Sustainability

While this word is being bantered about considerably, we thought we would let you know what we mean when we say “sustainability”…

To us, sustainability is defined as moving toward the ability of a system to thrive over an extended period of time. We do not see sustainability as some pre-defined notion. Sustainability lives as an inquiry – is this something we can continue to do over an extended period of time without depleting the reserves?

When focused on a building, for example, sustainability might look like the systems of a building producing as much or more of the energy required to operate the systems within the building. Or the products used to remodel the structure come from sources which are local and renewable.

When focused on a ‘life’ system, sustainability might look like the experience of balance between time spent working, with family, with friends and other activities. Or it might be, literally, that the monetary income remains greater than the outflow. Or, that the amount of energy expended to do work is less than the amount of energy we are able to restore into our system through rest and other ‘lights-on’ activities.

Sometimes the answer to the question of whether this is something we can continue to do over an extended period of time while maintaining adequate supply is, ‘No.’ In this case, we choose, with awareness and intention how to proceed. We may choose to do it anyway. Perhaps we know that this effort, or work, or ‘energy’ required, is for a finite period of time, and that when viewed from a more distant perspective, balance can be achieved. Perhaps we make an informed choice to move toward the ‘most optimal’ solution for the time being, with the intention of improving as circumstances shift.

So, when we speak of sustainability, we are speaking of the intentionality one chooses to value the idea of sustainability in ones’ choice-making process.