How Sustainable By Paul Hawken: What Is Sustainability?

When talking about sustainability numerous people associate it with just protecting the environment. Sustainability is far more than going green, but it is a principle that many companies have adopted and have worked persistently to improve over the last several years. Sustainability is defined as the ability to continue a behavior indeterminately, but it also includes improving human life overall. Sustainable development is broken down into three pillars: economic, social, and environmental (Harich & Bangerter, 2014). Economics is the study of how people use resources, which correlates to the goal of sustainable development by using resources to their full potential (Laszlo, C., & Zhexembayeva, N., 2011, p. 60). Economic sustainable development allows companies to give their customers what they want without overusing mutual resources. Social development combines the social world with the physical realm to provide a good quality of life (Benoit, 2010, p. 7). Social sustainability focuses on the well-being of people and their communities. Environmental development, the most recognizable, includes protecting the environment by reducing pollution, recycling, switching of electronic devices when not in use, etc. All three of these pillars make up what is known as sustainable development. In this paper, I researched a company and their involvement in sustainability and how it applies to the

In order for sustainable development to be achieved, humans need to reduce their effect on the environment by consuming less in terms of resources, and living more lightly on the planet. As difficult as this may sound, there are a number of ways in which this is easily achievable. One of the most effective ways to do this is to alter the way in which we function day-to-day, and to begin to change our homes to make them more efficient in terms of resources. In addition, sustainability is not only about ensuring a future in which we can sustain our society without impacting negatively on our environment, but also but ensuring that everyone can have access to this. Therefore we must look at the triple-bottom line approach and align our movement towards sustainable development with this.

Although there is no formal definition for the term, individuals have tried to define sustainability according to their function or area of study. The term “sustainability,” once an obscure ecological concept, has now been adopted by many in the business world to connote the principles of social and environmental responsibility (Joseph Fiksel, Jonathan Low and Jim Thomas). Further, sustainability can be seen through the eyes of business as a way to create value. More likely than not, the term sustainability can be linked to the ability of decreasing costs, wastes and inefficiencies. According to the vice president of General Electric,

Sustainability from a strategic business perspective is the potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment, including all biological entities, as mutually beneficial interactions among nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). Business sustainably is often defined as managing the triple bottom line – a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities. These three impacts are sometimes referred to as profits, people and planet. (Business sustainability definition from financial times lexicon, no date). This essay will discuss the idea of sustainability being an important element within a businesses and its core strategies and the importance of it within different businesses. Secondly, this study will look at how different stakeholders are affected and influenced by sustainability as this could be seen as a catalyst to improving the environment as a whole and. Then this study will look at how businesses not focusing

The environment is among some of the top issues to be looked upon by the human population in the world today. Sustainability is a word often times used when speaking of this subject. This is a concept represented in the articles “Sustainability” by Christian R. Weisser and “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” by Robert Paarlberg. Each author addresses the issue in different ways; one giving examples of this issue and the other clearly defining it. Each author is writing to spread awareness of this issue. As overlapping topics, each article has similarities and differences to the other.

It is apparent that in David Orr’s essay, “Two Meanings of Sustainability,” his views of technological sustainability and ecological sustainability fall beneath two distinct archetypes, as defined by Robert Vos in “Defining sustainability: A conceptual orientation”. Textual evidence outlining Orr’s views and beliefs in regard to each type of sustainability can be found in both the assigned reading and additional works written by him. This evidence allows for a direct connection to be made between his views and one of the archetypes of Vos’ Matrix. His views on technological sustainability fall beneath the thin version of the archetype “role of technology” whilst his beliefs in regard to ecological sustainability fall beneath the thick

At present companies are inclined to focus on sustainable development as well as sustainability, which brings with it changes to the corporate culture as well as society. Sustainability has three important dimensions for all companies: economic growth, social responsibility and responsibility for the environment. The social and environmental responsibility, however, cannot become separated from economic growth. Profitability and growth create jobs and wealth; companies have to continue to provide products and services that people need. To understand the characteristics of sustainability, first step is to building the ability to prove how expansion of knowledge can be used in support of employers and public interest. IFAC in 2008 has defined sustainability, sustainability is all about :

Sustainability is the foundation upon which resilient and adaptive design was built. It “is based on a simple and long-recognized factual premise: Everything that humans require for their survival and well-being depends, directly or indirectly, on the natural environment” (Sustainability and the US EPA). Concern for the environment grew in the 1960’s, and after the creation of the EPA in 1970 the term sustainability came into use. “Sustainable development emerged as a result of significant concerns about the unintended social, environmental, and economic consequences of rapid population growth, economic growth, and consumption of natural resources.” (Sustainability and the US EPA). In the U.S., the history of sustainability is rooted in American

I attended a meeting last week with other faculty members. One of them let fly her/his opinion that “sustainability does not exist” or is, at best, a “bankrupt” notion that is basically a form of “greenwashing” and that sustainable development was a “joke.” Hmmm . . . . Please comment on that assertion. In the process, discuss the “big idea” of sustainable development, and more generally the concept of sustainability as applied to individual businesses. For that matter, what is a “sustainable enterprise?” Can being “sustainable” be good for business?

The idea of sustainability has become an increasingly common term in the rhetoric surrounding business ethics, as corporates are gaining broader acknowledgement of this pro-active method which guarantees business long-term viability and integrity by focusing on the triple bottom line. In business, the three aspects of sustainability include social, economic and environment.

Governments, environmental agencies, and corporations alike have utilized the term “sustainability” in order to convey their respective agendas for general sustainability in environmental, social, and economic realms. In spite of their initiatives, there has yet to be a generally agreed upon, uniform definition for “sustainability.” This lack of semantic clarity has promoted skepticism among some parties, skepticism primarily focused in the legitimacy of sustainability agendas, as well as the idea of sustainability in itself (Context & Development, 1992). This essay seeks to inspect the concepts of sustainability generated by two

Sustainability, which in definition mean the capactiy of something to be maintained itself, is a concept that began to pick up traction in the mid-20th century. This

We must act urgently and follow a sustainable way of life. It means living a lifestyle that uses as few reserves as possible and claims the minimum amount of environmental harm for future generations to deal with. There are many different ways of sustainable living, since the approach can apply to almost each part of daily life, for example living in energy efficient buildings, use of renewable energy sources, less use of motor vehicles, save water, consume organic and locally produced foods, live a vegetarian lifestyle and reduce wastage.

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

Sustainability is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations” (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 1987). The concept of sustainability comprises of four pillars: environmental; economic; political and social; as can be seen in the image below. Environmental sustainability is the use and management of the environment in a way that it does not deplete our finite resources. Economic sustainability is a long term sustainable economy that supports its community and political sustainability is the collaboration of different bodies of government to achieve a sustainable future. Now social sustainability is hard to define as it encapsulates many different factors; however to be very broad it is to achieve social justice. The real objective for sustainability is that all four pillars work together equally in a precautionary principle;