What is Sustainability — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00[Music]
2. 0:00what is sustainability one of the more
3. 0:03common definitions of sustainability
4. 0:05used worldwide is from the u.n
5. 0:06bruntland commission they say
6. 0:08sustainable development
7. 0:10is development that meets the needs of
8. 0:11the present without compromising the
9. 0:13ability of future generations to meet
10. 0:15their own needs
11. 0:17so put simply sustainability is about
12. 0:19our kids and our grandkids
13. 0:20how do we live today so that they can
14. 0:22thrive and future generations can also
15. 0:24have a good life
16. 0:26our planet has many resources that we
17. 0:28depend on for food for housing
18. 0:31and many of those resources can
19. 0:32replenish
20. 0:34you can cut down a tree and grow new
21. 0:36trees
22. 0:38you can catch fish and there will be
23. 0:40more fish
24. 0:42but that only works if you do it at a
25. 0:44rate that these systems can replenish
26. 0:46we call that the replacement rate you
27. 0:50could think of it as a bathtub
28. 0:51and you're draining the bathtub and
29. 0:53filling the bathtub at the same rate
30. 0:56and if you do that then the level of the
31. 0:58water should be able to stay stable we
32. 1:00call that equilibrium
33. 1:02it's not that you're not using any
34. 1:03resources you are but you're doing it
35. 1:06at a rate that the systems are able to
36. 1:08stay somewhat steady
37. 1:10right now and over the past few decades
38. 1:12what we're seeing
39. 1:13is that we are consuming resources much
40. 1:15faster than the replacement rate
41. 1:17and the result of that draining the
42. 1:19bathtub faster than filling it
43. 1:20is that those levels are going down
44. 1:22we're seeing fisheries disappearing and
45. 1:24other ocean life we're seeing
46. 1:26forests disappearing of course you know
47. 1:29everyone is familiar with the impacts of
48. 1:31climate change
49. 1:32and you know other impacts of this level
50. 1:34of consumption
51. 1:35you know plastics in the ocean all of
52. 1:37these problems
53. 1:39so ultimately sustainability is about
54. 1:42understanding
55. 1:43how all of this is connected
56. 1:44understanding that when you make a
57. 1:46decision
58. 1:46to buy a smartphone you are impacting
59. 1:48someone's life
60. 1:49on the other side of the planet who's
61. 1:51involved in mining the materials to put
62. 1:54in that smartphone
63. 1:56so sustainability is about systems
64. 1:57thinking
65. 1:59one of the other big frameworks that we
66. 2:01use to talk about sustainability
67. 2:03is the three e's in business we call
68. 2:06that the triple bottom line
69. 2:07some people call it the three legs of
70. 2:08the stool and that's environment
71. 2:11economy and equity and it's not just
72. 2:14about
73. 2:15understanding that we need to manage all
74. 2:17of those it's understanding how they're
75. 2:19connected
76. 2:20so if you only look at short-term
77. 2:21economic profit
78. 2:23then you're not going to end up with a
79. 2:25thriving economy in the long term
80. 2:27if you're only looking at conserving the
81. 2:29environment without thinking about
82. 2:31economics and understanding you know how
83. 2:34people are making their livelihood you
84. 2:36also may not end up with a thriving
85. 2:37society
86. 2:38and if you aren't looking at equity
87. 2:40you're going to end up with a few people
88. 2:42that have most of the resources and many
89. 2:44people who are hungry and not living a
90. 2:46good life
91. 2:47and that's not really a successful human
92. 2:48society either
93. 2:50so sustainability is really about
94. 2:52addressing all of those and
95. 2:53understanding the connections between
96. 3:02them
97. 3:05you