What is Sustainability?

Overview

• Definitions

• Concept

• Translation

• Origin

• Utility

Definitions

Sustainability is …“Meeting the needs of the present without compromising

the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

- Brundtland Commission

“An approach to ensure the long-term viability and integrity of the mission by minimizing resource needs, reducing environmental impacts, and managing resources as to provide realistic training environments”

- Fort Bragg working definition

Concept

In order for a society to be sustainable, nature’s functions and diversity are not systematically:

1 …subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust;

2 …subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society; or

3 …impoverished by over-harvesting or other forms of ecosystem manipulation; and

4 Resources are used fairly and efficiently in order to meet basic human needs worldwide.

- The Natural Step for Business

Translation

• You can’t use renewable resources faster than they replenish themselves.

• You can’t dump garbage into Nature any faster than Nature can absorb it without going haywire.

• If you are using non-renewable resources for basic necessities, invest some into the development of renewable stuff that can replace it.

- Alan AtKisson

Origins

• Communities

• Regional Programs

• State Initiatives

• Corporations and Industry

Communities

• City of Austin Sustainable Communities Initiative• Chattanooga Venture • The Livable Tucson Program• Sustainable Seattle• Sustainable City, San Francisco• Sustainable Boston Initiative

Regional Programs

• Thomas Jefferson Sustainability Council

• Sustainability Indicators Project for Central Texas

• Clinch Powell Sustainable Development Initiative

State Initiatives

• Sustainable Washington• Smart Growth for Colorado’s Future• Maryland Smart Growth Program• North Carolina Environmental Sustainability Plan• Florida Sustainable Communities

Federal Programs

• EPA Smart Growth Network• EPA Green Communities• Federal Highway Administration Transportation

and Community and System Preservation Program• U.S. Interagency Working Group Sustainable

Development Indicators• Department of Energy, Center of Excellence in

Sustainable Development• Local Agenda 21

Corporate & Industrial Programs

• Interface• Cooperative Bank• Sunoco• General Motors Corporation• Saunders Hotel Group• Swissôtel• Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group• Sierra Business Council

Potential Utility

Sustainability is the natural progression for environmental protection efforts. It provides:

• A unified basis for resolving issues that cross regulatory frameworks, regional boundaries, and/or are influenced by non-environmental factors

• An approach for integrating environmental issues into the fabric of human activity

• A platform for explaining issues, building consensus, obtaining support, and working with relevant partners

Summary

• Sustainability is a new goal for environmental efforts

• It implies an umbrella framework that is inclusive of all parties

• Its foundation comes from communities seeking to resolve complicated interrelated issues

• It can help the Army