a sustainable future ?

A definition of SUSTAINABLE

‘Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’

World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987.

What SUSTAINABLE is sometimes taken to mean

‘Sustainable’ means lighting sources and luminaires that provide a low-energy / low-carbon

performance.

Well, it’s a start …….. but

TAKE ….. MAKE ….. WASTE

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

Ray Anderson: 1934 - 2011

“The Death of Birth”

A future approach – only connect

Everything is designed for you to throw away when you are finished with it.

But where is ‘away’?

Of course, ‘away’ does not really exist.

’Away’ has gone away.

Michael Braungart & William McDonough: ‘Cradle to Cradle’



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Here’s a low-energy thought

The total distance travelled to get a UK sales team from their individual bases to the office amounts to 3000 miles – or

about 60 hours of sitting behind the wheel. That’s over a week and a half of driving!

The low-energy solution would be for everyone to slow down – below 60mph, for ‘optimal efficiency’.

But that increases travel time by 20% - to over 70 hours.

But what’s the SUSTAINABLE option?


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ALUMINIUM:In October 2010, a holding tank at an aluminium manufacturing facility in western Hungary ruptured, spilling more than 30 million cubic feet of toxic "red mud" sludge into three nearby villages. Nine people were confirmed dead, and virtually all wildlife in local waterways was presumed to have been killed. (image and words lifted from /www.newsweek.com)

PLASTIC:An expanse of floating and submerged plastic rubbish that is reportedly 250,000 square miles – roughly the size of Texas – has created a dead zone in the North Pacific Ocean.

(image and words lifted from /www.newsweek.com)

MINING:The Sukinda Valley in India contains more than 95 percent of India’s chromite ore deposits. The constant mining efforts have left it as one of the most polluted places in the world (image and words lifted from /www.newsweek.com)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Mine_spoil_dumps%2C_near_Gunnislake_-_geograph.org.uk_-_64689.jpg

ENERGY:In late 2008 one of the holding tanks at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee collapsed, spilling wet coal ash across the landscape, causing lasting contamination of the local Tennessee River, killing wildlife and depositing high levels of mercury into the land and water.

(image and words lifted from /www.newsweek.com)

ENERGY:Experts have said that a workforce in the hundreds or even thousands would take years or decades to clean up the area around the Fukushima nuclear power plant. On 20 March 2011, it was announced that the plant would be decommissioned once the crisis was over.

Climbing Mount Sustainability

Low energy outputs (products)Response to global problem

Ends justify any means


Low energy outputs (products)

Recycled materials / waste reduction

Response to global problem


Growing awareness of resource limits

Escalating costs of raw materials




The Company





Grow awareness amongst staff

Trained staff make efficient industry




The Company

The Market







Fair and transparent competitive practices

A robust marketplace targets ‘greenwash’ practices




The Company

The Market

Community









Outreach into the local area, based on company experience

Awareness moves out from the company into the home




The Company

The Market

Community

World









Outreach into the local area, based on company experience

Awareness moves out from the company into the home

Reduction in resource extraction and spoilage

Sustainability ‘drivers’ reach critical mass – paradigm shift


a sustainable future ?

Design