When the green rating results of steel sector were released recently by CSE, industry was quick to pass the buck on poor quality of Indian raw materials and other obscure and ‘uncontrollable’ technical factors. But are they the only reasons leading to poor performance? Surely not. As the two-year survey reached final stages, a much deeper and hitherto unexplored reason emerged in the form of misaligned organisational behaviour, culture and functioning.

Two consecutive days of grid collapse has left almost half of India’s population without power.

Three major grids – northern, north-eastern and eastern – have crashed. Reportedly, over 20 states have been affected. Trains have stalled, markets have closed down, and institutions and offices have been forced to announce holidays. In short, this is nothing short of a national calamity.

What are the reasons behind this massive grid failure?

The theme of the Rio + 20 Conference was "Green economy in the context of sustainable development and eradication of poverty" and it has not been possible to the find common ground in the serious differences over what constitute economic growth and human wellbeing – ‘the future we want’. Humans have always altered their natural environment, what is new is that the adverse effects of economic activities exceed those of resource extraction. Soon the Earth will not be able to absorb the carbon dioxide generated by excessive consumption.

The significance of Rio + 20 does not lie in any document but in the new direction provided to global governance, whose focus should be on patterns of natural resource use, and not just on natural capital, to ensure human well being.