(You), to the power of x
We’ve heard a lot about exponential change. It sounds smart. Exponential growth got us into this mess, so exponential reductions should be able to get us out. Makes sense, right?
But here’s the catch: talk of exponential change can become a distraction. We start waiting for something — or someone — else to act. Technology. Governments. Markets.
Meanwhile, we carry on as usual.
It’s true, of course, that whatever you do — eat a lot of meat, buy cheap clothes online, throw away plastic — makes no real difference. On your own, your impact is a drop in the ocean. It’s microscopic.
But when your small actions are multiplied by billions of people who, like you, do all these things that don’t matter… well, that’s how we got here in the first place.
Multiplied, the little thing that doesn’t matter, matters.
That’s why we vote — a minimal act in itself but powerful when multiplied. Because if you don’t vote, nobody else will.
Your everyday consumption choices follow the same mathematic logic: You to the power of billions.
So,
• Who will get rid of plastic pollution? You will — multiplied by billions.
• Who will eat less meat? You will — multiplied by billions.
• Who will vote for better policies? You will — multiplied by billions.
Your role is simple: to take that small step — and inspire others to walk with you.
This is not about letting big companies off the hook. They are the ones driving biodiversity loss through destructive production methods.
But if we only blame the producers, we ignore an uncomfortable truth: We keep buying what they sell. Since we fuel the demand, we share the responsibility for overconsumption — and the enormous amount of waste that follows.
This target is about making sustainable choices easier.
It calls for:
• Better policies and legislation
• More accurate and accessible information
• Stronger education on sustainability
• Clearer signals on what’s truly sustainable
It also asks us to:
• Halve food waste
• Reduce overconsumption
• Reduce all forms of waste
So we can live in harmony with nature.
Go take that small step. And tell your friends to come along.
Enable Sustainable Consumption Choices
Ensure that people are encouraged and enabled to make sustainable consumption choices, including by establishing supportive policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks, improving education and access to relevant and accurate information and alternatives, and by 2030, reduce the global footprint of consumption in an equitable manner, including through halving global food waste, significantly reducing overconsumption and substantially reducing waste generation, in order for all people to live well in harmony with Mother Earth.