose present a host of opportunities and impacts that will affect your brand’s success and the health of the planet.

Even before the halfway point of our journey, we’ve learned some profound lessons that provide new ways to support the shift to sustainability while deepening the meaning of your brand, positioning it with emerging consumers, and fueling growth and innovation in a competitive marketplace.

Having already toured countries like India, Laos and Vietnam (China is on the itinerary in June), I’m astounded at the gravity of the environmental and social conditions here. Yes, incomes are rising as Asian economies grow at 7 to 10 percent per year, but not everyone is benefiting equally from that growth. Poorer citizens are experiencing proportionately higher environmental impacts while the gap between rich and poor grows ever wider. For example, Mumbai is home to Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum and an environmental disaster, just a stone’s throw from glittering hotels and malls that could be found in any North American city.

In the face of this explosive growth, here are just some of the challenges and consequences Asia is grappling with:

> Transportation / Energy
Rising incomes and rapidly growing industrial capacity are driving demand for cars, ships, aircraft and energy. For example, China opens two new power plants every week and is now the world’s largest car market. All this growth is increasing the world’s demand for fossil fuels and raw materials at unprecedented rates.

> Pollution
Growth in transportation and industrial infrastructure is polluting land, air and water. Excessive fertilizer use, contaminated water, heavy metals and solid wastes have polluted more than 10 percent of China’s arable land. In India, up to 50 percent of children in urban areas have asthma. Frequent haze over the Arctic, and even on the west coast of North America, originates in Asia. It’s also fueling global climate change.

> Water
Water is one of Asia’s largest environmental issues. Water quality is abysmal in many areas. In China, 90 percent of river water and half of underground water polluted. In some parts of India, the water table is dropping by up to 6 meters (20 feet) per year. This lack of water is already creating significant social and economic upheaval across the continent. Add this to water constraints in North America and the era of cheap, abundant water is ending.

> Social Equity and Attitudes
As Asia develops, the gap between rich and poor is growing significantly. A report issued by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) indicates that this gap has widened to a threatening level in many Asian countries like China and India. According to the Sunday Times, bankruptcies, unemployment and social unrest are spreading more widely in China than officially reported, and is “painting an ominous picture for the world economy.”

Aside from these impacts, as you plan for the long-term, it’s also important to acknowledge that Asia is not necessarily seeking to emulate the western capitalist and democratic model. The dizzying rate of change is turning some countries, like China, inward and making them more nationalistic. In other countries, many blame democracy for the global economic downturn, and are growing disillusioned with western democratic values.

What does this mean for sustainable brands?
What do all of these developments mean for sustainable brands? Quite simply, what’s happening in Asia already impacts your business today and will continue to do so well into the future. So, as your map your future strategies, here are some key considerations to build further meaning and value into your brand:

> Acknowledge your brand is connected to events in Asia and that your brand’s success will depend on how Asia develops
Despite “buy local” campaigns, globalization shows little signs of slowing down. Everything local is global, and global is local. Shrinking glaciers in the Himalayas, dying bee colonies on Bhutan, respiratory ailments in China and striking workers in India are as much our problem as Asia’s. At the same time, if Asia is an emerging market for your brand, how well do you understand its consumers’ values?

> Consider your supply chain and its impacts both in Asia and on your business
The environmental and social stresses in Asia are already generating impacts across global supply chains. Products that rely on cheap labor, clean air, arable land or abundant water will increasingly face new constraints. Begin now to develop strategies that can overcome these challenges.

> Address those impacts in creative ways that help differentiate your brand
Does your community investment strategy consider your supply chain and relevant consumer markets in Asia? Can your brand help inspire others in Asia to adopt CSR and sustainability practices? How can you support the education and economic development of women, a powerful and often disenfranchised constituency in Asian countries? In the face of Asian competition for natural and human resources, how can you strengthen and deepen relationships in your global supply chain? Even if your product or service trades locally, how might the sea changes in Asia affect the future health of your brand?

> Explore potential of markets in Asia
Europe and Japan have shrinking populations, and are seeing stagnating economies and incomes. Meanwhile, Asia is growing quickly and seeing the emergence of hundreds of millions of middle-class consumers. So, where do you think you should invest for the long-term? If Asia holds promise for your brand, be sure to adapt your product for the Asian market where space is at a premium and different cultural values reign supreme. Plus, don’t just appeal to the wealthy; the real opportunity lies with the wide swath of consumers of modest means.

> Engage the talents of the Asian continent
Asia offers so much more than cheap consumer goods. China is innovating in solar, wind and electric vehicle technology. India is an IT powerhouse with strong English language skills. Asia is a multicultural, pluralistic, melting pot of religions and cultures that is home to the world’s oldest civilizations. And they are on the ascendency again. What can we learn from them, and how can we engage them, to fuel our, and their, business success?

We’ve all played a role in the significant shifts western companies are making to address issues of sustainability. We know that our consumptive, wasteful and disposable economic model is unsustainable. It certainly can’t be sustained with the rise of hundreds of millions of middle-class people in Asia. Companies that explore the interconnectedness of our economy and environment with Asia’s will realize great rewards. Your brand’s success and the future of our world depend on it.

