{"id":15747,"date":"2013-07-08T12:05:42","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T18:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=15747"},"modified":"2013-07-08T12:05:42","modified_gmt":"2013-07-08T18:05:42","slug":"what-is-sustainability-the-business-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/what-is-sustainability-the-business-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Sustainability? The Business Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past 10 years, I’ve answered a lot of questions about environmental topics from people. While topics ranging from solar power to electric cars to how to remember your reusable shopping bags<\/a> come up frequently, the question I hear most – still – is “What is sustainability?” I’ve always gone to the Brundtland Commission<\/a>‘s definition – it’s easy enough to remember – but, as Jonathan T. Scott points out in the video below, the term has over 300 definitions… so context is everything!<\/p>\n

Scott (whose work we’ve featured before<\/a>) is a business professor, so that’s his context… and, as you’ll see in his 20 minute lecture, sustainability makes a lot of sense for businesses. Ultimately, it comes down to reducing waste, because waste represents expenses that can’t be recovered. Imagine telling your investors that a given percentage of their investment will simply be thrown away… you can imagine the response. Scott makes a compelling case for stronger environmental protection and resource management from the entities that, traditionally, have viewed such matters as external to their core missions.<\/p>\n

Take the time to watch the full presentation below, and then share your thoughts…<\/p>\n