Acknowldege the Past

Britian was responsible for the Industrial Revolution, and some fantastic things have been achieved as a result of that revolution. We have unprecedented levels of freedom and mobility, and yet it is now becoming evident that this has been achieved at a cost – both social and environmental. However, it is important that we learn the lessons of history, and that we have regard to what has been achieved – we cannot dismiss the past as simply the bad old way of doing things - lots of interesting and valuable lessons can be learnt from the past.

There’s no substitute for experience – it can be learnt from, incorporated, and should be respected – and therefore enterprises that show us how things used to be done are both relevant and interesting, but at the same time ‘living in the past’ will get us nowhere. Envirology respects experience, respects people with experience, and respects their place in society – it does not view things or people as ‘past it’, as ‘has been’ – indeed, it acknowledges the view that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

From a product and service perspective, Envirology allows us to weigh up the pros and cons of change, to avoid change for change’s sake; for example if for the moment ‘the old way of doing things’ is best, and can be justified when one has regard to not just the environmental but also the social and economic considerations, then Envirology says that that’s OK – its about making informed decisions, about challenging why we do something the way we do it, and if after we’ve challenged it, it still stands up as an acceptable way of doing things, then so be it – we need to look to the next 2 stages of Envirology to come up with a better solution.

Enhance the Present 

There are lots of good things about where we are at the moment, but also lots of not so good things As human beings we a resistant to wholesale change – we find it uncomfortable – by making subtle alterations and improvements, we can make life better – we progress. Envirology is about doing just that – making incremental changes from an environmental, social and economic perspective – if something isn’t working, or isn’t quite right, then change it – we may not get it right first time, indeed things may get worse for a while, but the one thing that we’ve learnt over the years is that if we do nothing, we move backwards. If we do nothing and hope that things get better, they don’t! In order to progress, in order to enhance the present, we must both be willing to change, and then actually change.

From a product and service perspective, Envirology is about reducing environmental impact in all possible areas, increasing health and well being of ‘people’ (staff, suppliers, customers, neighbours), but doing these things in a way that is economically viable and balanced. Again, its about examining why we do something the way we do it, and then making small and balanced improvements in whatever area we can, in a way that we can live with.

Envirology is also about developing freedoms, both now and in the future – fear is a paralysing emotion, and freedom from fear is a life changing experience. Some commentators think that we have lost our “Vital Optimism” – the belief that “the best is yet to come”. Envirology is about giving us a structure around which we can make decisions that can rediscover that vital optimism – decisions that work for the common good and increase the ‘whole’, rather than decisions and actions that ‘take’ from somewhere else and therefore bring gain for one party but disadvantage for another.

Create the Future

A world where all of the above is ‘balanced’ is what we strive to contribute to – through innovation, investment in new technologies, and development of ‘different’ ways of doing things, we would love to contribute to a world where vital optimism is regained – a belief that ‘the best is yet to come’ – that we can solve our current problems with innovation and panache.