Sustainability Shouldn't be a Choice. It Should be a System.

What Drives Our Decisions?

Designing a sustainable future that doesn’t rely on heroic choices

Like writing this blog, sustainability requires conscious effort (yes, even in the age of AI). It’s not every time that I can muster it, yet sometimes I do. Sometimes, not always, I go the extra bit and pick up a piece of trash that’s been left or blown onto the ground. Why do I do it? There’s usually no one watching. But it gives me a small sense of wellbeing. I’ve done something good. Am I being selfish?

Maybe. But it’s a kind of selfishness that feels sustainable.

That’s perhaps the point: we need to reward good actions, whether the reward comes from within or outside. But knowing what the right choice is every time can be hard. And constantly trying to balance what’s sustainable and what’s not, can be deeply taxing.

That’s the reality of sustainability. Most of the time, we’re not choosing between green and brown, future, and present. We’re just living. And so if we want a sustainable world, it must be designed into the systems around us, not demanded from individuals at every turn.

The Limits of Individual Optimization

We like to think our personal actions matter, and they do, to a point. But asking each person to constantly reflect on the long-term climate impact of every purchase, trip, or meal is a recipe for burnout and inaction. The real leverage lies higher up, in the structures that shape what options are available in the first place.

Should we design buildings that stay cool (or warm, depending on where you live) with less energy? Offer food that’s low carbon by default? Gradually price fossil fuels in a way that includes the cost of their emissions, just like we already pay for treating other kinds of waste?

Yes. Because when the sustainable choice is the easy choice, it actually gets made.

Companies Face The Same Dilemma, Just Bigger

For companies, the questions scale up. Should a firm turn down a profitable fossil fuel project, knowing someone else will take it if they don’t? Should they invest now in lower-emission technologies that may not pay off for years (or ever)? Should we actively pursue the build-out of gas-turbine and engine power plants because grid stability is needed now, because data centres need them now?

It’s not easy. Businesses live in a world of quarterly reports and shareholder expectations. But this is exactly where policy and leadership come in.

The rules need to reward the future, not just the present. Carbon pricing, green subsidies, public procurement, and transparent disclosure requirements can all tilt the scales. Done right, they make sustainability a sound business decision, not a sacrifice.

I see this tension every day in my own work, both internally and in discussions with customers. Helping companies explore what is feasible and when it might become feasible, whether in power, process, or decarbonisation projects, means constantly balancing techno-economic viability with long-term sustainability. Sometimes the greener option is also the smarter financial one. Sometimes it isn’t, at least not yet. But every project is an opportunity to tilt the balance a little further in the right direction.

So, What Drives Our Decisions?

In the end, it’s rarely just values. It’s what’s available. What’s affordable. What’s rewarded.

And what’s invisible, the systems and signals we don’t even notice, yet that quietly shape how we live.

We shouldn’t expect individuals to carry the whole burden, nor should we let companies off the hook. The real work lies in making the right thing easier, cheaper, and more obvious. That’s how we build systems where sustainable choices don’t demand constant reflection or sacrifice.

Because one day, our children will grow up into the systems we’re building now.

And I hope the world they inherit isn’t one where every choice feels like a dilemma,

but one where the path ahead has already been shaped with care.

Key Takeaways

About the Author

Johan Fagerlund
Delivery Cluster Head, Japan | Plant Engineering, Energy Transition
Johan Fagerlund (DSc, Tech) leads plant engineering delivery at Cyient Japan, focusing on sustainability and energy transition. As Global Energy Transition Manager, he drives decarbonization strategies across infrastructure sectors. With a doctorate in technology, Johan combines deep engineering expertise with a commitment to building a cleaner, more resilient future