How has sustainability evolved over the past decade, and how do you see it evolving in the future?
Posts Tagged ‘sustainability’
Posted on : February 23rd, 2010 | By : Maureen O'Connor | In : Green, sustainability
Prior to 2000, most people had a hard time spelling sustainability, let alone practicing it.
Public awareness began to rise early in the decade, and thanks to influencers such as Al Gore (An Inconvenient Truth); William McDonough and Michael Braungart (Cradle to Cradle); and Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma), sustainability became more mainstream and widely understood.
With this growing awareness of: climate change, land use, food shortages, and dwindling water supplies, almost every major corporation today now supports sustainability in some form – as either a real commitment or marketing ploy.
As leaders, designers, filmmakers, artists, activists, and environmentalists champion the cause, the number of conscientious consumers who inspect labels and do their due diligence before making a purchase, continues to grow.
We now see LEED guidelines incorporated into building codes on every level – from residential homes to skyscrapers and industrial parks. Green initiatives and sustainable practices are forming the mainframe and foundations of a broad spectrum of businesses.
Sustainability is now both an environmental and economic necessity. And going forward, smart new businesses across all sectors will be shaped by sustainability in order to succeed.
Posted on : February 23rd, 2010 | By : Adam Shake | In : Green, sustainability
At it’s core, sustainability is the responsible use of the planets natural resources. The need for individual and global sustainability is two fold. Most of the natural resources that we use are either un-replaceable or are being used at a far greater rate than they can be replaced. It is also through the increased use of many of these resources, specifically fossil fuels, that leads to increased levels of CO2 in our atmosphere and as a result, global warming.
The last decade has seen an incredible increase in climate change science, media news coverage of that science, increased understanding of that science through the media, individual NEED to make individual change and a corporate business model shift to provide consumers the tools and products to help them become more sustainable.
In 2000, sustainability was just “going public” and a lot of people still viewed it as a “Hippie Philosophy.” Being sustainable meant making individual decisions and choices thought of it as “voluntary Simplicity” or “Minimalism.” These terms were coined because for many years, people who lived sustainable lifestyles were viewed as “too poor to be able to live a consumer lifestyle.” Those who “Chose” sustainability for ethical or earth saving reasons wanted a way to show the world that it was a lifestyle “choice.”
Sustainability has gone mainstream and Government and Business have helped.
The US Green Building Council formally released its Leadership in Energy and Environment Design building standards (LEED) full Green Building Rating system 2.0 in March 2000. In 10 short years, a quick Google search of “LEED” results in almost 9,000,000 search results. Leed certification is starting to pervade almost every aspect of building design and architecture from “Green” houses to Commercial and Government buildings. Leed is an example of Government and Private Business working together for sustainability.
An example of Business helping people be more sustainable is the surge in canvas and cloth bags that are used for grocery shopping, aluminum drinking bottles, remote control surge protectors, organic produce, environmentally safe cleaning products, programmable thermostats.
Even with all these advances, there is controversy over Big Government being too involved in individual lives. For example, the U.S. Government is mandating the eventual elimination of incandescent lightbulbs by 2012, in favor of the more energy saving (and less fossil fuel burning) compact fluorescent lightbulbs. These and other innovations are viewed by some as infringement of individual rights. But with the increase in such things as environment destroying mountain top removal coal mining, the government must weigh individual rights with environmental security.
I believe that the we will continue to see both an individual acceptance of sustainability and more technological advances to assist with a more sustainable lifestyle.
- Technological advances and greater acceptance of those advances will most likely include things like motion detection light switches, televisions and even heating systems.
- We can also look forward to greater smart grid technology that will utilize renewable power sources such as solar and wind as primary energy sources that will switch to fossil fuel sources as back up.
- Eventually, these energy grids will be able to store renewable energy that is generated during non peak hours to use during peak hours, perhaps getting rid of the need for fossil fuel generated electricity all together.
- Lithium battery technology will continue to progress, to the point where we will all be able to drive hundreds of miles on one charge, before plugging into a publicly available recharging station run on renewable energy.
- Green roofs (roofs covered with low maintenance plant materials, trees, grasses and shrubs) will become more standard on new construction as Leed certification becomes more attractive to builders through greater tax breaks and rebates.
- The price of oil will continue to rise, helping to drive the funding of and public acceptance of bio-fuels, hybrid and electrical vehicles and public transportation.
- Mixed use residential, retail and office buildings will be built in an effort to make pedestrian friendly neighborhoods and cities that people can live, shop and work in without having to commute long distances.
All of these things are already either being worked on, being improved or being rolled out. The future, in our case, must continue to be now. The future that we see for ourselves must be the present that we demand.
