Appropriate Approach for Sustainable Development

Encouraging sustainable development can be done through either punitive or incentive measurement. We can either reward someone for doing good or penalise someone for not doing anything or doing wrong.

Recently I acknowledged a different approach by two local banks in encouraging card holders to go for e-statement. Both rationalise the action for environmental conservation purpose. While one bank encourages the card holder to switch to e-statement by giving bonus point, another bank charges card holder RM5 each month for not doing so. The former means no reward for you of not doing anything but also no penalty imposed on you. I think this is right way of doing so as environmental concern is very much a passion at the moment in which individual can choose to do so or not, but more importantly an agreement was signed during the signing up of card in which a monthly statement will be issued. The latter imposing penalty has gone against the mutual agreement and also restricting the choice of card holder. Although it was argued that drastic action is needed to compel card holder to switch to e-statement, the penalty has actually made people think other wise. General public is of opinion that the bank is shortchanging his customers and at the same time making money through saving of printing and postal.

It illustrates that although motive is good, the process is questionable in which ultimate objective will be hard to achieve as stakeholders will not buy in the idea. Thereby, implementing sustainable development will have to look into appropriate context, content and process or else it is tantamount to plan for failure.