Sustainability as an integrated framework for business, environment, and society

¶ … Sustainability

Across the globe there continues to be a crescendo in the discussion by political and business leaders, academics, the science community, and ordinary citizens regarding the notion of sustainability. The term has moved beyond its core meaning of environmental protection and the development of solutions to combat the "great environmental challenges confronting us- climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and resource depletion" (Leiserowitz, a. & Fernandez, L. 2008). Sustainability now has expanded to envelop a plethora of disciplines, including business strategy for corporations in the form of "sustainable global enterprise and the tripartite goals of corporate profitability, environmental protection, and social responsiveness" (Simola, S. 2007). Sustainability is an ideology which seeks to inculcate the central tenant of "development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations" (Simola, S. 2007).

A Personal Definition of Sustainability

The recognition of finite limits on human activity forms the foundation for sustainability. Whether the discussion is energy, development, or global environmental sustainability the underlying narrative reflects the reality of finite resources against a backdrop of accelerating usage. As the earth's population approaches a U.N. projected peak of 9.22 billion in 2075 (UnitedNations.org. 2004), the focus on sustainability becomes an issue of "society learning to live within the carrying capacity of its landscapes" (Holmes, R. 2007). Invariably however, sustainability confronts the broader implications of societal choices, acknowledging that there is a long-run equilibrium constant defining the: amounts, duration, intensity, and types of activities in which individuals and societies choose to participate. Sustainable development seeks to discover and implement this constant.

An Interest in Sustainability

To many the term sustainability is the new buzzword, a fad which will dissipate in the complexities of the global community, and to others the concept is foreign. In either case however, the necessity of reaching out and providing information on sustainability is crucial to the amelioration of environmental, societal, and economic problems. To advance the sustainability concept it becomes necessary to limn the discussion in the context of an interconnected world in which resources are finite and demand will steadily increase. Individual countries are no longer capable of isolation to the effects of global activity. To present and teach sustainability requires a focus on interdependency and connectivity, a realization that the global environment is a central commonality to all humanity.

A conclusion which concatenates the three articles on sustainability is that existing political, social, and economic agents are not fully capable of initiating or implementing the changes necessary to incorporate a global sustainability initiative. Moving forward the catalyst to a sustainable approach will depend on "major shift in our core values and dominant culture- in effect, the evolution of a new consciousness" (Leiserowitz, a. & Fernandez, L. 2008). This cultural change may only be precipitated by the continued intensity of environmental, social, political, and economic calamities which currently impact the global community. Perhaps though, the change may spring from the realization that humanity is just one piece of a larger ecosystem that is critically dependent on discovering the equilibrium which is at the foundation of global sustainability.