~ Peter ter Weeme

(Originally published in Sustainable Life Media)

Is the inexorable decline of these tigers an omen for the future of India? Not necessarily. But, it provides some lessons for how the country can manage its affairs more sustainably as it continues its relentless pace of growth and development.

If you’ve never visited India, you probably associate the country with things like call centers, spicy food, colorful festivals, chaotic traffic, grinding poverty and Gandhi. The reality is that India is all of these things, and so much more. For example, it’s a leader in information technology; it’s the world’s largest producer of movies; and, it’s a leading center for “health care” tourism.

India is also on track to eclipse China as the largest country in the world in terms head count. Its 31 distinct states share 1,600 languages, six major religious groups, and 6,400 castes all mashed up into one fiercely proud and doggedly democratic country.

And if you think we have environmental and social equity issues at home, imagine the impact of one billion people. Think in terms of solid and liquid waste, water use, transportation and air pollution. Imagine too the challenges of creating social cohesion in a land with all that religious and cultural diversity and the ingrained inequality of the caste system. As one lady we met here said, “For too many Indians, life is hard and short.”

By the way, if you want a candid, business-oriented narrative on India’s future, check out India Express, a book by Daniel Lak, an international journalist, writer and broadcaster. It’s a fresh, incisive look at India’s rise on the world stage.

I’ll admit that I have no crystal ball for India’s future but having had the chance to speak with dozens of Indians – particularly those in the emerging middle class – they all agree that India is:

• On a sustained growth curve for the foreseeable future
• Becoming increasingly urbanized at a rate of 1% per year
• Liberalizing its economy and social attitudes, breaking along generational and socio-economic lines
• Beginning to develop a culture of environmental awareness, at least among educated, urban Indians.

Even so, India still faces many challenges from issues with governance, corruption, education, infrastructure and growth. Its law enforcement is notoriously corrupt, its politics is a tangled web of religion and privilege, and its business community is intensely intertwined. It will have to put much more effort into addressing these issues if it’s to have any chance of meeting its economic, social and environmental goals.

What does this all mean for sustainable brands? There is great potential for a range of sectors to grow and prosper, and be an enterprising part of India’s drive to emerge as a global force. Here’s how:

• With dozens of stores in India and customers in 67 countries, Himalayan Herbal Health Care shows the potential in India for ethical retail chains as well as lifestyle and personal care brands. So does Nourish Organic Foods, makers of health bars and breakfast foods, and Organic India, another leading tea, food, spice and health supplement company. The ubiquity of English in India, particularly in urban centers, makes it easier to promote Western retail concepts and marketing creative. Experts agree that the potential LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) market here is enormous.

• Existing major centers are seeing frantic demand for housing. Meanwhile, India plans to build six brand new cities in the next five years. According to McKinsey, this works out to 700 – 900 million square meters per year of new residential and commercial space. Those cities will incorporate smart growth and energy efficiency principles. The country has already seen a massive increase in green building floor space from 20,000 to 20,000,000 square feet over the past seven years. There’s much more to come.

• There is also crushing work that needs to be done in existing cities and towns where infrastructure and energy sources are stretched. Developing waste management systems and building additional health care capacity alone holds enormous opportunities for sustainable brands involved in planning, technology transfer and construction.

• Delhi operates the world’s largest clear air fleet of compressed natural gas vehicles and is expanding its metro five-fold over the next decade. Tata, a major Indian conglomerate with progressive CSR practices, now offers the world’s most affordable (gasoline) car. Meanwhile, the need for mobility grows in tandem with the population and incomes in India. There’s great demand for transportation-based products, especially those operating with renewable or clean fuels.

• India’s installed wind capacity (fifth in the world) and its plans to produce 20 GW of solar power within 10 years are good signs for the clean tech sector. So is the fact that India actually has a Ministry of New and Renewable Energy . In short, there is political commitment and public financial support for companies in clean tech.

• As India works to realize its potential, there are also opportunities for a whole host of services firms in the areas of education, finance, management consulting, sustainability, legal services and more. Put that together with a national emphasis on education, and you’ve got the ingredients for positive change. Imagine the contribution you could make to the social side of sustainability here.

You might also be interested to know that India’s new Companies Bill considers providing various incentives, including tax breaks, to corporations that carry out corporate social responsibility programs. How’s that for progressive?

Let’s face it. We’re all in this sustainability journey together. Our global survival ultimately depends on how countries like China and India develop, the choices their consumers make, and the paths their industries follow. The progress we make in the developed world also depends on how well we make room for countries like India at the global decision-making table.

There is also the hard reality that the economic power of the world is shifting east. Some would argue that it already has and that we in the West are only starting to figure it out now. As progressive green businesspeople, we need to be part of the wave, for our companies’ success but also to help shape and influence that growth for the better.

Take the time now to consider how your business strategy and corporate citizenship efforts can include Asia. Do it before your competitors do. Their arrival here is just a matter of time.

~ Peter ter Weeme

(Originally published in Sustainable Life Media)