Living Sustainably— Personal change vs systemic change

The climate crisis is this big issue that a lot of us turn a blind eye to. It‘s this overwhelming, beastly monster affecting us in the shadows. When we come face to face with massive crises such as Climate Change, how can we stand together and make change that will help us get through it? What can we do? What can you do? Do your actions matter?

The Dichotomy

When it comes to making change, some of us get lost in the dichotomy between personal actions (eating less red meat) and systemic change (altering the way your business runs). With such complex and large issues they leave us paralysed and confused as to what type of lifestyle will really make a difference or what action really matters.

The truth is, individual action cannot replace systemic action. We need both.

Personal Change

Whether its personal change or trying to change a system, it all feels like a lot. “The scale of the problem induces anger, fear, anxiety…but these paralysing emotions can be balanced by finding individual purpose and hope, both key to emotionally coping with climate change.” (Chandni Singh)

In order to make a difference, we must have people who care and act on it. This starts with us…

Individual actions won’t make massive change and impact on its own, but it helps us “make sense of grave long term challenges, make the distant and intangible feel personal, and make us feel part of a collective whole.” (Chandni Singh) It’s not about trying to change it all on our own, but rather our ability to play our part in helping get closer to a solution.

It’s the little things like reducing the amount of meat we eat or being intentional with our spending that instills curiosity and inspiration in others to make a change themselves. These contributions are what give us hope, in a small but significant way.

Systemic Change

When it comes to systemic change, this is where we can really make a long term difference and big dent in the issue. Whether it’s demanding our governments to invest in production systems that emit less, embodying a circular economy within your business or using your money as an instrument of change, these all can make large impacts.

So what if we looked at the industry we work in and asked if we could be more sustainable? What if we stood up for change we believed in rather than just go with the flow? It is a choice to take control and lead.

A combination

Those who believe that systemic change is the single solution to a sustainable future, fear that behavioural change shifts our focus away from holding corporations and governments responsible for their actions. They believe that individual action is just a distraction from the need to try and change our systems. However, in order to create bigger change you need to start small. Make the distant and intangible feel personal. And once we align with these sustainable values personally, we can start to take it to the systems and be a part of bigger change.

Let’s start with ourselves, then each other, our industry and get to the way society runs.

I would love to know your thoughts on what it means to live a meaningful life in a sustainable way→