Six Types of Sustainability

Sustainability is an expansive concept that applies widely. The definition of sustainability is commonly narrowly defined particularly by entrepreneurs and some members of the business community.  The Brundtland commission definition from 1987 definition defines sustainability as follows, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet its needs".

Many focus exclusively on profitability, at the expense of the other dimensions of sustainability. However, profitability is only one of the three pillars of the so called three legged stool of sustainability (people, planet and profits).  While no one can deny the importance of profitability, some fail to recognize how the other 5 elements of sustainability can also contribute to or detract from the bottom line.

Event - Ceres Conference 2014

This conference will take place on April 30 and May 1, 2014 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston Massachusetts. The Ceres Conference 2014 to connect with fellow leaders creating the innovative solutions that will build a more sustainable global economy. Throughout the two-day program, attendees will engage on a broad range of topics, including: Sustainable agriculture, clean energy investment opportunities and corporate sustainability for the 21st Century.

Event - PAGE Global Conference: Green Economy for Sustainable Development: Progress and Prospects

The First Global PAGE Conference "Green Economy for Sustainable Development: Progress and Prospects," will take place on March 4 -5, 2014, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) is a joint initiative by UNEP, ILO, UNIDO and UNITAR to provide comprehensive assistance to countries seeking to develop and implement inclusive green economy strategies. The inaugural conference will be held under the Patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The conference will be an opportunity to review international experience and progress related to green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. It will also consider how greener economies can contribute to the emerging post-2015 development agenda.

Green Economy and Trade Opportunties (2013 - 2014)

Trade has the potential to help the transition to the green economy and the transition to the green economy has the potential of enhancing international trade. This ongoing study from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), ITC and ITCSD is exploring trade opportunities in five key areas:

• Agriculture
• Fisheries
• Forests
• Renewable Energy
• Manufacturing

Green Economy Forecasts for 2014 (Sustainability, Renewables, Green Building, and Cleantech)

While the overall outlook is good, there is a mixed bag of trends, predictions and problems that will directly impact sustainability, renewable energy, greenbuilding and cleantech in 2014.

Sustainability

The year to come may prove a challenging one for sustainability. According to an Ecova report, the growth of sustainability in 2014 will be complicated by increased energy and resource prices. The report titled 2014 Energy and Sustainability Predictions is based on a survey of 500 energy and sustainability professionals.

Video - Sustainability in Business is about Waste: The Value of a Circular or Closed Loop Economy

This video offers a comprehensive introductory summary of the value of addressing waste in businesses both large and small. The linear consumption based economy is littered with waste. It spends more money on energy than labor. According to the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that the world could save $2.9 trillion every year by the year 2030 if it eliminated waste. Businesses have a powerful incentive to use their resources (raw materials, labour and energy) more efficiently through a circular or closed loop economy. Some of the world's leading corporations have demonstrated that by reducing waste they have increased productivity, saved costs, increased profits, and created jobs. In its simplest essence we need to think of the long term rather than just the short term which defines so many business models today.

Economic Benefits of Going from Brown to Green in Europe and Central Asia

According to the World Bank, there are tremendous benefits driving Europe and Central Asia to transition toward a greener economic growth model emphasizing climate change mitigation. Until the early 90s countries in Europe and Central Asia were dominated by the former Soviet Union, now they are transiting from a brown economy to green growth.

Europe and Central Asia are already experiencing floods, droughts, heat waves, forest fires, and other natural disasters. To illustrate the point, the region lost between one quarter and one half of their grain crops in 2012 due to extreme weather.

Should Green Apply to the Brown Economy?

A new report suggests that brown industries should be encouraged to participate in the green economy. According to a TD Economics report titled "The Greening of the Canadian Economy," released on October 2, 2013, Canada's "green economy" is too narrowly defined and as a consequence it risks excluding of some of the sustainability efforts being made by many 'brown' companies, such as those in oil and mining.

The report calls for a new, holistic approach to better evaluate and measure environmental performance across all sectors and suggests Canadians should change the way they think about the relationship between the environment and the economy from a green-brown dichotomy to a more balanced and broad-based approach through "the greening of the economy."

Environmental Implications of Three Types of Economies: Brown, Blue and Green

In a preceding post we reviewed four economic systems and their implications for the environment. In this post we take a look at the environmental implications of three types of economies (Brown, Blue and Green) and their environmental implications. It should be stated at the outset that most modern economies are an admixture of all three.   

Brown Economy

A brown economy is one in which economic growth is largely dependent on environmentally destructive forms of activity, especially fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

One of the byproducts of this form of economy are massive levels of climate change causing greenhouse gas (GHG) which includes carbon dioxide and methane. 

Primer on Four Economic Systems and their Environmental Implications

Different types of economic system have overarching implications for the environment and the management of the climate crisis. Economic systems determine the way a state or nation allocates its resources and apportions goods and services in the national community. Economic systems determine production, distribution and consumption as a function of a philosophical orientation.

While there are a number of economic systems we can divide them into four basic classes: The traditional economy, the market economy, the command economy and the mixed economy.

Here is an explanation of each of these four economic systems and their respective environmental implications: