The Japanese have a word Mottainai which “reflects a sense of regret concerning waste” which can “lead to anger or protest when the person who is observing the utter waste is incapable of holding back their emotions”. Well that sure sounds like a polite way of describing how I am feeling just now….

Why? Well I have just read a new report from PWC: Too late for two degrees? which makes very sobering reading.

We know that each year that we allow CO₂ and other greenhouse gasses to accumulate in the atmosphere means that subsequent reductions need to be greater.

Back in 2000, in order to have a 50% change of global temperature rises not exceeding 2 degrees Centigrade, we needed to decarbonise our economy at the rate of 3.7% per annum to 2050. Today that target has risen to 5.1% a year because we have wasted the last decade with an average global rate of decarbonisation of just 0.8% a year.

Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.  – Victor Kiam

If one were to ask 100 senior managers what they thought of resource efficiency they would probably all agree with the proposition it is a “Good Thing”, like “apple pie and motherhood”. But the data shows us that in the majority of organisations there remains a large un-tapped potential to improve efficiency. It seems that resource efficiency gets stuck on the organisational “to do” list, in limbo, its value un-realised or only part-realised.

In many cases the challenge is not only to convince management about the benefits of resource efficiency but why implementing a program now is desirable. We must accept that there is always some other corporate imperative that can claim greater priority: the big acquisition; the reorganisation; addressing a downturn; the new management system; the expansion; or the new service development.

There are many businesses where the principal product becomes worthless after a certain point in time. An empty hotel room cannot be sold again the next day, theatre tickets have no market once the curtain goes up, fresh fruit has a finite shelf-life and an unoccupied airline seat is valueless once the plane has taken off.

Resource efficiency is the same in that the potential savings in any day can never be realised again at a later date, they are gone, lost forever. Needless money has been spent; it has flowed out of the organisation, never to be seen again. Meantime, the emissions, waste or other environmental impacts are accumulating, becoming more difficult, and expensive, to undo.