Far Beyond Sustainability - A blog by Chad Tragakis

It’s great that the word sustainability is in such common usage today.  It suggests that people, organizations and institutions have accepted that environmental responsibility matters, and that we all play a role in achieving and ensuring it.
 
Still, I know plenty of people (both within the broader community of CSR thinkers and doers as well as outside of it) who find the word problematic.  Few would argue that the term is overused, and much has been raised and written about the limitations of sustainability as both a word and a concept.  Despite these limitations and challenges, though, usage of the term persists.
 

There is great diversity even among the most often quoted and widely used definitions of sustainability, among them, those developed, adopted or advanced by the United Nations, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Business for Social Responsibility, and the World Resources Institute.  Looking at these and at other definitions of sustainability collectively, a common theme emerges.  There is a strong focus on maintaining, preserving, and ensuring the continued viability of a process, product, resource, system or state.  Many would argue that, in terms of the environment and natural resource management, achieving this level of performance by business would be incredible.  It would certainly be a good start.   continue reading