There is more to sustainability that just being green

It is said that, once upon a time the forests in Central Anatolia were so thick that two passing armies would not hear each other. Today, mostly a desert, the City of Ankara’s main goals is to bring the trees, the greenness back into Ankara. So much so that, in the middle of an afternoon it is very common to see tanker trucks watering trees along the roadway, impacting traffic even though the city is in the middle of a drought…

You might have heard about the cotton farmers in India. The ones that are committing suicide as they can’t pull themselves out of the perpetual debt cycle created by the seed and pesticide industry. Recently, Asia was also in the news as they are experiencing a shortage of talent and lack of skilled staff in environments that expect high growth. As you might have guessed, this growth is coming as more layoffs are occurring in the US.

Our measures for economic prosperity are certainly broken. Today, we mainly measure economic growth in terms of consumers’ buying power. Yet, Adam Smith argued that the benefits of the free market should not be limited to individuals, but inclusive of the society as a whole: The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics). Unfortunately today, over-consumption is one of the biggest threats to our environment and society, as The Story of Stuff highlights so well.

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) established the following definition for sustainability: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This implicitly captures that our decision making process has to be global, taking into account any present and future implications to our renewable and non-renewable resources, including our ecosystem.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development points out that “sustainable development is good for business and business is good for sustainable development.” For me, this is common sense. Companies that think about and respect their environment, their society and their employees before they act tend to be well managed firms. Eventually, this also reflects in their financial performance. As popularity, transparency and awareness of green energy, fair trade, organic produce and socially responsible firms grows, your customers will expect sustainable business practices from your firm.

The truth is that concerns over sustainability are sprinkled across all aspects of our lives: our newly established exercise regiment, the weight-loss we recently achieved, striving for a certain living standard or wondering how much longer you can maintain your hectic work schedule, … At the same time, sustainability is about your values and the evaluation of your actions against those values.

For me, the concept of sustainability is very personal. It is as much about achieving well-being for myself and my family as it is about reducing or eliminating the overall stress and impact I have on my ecosystem. It is also about recognizing the cause-effect relationship of my every event and action, and realizing that each outcome has an impact to my sustainability goals which should be incorporated into my planning. With that, here is my definition of sustainability and what it means to live a sustainable life:

Achieving outcomes that can be maintained indefinitely without depleting the support system or endangering present and future needs.

Implicitly stated, ecosystem, society, self/individual and economy are intermingled and need to be carefully balanced to achieve my vision of sustainable living. At the same time, simplicity, self-renewal, incremental improvement and innovations are needed to maintain the process indefinitely.

Perhaps the most challenging part of sustainability is in its operationalization: what should be your sustainability goals, how do you know if you are on track, and what should be measured? As always, this will be based on your definition, your situation and your goals.

I urge you to reflect on your own definition of sustainability, what it means to you and if you are living true to your values. Yes, sustainability may seem like the latest fad, especially with the way firms are embracing it for their marketing. But, starting with sustainability and designing it into your life, your products and processes is a sound business practice. Whether it is idealistic and achievable or not, the road to achieving a sustainable future starts with you.

Technorati Tags: sustainability, sustainability definition