Sustainability...what is it?

Sustainability is a confusing and contentious topic that is very difficult to define. One description from the World Commission on Environment and Development’s (1987) Bruntland Report describes sustainable development as that which ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.  The Environment Network often chooses another way to capture this complex concept through the use of a simple statement: ‘Enough for all, forever.’ This statement was made by a United Nations attendee and is used often by many who promote sustainability, sustainable development and sustainable living.

The Environment Network works in partnership with The Natural Step, an international not-for-profit advisory, education and research organization dedicated to sustainable development.  The Environment Network uses The Natural Step system conditions to describe how our society must operate to achieve sustainability.  In everything we do, we look to these four core principles for sustainability.  These principles have been developed in collaboration with scientists internationally over the last twenty years.  Here they are:
    
In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing…
   

Concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust (e.g.: heavy metals, fossil based fuels, etc.)

Concentrations of substances produced by society (e.g.: DDT, PCBs, PVC, CFCs, etc.)

Degradation by physical means (e.g.: deforestation)

AND in that society, people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.

Human needs are further defined by Manfred Max-Neef, a Chilean economist who identified basic human needs as:
    
Subsistence             Protection               Participation
    
Leisure                     Creativity                Affection
    
Understanding          Identity                   Freedom
    
These needs are universal.  Only the way in which we satisfy these needs changes from culture to culture.

Please contact us to learn more about Sustainability and how we can help you and your business become sustainable.