What Is Sustainability?

photo by Peter Organisciak

In a time when buzzwords win the day, and true meaning is often obscured to the wayside, we can easily lose sight of what we work for. Green living, sustainability, minimalism. These words can easily turn into buzzwords, where it becomes cool to identify as a greenie/treehugger, and the real reasons for why we arrived on this path become shrouded in confusion.

What is sustainability anyway? I often hear people say they don’t know exactly what sustainability means, if they were forced to give a definition. Sustainability isn’t so much a measured, technical term as it is an intuitive guiding framework for how we should proceed with our lives. Before I get into the nitty gritty of it, let’s take a look at why we need sustainability today.

A Brief History of Where We Are

The fervor of the Industrial Revolution propelled us into the mid-20th century. Manufacturing was all the buzz, wealth acquisition was the top priority on everyone’s list, and free market thought ruled the century. A few key discoveries lead to an explosion in population, and, accordingly, an explosion in resource consumption. Free market principles expanded to every area of life, including health and agriculture.

Now, at the dawn of the second millenium, more and more people are coming to realize that this way of life is not working.

What are the telltale signs? A global recession, increasing frequency of natural disasters, oil spills, increasing discontent, increasing income disparity and unfair wealth distribution, among a host of other reasons. The consumer lifestyle can only move us forward so far, before we encounter nature’s biological limits and our rosy dreams forcibly begin to unravel.

This is where sustainability comes into play – biological limits.

Up until this point, we’ve been operating under the assumption, whether consciously or not, that our natural resources are of infinite quantity, that the earth will absorb whatever toxins we spew, and that we can work ourselves like machines with little concern for other aspects of life.

We are all biological beings, after all, not machines in a cog, in a factory designed to churn out widgets. We have emotions, we age faster under chronic stress, and we need food and healthcare to ensure longevity. We do not have absolute control over our environment, nor will we ever – the rules of biology supersede our desire for more money and more stuff.

This image depicts it well – economy and society are both restrained by environmental limits:

So, What is Sustainability?

According to Wikipedia, “sustainability is the capacity to endure”. In my own intuitive view, it is a guiding framework for creating a lifestyle and society that can continue to operate indefinitely, so long as the earth stays stable. If we want humankind to persist for decades to come, and I assume we do, then we should be thinking sustainably.

One way to measure sustainability is by using the ecological footprint. Generally speaking, the ecological footprint compares human demand for natural resources and ecosystem services (i.e. forests purify air and water and create fertile soil, none of which we could do on our own) with the Earth’s capacity to replenish these resources and services.

To put it more simply, consider all of the things you eat, drink, and use (computers, books, dinner plates, TV, etc.). All of these required natural resources to produce. Here’s a question for you to ponder: Is the earth producing these natural resources quickly enough so that generations of people like myself can continue with my current lifestyle?

If I want to live in a world that is sustainably run, what does that entail?

Thus far, economic growth equates with environmental degradation. The first step is to decouple this process – create industrial processes that do not automatically degrade the environment, and instead design them to restore natural resources or produce no toxins. In this model, a manufacturing company leaves little to no ecological footprint.

In terms of agriculture, it asks that we replenish the vitality of the soil, so that we may continue to grow a healthful bounty of crops in the ensuing years. It asks to not waste or pollute the ecosystem.

In our personal lives, it asks us to return what we take (i.e. compost, recycle, reuse) and to not use harmful products that release toxic pollution.

How Can You Promote Sustainability?

I believe one of greatest keys to a sustainable economy lies in business and the entrepreneurs that lead them. Though I am not an entrepreneur myself (perhaps one day), I can see the power that entrepreneurs have. After all, our culture revolves around commerce – if commerce can be more sustainably run, then our culture, society, and government can be driven to that direction.

If you are an entrepreneur, think about your role in the grander scheme of things. Is your product ethically sourced, or would you rather turn a blind eye? Know where your resources are coming from, and whether or not you can make adjustments in your model to use sustainably and ethically sourced materials. Do you offer your services to just anyone, or do you want to support changemakers?

As a consumer, be a smart shopper. Shop for organic food, sustainably grown is best. Look for organic certification, grass-fed meat and dairy, and non-GMO foods. When buying other products, choose less plastic, and look for statements about product sourcing on the label, or research the brands you buy.

Support legislation that moves towards sustainability, such as the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010.

Live earth-friendly at home:

• Use non-toxic detergents and cleaners.
• Arm yourself with knowledge – know what harms the earth and what doesn’t.
• Waste less.
• Consume less.
• Own less.
• Replace disposables with reusables.

One of the best things you can do is continually educate yourself on how sustainability affects your life. Read blogs written by amazingly ordinary individuals, such as Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish, Raam Dev, Tammy Strobel of RowdyKittens, Bill Gerlach at The New Pursuit, Love and Trash, or Sandra Lee at Always Well Within.

I hope this provides better insight as to what sustainability strives for. There’s no doubt greenwashing is on the rise, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad the green movement is moving mainstream. That’s what everyone worked hard for in the first place. It just means we have to educate ourselves about what sustainability really means, and try to avoid falling for greenwashing.

I am by no means an expert. I am simply impassioned by the idea that we could live in a sustainably run world, where both human and non-human communities are happily at peace. If you have anything you’d like to add, please feel free to do so. And if you have any questions, please ask them.

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