What is Sustainability?

To some extent, this term suffers from the same problems as does the term - natural, or, better yet, "Green."  What is natural versus what isn't natural?  It's not defined in law, and as a result, to a large extent, what it means is in the eye of the beholder.  Here are some takes on it's meaning.

The project in Sustainable Management of the Presidio Graduate School starts by stating the obvious "There are many ways to measure or define sustainability."  One particularly inciteful definition is "the property of being sustainable."  The AFSC defines it thus: "Sustainability: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  Scripps College for Women takes a similar approach - "Sustainability: Sustainability seeks to provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the indefinite future."  The NADA also takes this approach: "Sustainability — Practices that would ensure the continued viability of a product or practice well into the future.  Sustainable Development — An approach to progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."  The Montana Logging Association takes a much narrower approach in its Teacher's Guide: "Sustainability - use and growth of natural resources to meet present and future needs."  In contrast, the Bioeconomy Institute at Iowa State University defines it as "An ecosystem condition in which biodiversity, renewability, and resource productivity are maintained over time."  Then there is the definition provided by an organization focused on Green Building "a product capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment. This is key in all aspects of the life cycle of any product."

What I find striking is how this concept has entered into the mainstream of top-tier business school programs, the business and think-tank worlds.  Bainbridge Graduate Institute was the first school to offer an accredited MBA in sustainable business.

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