Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Although debate can arise over the relative importance of each pillar in
relation to the others, it is irrelevant, because their significance is mutually
complementary—not competitive. The interaction of the three pillars (their
joint support, if you will) is the key to real sustainability, even though apply-
ing the framework can certainly lead us to rank projects, activities, or even
attitudes, as “more or less” sustainable. Nevertheless, it is our contention
that the system is pragmatic in use—to strive for perfection in an imper-
fect world. It can be employed to improve current projects or ways of doing
things, as well as to assess new proposals.
Understanding the Triple Bottom-Line
We are all familiar with the old saying, “The proof of the pudding is in the
eating.” Although the concept may be intellectually elegant, it has little use
unless it helps us think about and shape real-world issues. In other words, it
must contribute directly to movement toward a just and sustainable world.
How does it work in that regard? Let's look at some examples.
“The Natural Step for Business,” a program first instituted in Sweden and
spearheaded in the United States by Paul Hawken and others, has led many
businesspeople to consider all their activities within the triple bottom-line
framework. In doing so, they demonstrate that profits can be made while
simultaneously protecting the environment and supporting healthy com-
munities. Many businesses ascribing to the Natural-Step program are small
businesses with owners already sympathetic to environmental protection.
Their success offers positive, grassroots evidence that meeting material needs
does not have to destroy our natural-resource base or our communities.
Many nonprofit, public-interest groups (such as the Worldwatch Institute,
Earth Policy Institute, Positive Futures Network, and Union of Concerned
Scientists) focus on the environment, resources, and energy and incorpo-
rate the triple bottom-line into their organizational philosophy. Included are
organizations that spearheaded the whole approach in the first place, and
they continue to be effective advocates.
Mainstream corporate business, however, is still responsible for the lion's
share of the economic activity in our system, and practicality dictates that
here must be the primary target if we are to have real impact. At first, there
were perpetual calls from defenders of the corporate sector to define the term,
which is a favorite ploy for innate skeptics and those prone to informed denial.
On one occasion, when I (RB) gave a talk on sustainable development to
a group of people engaged in promoting economic activity, I received the
comment, “Isn't sustainability just another thinly disguised way of getting
us to put the environment ahead of the economy?” A reaction that surfaced
on another occasion was that the reference to posterity and intergenerational
Search WWH ::
Custom Search