On October 14, Steven Ko, chairman of O’right, Taiwan’s beauty brand that prioritizes sustainability, delivered a keynote at the World Biodiversity Summit hosted by the World Climate Foundation on the sidelines of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Kunming, China. He echoed the warning in the Sixth Assessment Report by the IPCC, stating that any increase in the temperature beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius will significantly accelerate the extinction of species and pose substantial risks for all humans and animals.

When people stop talking, animals begin to sing.
When people stop traveling, animals start to run.
Birds in the sky breathe in fresh air.
Prawns in the river swim in fresh water.
Fish in the sea enjoy a moment of peace.

60 years ago, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring became a phenomenon and sparked the modern environmental movement. Social distancing has led to a decline in economic activities and raised awareness into how humans impact nature and biodiversity.

I often wonder... We are temporary passengers of the universe. How do we respect life and coexist with nature? What kind of earth will future generations inherit?

Despite volcanic eruptions and melting glaciers, the earth has naturally warmed in the past 10,000 years. However, since the industrial revolution, human activities have dramatically increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 

Temperatures around the world have been rising since then.

According to IPCC’s sixth assessment report (AR6), atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher than they had been in at least 2 million years. Humanity is responsible for a 1.07℃ boost in temperature. Global warning may reach 1.5℃ by 2040. 

Climate change, biodiversity loss and pandemics are more intimately intertwined than we imagined. 

Climate change exacerbates the loss of biodiversity, which aggravate the transmission of infectious diseases spread by animals to humans.
This is nature's way of fighting back. 

Sustainability is more than a corporate responsibility. It offers new opportunities, builds competitive advantage and is crucial for business survival.

At COP25, I stressed that every company should measure the carbon footprint of products and operations, provide carbon reduction strategies and achieve zero carbon emissions. 

With COP26 urging governments to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon economy, the UK, EU, US, Japan and South Korea have pledged to go carbon neutral by 2050. 

Global giants have also announced their goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Human beings are depleting earth’s natural resources, and this is threatening biodiversity. 

SMEs account for 90% of businesses worldwide. Despite being an SME, O’right began our road to sustainability in 2006. Businesses should measure the CO2 emissions associated with raw materials acquisition, manufacturing, delivery and sale, use and disposal in order to fully assess the potential environmental impact of a product and to achieve true sustainable development.

(Source: Steven Ko)

The manufacturing sector must take action to reduce emissions and prevent carbon buried underground from being sent into the atmosphere.

They should adopt a circular mindset and design products for both technical and biological cycles to achieve zero carbon.

We should look at things from a biological perspective as well. We should show more respect for nature and lessen the burden on human health and the environment.

Shifting our mindset from reuse, refill, reduce of the technical cycle to the biological level - respond, revive, respect. 

Listen, respond, revive, respect. Live in harmony with nature. Putting polar bears first allows us to see the importance of preserving biodiversity.

This is more urgent than building a solar power plant. 

Companies should not only care about the health and well-being of their consumers, but also care about the environmental and social impacts of the products they buy. 

In order to co-exist with nature, it is necessary to start by calculating their carbon footprint to reduce CO2 emissions and environmental impact. 

Although O'right is an SME, we achieved product carbon neutrality in 2011. We measure our carbon footprint and built a green supply chain. We achieved carbon neutrality across entire product portfolio, organization and manufacturing operations.

In 2020, we become the world’s first zero carbon beauty company. We have demonstrated that zero carbon for SMEs is possible.

No birds sing because people won’t listen.
No fish swims because people won’t drink the same water. 
Slowly, the planet we live on becomes a desolate landscape.
Corporate and environmental sustainability are intertwined.

We aspire to be great instead of big. When the alarm on climate change goes off, we must reconsider the meaning and value of life. We must redefine the meaning of true success.

Let success not only be your success, but extend to the success of all mankind.

 (This piece reflects the author's opinion, and does not represent the opinion of CommonWealth Magazine.)

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About the author：

Steven Ko is the founder of O'right Inc. He has actively connected green supply chains to become one of the first beauty companies that strive to realise the ideal of "carbon neutrality”. He has previously been invited as keynote speakers at the APEC Sustainability Summit and COP25.

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