Towards holistic sustainability For the mutual enhancement of humans and nature 2012 Long Yang Mary FitzPatrick* Richard Varey Carolyn Costley

Beyond the West... Holistic approaches Relationships of respect  Re-envision Marketing as a social business practice rather than a means to fulfil private profit-making interests

Consumerist society Materialism & consumerism Self-identity & life-meaning Indicator of personal & social welfare  Inherently self-defeating

Macro-marketing perspective Re-consider: taken-for-granted relationships between economic growth, consumption, & life quality consequences vs. capacity prevailing value system perpetuates social & environmental degradation

Dominant Western worldview Anthropocentric Materialistic Individualistic Dualistic Contempocentric Rationalistic Nationalistic

Dominant Western worldview Mind   Body Spirit   Matter Physical   Mental Subject   Object

Humans as ‘consumers’ Minimal duty / responsibility / obligations to other consumers for social welfare for the environment  beliefs about ‘making progress’

Contempocentrism Short-term focus Preoccupation with self- interest Disregard of community Nationalism Lack of a global perspective Mono-cultural focus Reduced co-operation

Lack of historical & global contexts ‘Sustainability’ as a post-modern construction  Limits our understanding of the complexity of sustainability  Limits our responses to issues caused by growth-based profit maximisation

Numerous cultures have been respecting and inter-relating with their natural environments for centuries Insights to long-term local-level sustainability practices

Different Worldviews Western Enlightenment Analysis Comparison Distinction Chinese Confucianism Relationship Integration Balance Harmony

Emphasis on unity of humans and nature  Humans and nature are mutually and reciprocally interdependent Emphasis on immanence & historical heritage  Long-term consequences for humans and nature

Endorsement of Western individualist, materialistic, hedonistic values Revised Modernization Theory: Economic development changes values and norms Values continue to reflect a society’s cultural heritage Modernization & cultural tradition interact

Marketing & Sustainability Partly responsible - through over-consumption – for causing the global environmental crisis. Important role in addressing global social and environmental problems we are facing.  Immediate challenge for Marketing: To support the development of a sustainability-oriented economy that promotes the enhancement of humans and nature.

Marketing for a Sustainable Society Requires a transformative shift from Marketing to increase consumption and profit to Marketing for human betterment in principle and for sustainability in practice

Insights from ‘Alternative’ Worldviews  to re-envision the relationship between humans and nature  to enhance the welfare of humankind & the environment  to transform ‘sustainability’  to re-conceive the purpose of business & Marketing

For the mutual enhancement of humans and nature 2012 Thank you Your thoughts?