Arnie leads the way to a sustainable future

Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has teamed up with Europe’s Climate Chief, Connie Hedegaard, to show people how low-carbon technology can achieve a sustainable future.

Schwarznegger and Hedegaard’s campaign was launched on Wednesday, with the support of the United Nations Global Compact. Named the Sustainia initiative, it will use a number of designers to create a virtual world showcasing the very latest developments in green technology, and a sustainable model of a world reliant on environmentally friendly resources. It is hoped that the initiative will also put to bed the common association that sustainable practices have with a lower quality of life.

“Being a champion in body building, in movies and in politics, where I was able to lead California to renewable energy, energy efficiency, green jobs, I believe it is important to demonstrate that sustainability is the better choice for all of us,” said Schwarzenegger. 

“For communities around the world and for the individual, the Sustainia award offers a multitude of benefits in terms of better health, more liveable regions and cities and increased productivity. But we need to actually see it to understand it. And this is what we will make possible.”

The Sustainia initiative will be geared towards the Rio+20 conference in June, where world leaders and businesses will convene to promote sustainable practices and renewable resources. While Rio+20 will focus on its theme of ‘the future we want’, the Sustania initiative will portray exactly what this future could be like, according to the group’s founders.

“We've done this because it is hard for people to understand what a sustainable future could look like,” Hedegaard told the Guardian. “Many people do not want to give up what they know because they fear that if we get away from business as usual, we will go to a grey and uninteresting life. But we can show that doesn't have to be – we can create cities where there is cleaner air, where people have better transport and nice houses to live in. Showing that vision is very important.”

The Sustania Initiative will also publish a book to complement the virtual model, and establish an award that the organizers are calling the ‘Nobel prize for sustainable development’, which will acknowledge technological innovation in the field.

 

 

Image 01: Zero Emission Resource Organisation | Flickr

Image 02: World Economic Forum | Flickr

Image 03: Priscillajp | Flickr