Sutainability, The Green Way

INTRODUCTION

Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: economic, environmental, and social—also known informally as profits, planet, and people.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

“Economic sustainability refers to practices that support long-term economic growth without negatively impacting social, environmental, and cultural aspects of the community.” – University of Mary Washington, Economic Sustainability

Economic sustainability is an integrated part of sustainability and means that we must use, safeguard and sustain resources (human and material) to create long-term sustainable values by optimal use, recovery and recycling. In other words, we must conserve finite natural resources today so that future generations too can cater to their needs.

• We must conserve resources long-term.
• We must live on the “returns” of the Earth’s natural resources rather than consuming them.
• Long-term economic sustainability concerns the present and future value of natural resources, like drinking water, as well as products, investments, consumption, markets and the global economy.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABLITY

"Social sustainability is about identifying and managing business impacts, both positive and negative, on people. The quality of a company’s relationships and engagement with its stakeholders is critical." - UN Global Compact

Social Sustainability is a process or framework that promotes wellbeing within an organisation’s own members whil Social Sustainability is a process or framework that promotes wellbeing within an organisation’s own members while also supporting the ability of future generations to maintain a healthy community.

It is considered one of the three main pillars e also supporting the ability of future generations to maintain a healthy community.

It is considered one of the three main pillars, alongside economic and environmental sustainability, also known as People, Planet and Profit.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IS NOT:

• A comprehensive set of rules governing how to operate a business.

• An established, nationally or globally recognised set of standards

• A product which can be bought or sold

• A one-size-fits-all initiative

• A superficial PR exercise

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” - Our Common Future, 1987

Environmental sustainability is defined as responsible interaction with the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and allow for long-term environmental quality. The practice of environmental sustainability helps to ensure that the needs of today's population are met without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

1. Sustainable Agriculture

One way environmental sustainability is being applied is through sustainable agriculture. This is defined as the use of farming techniques that protect the environment. Sustainable agriculture has grown out of concerns over the industrialization of agriculture that began in the 20th century.

With the advent of industrialisation in the 20th century, it lead to an increase in the carbon dioxide emissions into the air, as well as industrial agriculture. These methods can lead to water pollution when chemicals run off into waterways, deplete the water resources due to overuse, and soil erosion and poor soil quality due to aggressive planting

. With sustainable agriculture, farmers minimize water use and lower the dependence on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. They also minimize tillage of the soil and rotate crop planting each year to ensure higher soil quality.

2. Sustainable Forestry

Sustainable forestry is another application of environmental sustainability. This is defined as the practice of regulating forest resources to meet the needs of society and industry while preserving the forest's health. Forests are important to local and national economies. Wood can be used as a source of fuel, timbers can be used in the construction industry and wood pulp can be used in the manufacture of paper.

Beyond what forests can do for an economy, they also have environmental benefits. Trees capture and store carbon dioxide, keeping it out of the atmosphere. Forests also play a key role in the water cycle. Tree roots gather water from the ground and release it into the air as water vapor. If forests are cleared without environmental sustainability methods in place, these benefits are lost.

WHAT DOES LIVING SUSTAINABLY MEAN?

Sustainable living describes a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources, and one's personal resources. It is often referred to as "earth harmony living" or "net zero living". Its practitioners often attempt to reduce their ecological footprint (including their carbon footprint) by altering their methods of transportation, energy consumption, and/or diet. Its proponents aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, naturally balanced, and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology. The practice and general philosophy of ecological living closely follows the overall principles of sustainable development.

Sustainability, refers to the optimum utilisation of available resources. It refers to maxing out on the usage of the Three R’s- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 

Recycling in terms of sustainability refers to up cycling old worn out items to transform them into new resourceful items. For example, using the leftover fabric lying around to make say masks or scrunchies, using tetra-packs and cardboard from packaging to further use it as gift bags. 

WHY LIVING SUSTAINABLY IS SO IMPORTANT.

Sustainability is not just an environmental issue; it’s also an economic one. Not only does one-fifth of the population have access to most of the planet’s environmental resources, we have access to most of the planet’s economical resources including education and healthcare. Sixty percent of the global south do not have access to basic sanitation and 25% do not have adequate housing. We have more jobs, more land and more information available to help us make decisions about our health and our families than most of the world.

Unless standards of living change, inhabitants of developing nations will continue to be plagued by poverty and malnourishment, while their populations continue to grow. Sustainability can be part of the answer to alleviating poverty worldwide. Sustainability doesn’t just mean reducing energy use and emissions; it means increasing access to jobs, promoting responsible trade and decreasing poverty rates.

- Western Oregon University

TEN TIPS ON LIVING SUSTAINABLY

• REDUCE HOUSEHOLD ENERGY USE

Energy conservation is itself a source of energy. Here are several simple ways to reduce your household energy use:

1. Turn off appliances and lights that you’re not using.

2. Install energy-efficient appliances.

3. Open windows to allow a breeze instead of turning on the air conditioning.

4. Hang clothes to dry instead of using the dryer.

5. Use an electric teakettle rather than a stovetop kettle to boil water.

- Super Father.

• EAT LOCALLY

A powerful way to live more sustainably is to eat locally. The convenience of supermarkets has changed how people think about food. You can stroll through aisles stocked with fruits, vegetables, and other products from all over the world any time of year. But these products consume huge amounts of fossil fuel energy to get from those global locations to your corner supermarket.

It's good for the environment. 

- A Colby

• DISPOSE WITH DISPOSABLES

Previous generations didn’t dream of single-use razors, forks, cups, bags, and food storage containers, but these days, you can find a plastic version of almost any object and then throw that object away after you use it.

Many of the environmental health issues today stem from toxins released into the environment by trash. Even trash that’s properly disposed of, such as that in a landfill, requires careful monitoring to ensure that dangerous chemicals don’t enter the surrounding environment.

- Pinterest

• PLANT SEEDS

Try growing your own food. Simply plant a few seeds in a corner of your yard or in a container on your porch or windowsill. You don’t need acres; a few square feet on a patio, along the driveway, or in a window box can provide enough space to grow edible herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

- Agro Spectrum India.

• RECYCLE

Recycle as much as possible! If your neighborhood or apartment complex doesn’t offer recycling pickup, either find a drop-off location or request the curbside service. Buying products labeled post-consumer lets companies know that recycling is the way to go!

- Recycle Montana

• RESELL/DONTE ITEMS & THRIFTING

Items that you no longer need can get an extended life through resale and donation. By extending the life of any product, you help reduce dependence on disposable or cheaply made single-use products that end up in landfills.

Try reselling clothing and children’s things through a secondhand or consignment retailer or consider donating them to a nonprofit resale organization. Try cutting down the size of your wardrobe filled with fashion brands like- Gap, Zara, H&M and so on. These companies not only are pretty heavy environmentally but also contribute to under-payment because of their "cheap labour" structures in countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam.

- Highsnobiety

• BYOB- BRING YOUR OWN BOTTLE

Dependence on bottled water has added more than a million tons of plastic to the waste stream every year. Wherever you can, try and take your own bottle around rather than buy a disposable plastic bottle which is notorious for causing drainage issues and take millions of years to disintegrate. 

Each plastic bottle takes over a million years to disintegrate, so just imagine how long it’d take to decompose a million tons of plastic

Investing in a reusable bottle, helps the environment, in all the ways that a plastic bottle harms it. By 

- Google

• 
  SAVE WATER

An easy way to live more sustainably is to conserve household water use. Consider installing water-efficient toilets or dual-flush toilets that let you choose whether to use a full flush (for solid waste) or half-flush (for liquid waste). Newer clothes washers can automatically sense the smallest level of water needed for each load.

Smaller changes, such as switching to water-saving shower heads and adding aerators to your sink faucets, are also effective ways to significantly reduce household water use.

-City of Madison, Wisconson.

• RELY LESS ON YOUR CAR

Using fossil fuels to support one person in each car on the road is clearly no longer sustainable. Investigate mass transit options in your town or city, such as a bus system, a light rail train system, or carpool and vanpool services for commuters. When traveling close to home, walk or ride your bike.

-IFL Science

• USE ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY OPTIONS

Zero waste goods, thrift shopping, and opting for greener choices like cloth bags over plastic, is a good way to start your Eco-revolution. There was a reason other than the fact made it all about the "sea-turtles" when it comes to banning the use of plastic straws and opting for stainless steel instead, that being their raw materiel, aka- plastic, which takes millions of years to decompose.

-WWF, Australia.