Ironically, while we are desperately looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and limit emissions from our daily expenditures, there are parts of the world which still remain without any access to modern conveniences or electricity:

500 million people living in India
100 million people, each, living in Bangladesh and Indonesia
70 million people in Nigeria
More than 220 million living in Sub-Saharan Africa

They certainly aren’t reading blogs or, for that matter, flipping switches and contributing to greenhouse gases. Approximately 1.6 billion people worldwide – 30% of the global population – have no access to electricity.

While sustainability and energy conservation remain at the heart of these concerns, there stems an inherent need to consider the lesser privileged people. A complementary relationship can be staked out by means of an international dedication to corporate responsibility:


In decreasing our carbon emissions, we can support the poorest in finding their way to development. It’s no longer enough to simply contribute to charities; there is a call for the integration of responsible corporate practices into our very business models.

Schneider Electric’s BipBop programme, for example, is dedicated solely to bringing safe, clean electricity to the people most in need worldwide. The program is specifically designed to stimulate local communities in the process of enhancing quality of life.

We, as the privileged people of the world, have a duty to introduce them to socially and environmentally responsible electricity in the interest of social evolution. The most common cause of things like poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition stem from limited or no access to modern resources. Only when these barriers have been eliminated can social evolution begin to occur.

In order for this sharing of resources to work, it must be sustainable. And, in order for it to be sustainable, it must create an economic ecosystem. Local communities’ education and training by corporate providers allows them to become self-sustaining and responsible, ultimately able to contribute to global innovation.

Innovation is the key to resolving the problems our world faces. The more minds there are at work, the more we can solve together.