Posted on : February 23rd, 2010 | By : Jasmin Chua | In : Green, sustainability
Make fun of the Goracle and his inconvenient truths all you want, but our former vice president’s raison d’être was truly a watershed event. “An Inconvenient Truth” catapulted climate change and the need for sustainable action into the public consciousness and mainstream media. The fact that I can buy organic pears at my local ShopRite? It would have been unthinkable a mere five years ago. I’m hoping that we’ll soon be living in a future where “organic,” “sustainable,” and “ethical” becomes the standard, and when people ask (if they even have to) “is it good for the planet?” the response can only be, “why wouldn’t it be?”
Posted on : February 23rd, 2010 | By : Janet Dean | In : Green, sustainability
Over the past decade the concept of sustainability has evolved from something discussed primarily amongst environmentalists to something practiced by ordinary citizens and companies—as well as becoming a very popular buzzword in the green marketing arena.
I think sustainability will increasingly become a more common concern for consumers and as they start to demand more sustainability from companies, products and the government, it will evolve from a concept and a buzzword to a way of life. People will consider where something falls on sustainability scales the same way they consider consumer reports when making a large household purchases. While I don’t see this happening in the very near future, I do believe it WILL happen, particularly as we begin to feel the squeeze of decreasing natural resources.
Posted on : October 27th, 2009 | By : Maureen O'Connor | In : Cap and Trade
The cap and trade legislation as currently configured will increase costs for small businesses, while probably having little effect on big industry and large polluters.
We think that ultimately, the industries affected by Cap and Trade will pass along their increased C&T-associated expenses to consumers. We don’t foresee a major bump in consumer prices, because we don’t see C&T having a major impact on reducing carbon emissions.
As far as the impact on the sustainability industry Cap and Trade is not a green jobs creator. It is a vehicle created to lower emissions long term, assuage energy lobbyists and special interests and line a few Wall Street firms pockets at the taxpayers’ expense. New energy technologies and alternative energy infrastructure would benefit much more from a real “Carbon Tax” that mandated change, and in so doing, stimulate new, green industrial growth and positive environmental impact.
Tap dancing around emission standards with the smoke and mirrors approach of Cap and Trade won’t help consumers pay the future health insurance premiums and hospital expenses associated with the respiratory ailments and diseases caused by inhaling fossil fuel-based carbon emissions and air pollution. We’re afraid that to be effective in any way, Cap and Trade will need a major overhaul before it gets too far down the road.
Posted on : October 27th, 2009 | By : Jasmin Chua | In : Cap and Trade
According to a recent report from the U.S. Budget Office, the climate bill will actually end up curbing the budget deficit, instead of putting us deeper in the hole as critics insist. Cap-and-trade legislation, as reported by Bloomberg News, would raise $846.6 billion. Deduct the added $821.2 billion to federal spending and you still have a $24.4 billion net gain, which is a win-win all around. And this spending includes what are essentially cash allowances to factories and polluters. If this legislation passes, we could see greater energy efficiency, less pollution, and a growing sector of domestic green-collar jobs that will boost a flagging economy.
Posted on : October 27th, 2009 | By : Janet Dean | In : Cap and Trade
While many people feel that cap and trade is just a license to pollute, a point of view I don’t entirely disagree with, I do support it because it’s been proven effective in the past with reducing sulfur dioxide (acid rain). Cap and trade probably will increase costs for businesses and those costs no doubt trickle down to consumers though my hope is that with cost increases spread out over millions and millions of people, maybe it won’t hurt quite so much (or maybe that’s just wishful thinking).
Regarding the sustainability industry… Ideally, in the interest of making permanent, long-term changes to stem rising costs associated with buying cap and trade credits, industries will be seeking ways to lower their pollution output and thus give a big boost to the sustainability industry. This will, theoretically, create more green jobs and give our economy a much-needed boost while also changing the way companies think about their pollution legacies.
Posted on : October 27th, 2009 | By : Stephen Del Percio | In : Cap and Trade
If it passes the Senate in its current form, the Waxman-Markey legislation could have serious repercussions for the real estate industry in terms of the energy efficiency mandates that it would impose. Earlier this year, the North American Industrial and Office Properties association commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of the 30 percent reductions in energy that would be imposed by Waxman-Markey. NAIOP focused on a four-story commercial office building in three different climate zones and concluded that, although efficiencies of 14 to 23 percent were possible given current technologies within a seven-year payback period, the 30 percent reductions that Waxman-Markey now contemplates would be extremely difficult for most building owners and operators to achieve absent significant financial incentives at the state and local levels. If passed in its current form, the legislation could thus impact all types of businesses if owners and operators seek to bridge that gap by passing the additional costs of compliance along to tenants or their customers.
Referring to this recent Wall Street Journal article, what is your opinion on how the “cap and trade” debate in congress will affect business? What about American pocket books? Looking a year ahead, how might the sustainability industry be positioned with this legislation?
