I’m expanding my definition of sustainability.
It’s more than the environment.
For so long, I have touted myself as sharing tales of sustainability success. Sometimes, people wonder, “What does that mean?”
Great question, I think.
So I explain: I find stories of people and businesses doing things differently, in a way that actually makes this planet better, and I write about them. To wit: these folks may be “sustaining” existing ideals but are going about it differently and as a result, changing the status quo for the better.
Examples of my formerly defined “sustainability success”
- Two refilleries in my city. The thing they are sustaining: owning a business. That’s about all this business has in common with other businesses. Every other aspect of the business helps improve our local community and the planet to boot. They are committed to sourcing materials in bulk and reducing packaging waste. They are firmly planted behind the idea of selling better products (to begin with) and re-use models, so you need less stuff. They are also making their wares affordable, creating equality. No elitism here!
- A mom of two boys living off-grid, right above a massive, expensive development project (also in my city). The thing she is sustaining: living. That’s about where the similarities between most people living, end. Most other things about her life are worlds apart from the hundreds of “little boxes all the same” below her. For instance, she only does laundry on days when she has abundant sunshine to power her solar panels (which provide her with electricity). Because they are off-grid and on a well, they have to be super conscious about their consumption. She’s leaving a lighter footprint on this earth through the simple act of living!
When I talk about sustainability, I’m typically referring to how we as individuals and as businesses are sustaining (and improving) our planet. Environmental sustainability.
But sustainability is more than just the environment.
Reciprocity & Regeneration
In order to truly sustain anything, we have to create systems that are not extractive or linear. These systems have to be regenerative, and circular.
I recently finished a book called Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and throughout the book, she weaves in the concept of reciprocity. In a reciprocal situation, we exchange things for mutual benefit.
Say I want to grow tomatoes but I don’t know how to do it. You are a tomato genius but don’t have enough space to grow your own. You teach me and I share my abundance with you. Reciprocity.
In a reciprocal relationship, people are part of the equation.
When people are part of the equation and we start acting as if they mattered just as much as a clean planet did, we quickly create regeneration: things return to circularity.
Really, when we consider sustainability, we have to think about people as well. After all, in the above examples of the refilleries and my friend, there are people involved!
We cannot have environmental sustainability without also considering the health and well-being of the people working hard to sustain the environment.
What about a planet without humans?
Some say that if humans disappeared off the face of the earth tomorrow, the planet would be just fine, and maybe they’re right. Nature knows how to balance the books.
But at this point, we have mucked up our planet so far that I feel like it’s gonna take a long time for her to right the ship herself. And frankly, that ain’t fair! In what world do you abuse someone for decades and then just abandon them? If it were people we were talking about and not the planet, they would be labelled a psychopath and committed (or imprisoned).
Moral responsibility
We have a moral responsibility to make this right and to help Mother Nature live her best life.
To do that, we need to sustain our people and help them thrive.
Thriving people are more likely to have the capacity to make changes and advocate for reform.
That’s why I’m expanding my definition of sustainability success: it’s not just about the environment. I want to hear stories about how we’re sustaining our people, too.
