Sustainability Defined

IISPM
April 7, 2011
Larry T Barnard
Building the “Sustainability” Goal Statement

I would like to discuss the definition of sustainability, the critical principles behind it, and use those principles to develop a list of high-level goals to support the spirit of sustainability.

One definition for the word sustainability is the “capacity to endure.” I like this definition and believe that it fits quite well with our application of environmental, social and economic endeavors within the world of project management. An important aspect of this application is that everything in our world is connected and must be treated accordingly. This requires a dramatic change to the way we plan and conduct business efforts.

Sustainability must be coordinated with proper oversight from a holistic vantage point in our business analysis, projects, products, services and all other initiatives.

Before this is possible, we must develop and agree upon a core list of goals necessary to implement sustainability at the grass roots level.

To start off the conversation, I would like to make reference to two key documents: 1. The Hannover Principles, by William McDonough & Partners., and 2. the World Commission on Environment and Development address by Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland. These documents helped map out some of the key building blocks to what we would refer to as “sustainability” today, and should be considered in any discussion on goals and deliverables therein.

High Level Goal of Sustainability: Sustainability must provide an approach to progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the environmental, social and economic capacity to endure.

In order to accomplish this, some supporting goals may include:

• Develop a concerted effort between economic development, environmental management and social equity
• Ensure that human progress, social equity, economic development and environmental protection are part of the fabric of sustainability
• Protect the global resource base from irreparable damage
• Unify the nations of the world in an effort to implement sustainable development
• Obtain fuel from renewable resources in a way that is not harmful to the community or the environment
• Establish global decision structures and institutional arrangements to reflect sustainability efforts
• Embrace “zero waste” as part of the sustainability culture and translate it through active initiatives
• Reduce or eliminate current and proposed chemicals and chemical compounds that are toxic or poisonous
• Reduce carbon footprint
• Reduce the global pollution of noise, light and toxic or poisonous material effluent and air emissions
• Manage agricultural resources in a sustainable way
• Eliminate waste of water and monitor and regulate manufacturing applications of water in a sustainable way
• Establish potable water as an inalienable right to sustain life and make it available to those in need in a sustainable way
• Provide stewardship of key natural resources like water, air, and food through a global partnership with proper oversight and protection as a right of life

If this is a list of what sustainability constitutes, the next question is how do we support these goals in projects and what success criteria should we adhere to?

Our goal at the IISPM is to provide knowledge, processes, tools and techniques to help translate these macro level ideas into practical application through everyday projects.

Larry T Barnard, PMI-RMP, PMP, IISPM-Practitioner, Change Management Practitioner
CEO & Principal Architect
IISPM, International Institute of Sustainability Project Management
larry@iispm.com