Environmental Sustainability
Journal of Environmental Sustainability
Volume 1 | Issue 1 Article 2
2011 Environmental Sustainability: A Definition for Environmental Professionals John Morelli Rochester Institute of Technology, [email protected]
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Recommended Citation Morelli, John (2011) "Environmental Sustainability: A Definition for Environmental Professionals," Journal of Environmental Sustainability: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 2. DOI: 10.14448/jes.01.0002 Available at: http://scholarworks.rit.edu/jes/vol1/iss1/2
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John Morelli Rochester Institute of Technology [email protected]
ABSTRACT: While acknowledging the need for “sustainability,” this paper summarizes the problems that have been encountered in our understanding and use of this concept. It explores the efforts of others to define the concept within the context of specific disciplinary areas and sets forth a proposal for a basic understanding of the term “environmental sustainability” as an expansion of our common perception of the nature of human activity so as to more clearly connect it with the ecological concept of interdependence and to serve as a goal for environmental managers.
KEYWORDS sustainability. In “The Concept of Environmental Defining Sustainability, Ecological Services, Sustainability,” Robert Goodland substantiates Environmental Sustainability, Goals of the a history documenting this need, presenting Environmental Professional, Principles of proponents ranging from Mill and Malthus to Environmental Sustainability Meadows and Brundtland et al., and puts forth a definition of “environmental sustainability I. INTRODUCTION as the maintenance of natural capital” and as a concept apart from, but connected to, both social In the middle of the 20th century, we saw our planet sustainability and economic sustainability. These from space for the first time… From space, we see arguments are not repeated here but rather accepted a small and fragile ball dominated not by human as valid, supported, and used as a basis from which activity and edifice but by a pattern of clouds, to proceed to further develop this concept. oceans, greenery, and soils. Humanity’s inability to fit its activities into that pattern is changing planetary The problems with “sustainability” systems, fundamentally. Many such changes are accompanied by life-threatening hazards. This new On October 6, 2010, the US Federal Trade reality, from which there is no escape, must be Commission (FTC) proposed significant revisions to recognized - and managed (From One Earth). its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims also known as its “Green Guides,” which The need for sustainability exists to help marketers avoid making deceptive claims under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The There is no question regarding the need for proposal lists five terms that will not be addressed
1 by the Guides. Number one on that list is the II. DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY term “sustainable.” The reasons provided for this IN THE CONTEXT OF A interesting decision include claims that there is no PROFESSION clear understanding of the term among experts, the term cannot be defined, and there are no accepted While the concept of sustainability is increasingly criteria with supporting test methods to measure it discredited as a useful concept by itself, it appears (Morelli et al., “Sustainable Consumption”). to be serving some purpose when preceded There has been more than a decade of by a delineating modifier like “ecological” or struggle with the definition and relevance of the “agricultural” or “economic.” Efforts have been term among individuals in various professions (see made by members of various professions to give Toman, Costanza, Mebratu, Vos). A debate exists meaning to the term within the context of those between those who support a three-legged approach respective professions. Callicott and Mumford, for (i.e., simultaneously benefitting economy-society- example, develop the meaning of the term “ecological environment), and those who view it as a relationship sustainability” as a useful concept for conservation between human society and nature (Robinson). biologists; In “Ecological Sustainability as a The result is that the concept is now more open to Conservation Concept,” these authors advance an individual political and philosophical interpretations ecological definition of sustainability that connects than to scientific definition (Robinson). human needs and ecosystem services: “meeting Even less progress in defining this concept human needs without compromising the health appears to have been made by the organizations of ecosystems.” They propose this concept as a that employ “sustainability” professionals. guiding principle for areas where human activities “Sustainability” was recently identified in an annual take place. guide to corporate newspeak as one of the most In “Economic Sustainability and the abused terms in the corporate vernacular (“Urban Preservation of Environmental Assets,” Foy Intelligence Network”). The term has become a explains that from an economic standpoint, corporate buzzword, applied so commonly and sustainability requires that current economic activity ubiquitously that it has become simply “a synonym for not disproportionately burden future generations. everything that is positive,” (Kiss). This is strongly Economists will allocate environmental assets evidenced in recent employment advertisements as only part of the value of natural and manmade for sustainability managers and directors. In their capital, and their preservation becomes a function analysis of posted job descriptions associated of an overall financial analysis. In contrast, the with employment opportunities for sustainability ecologist will seek to preserve minimum levels managers in US corporations, Greenwood and Bliss of environmental assets in physical terms. He reported great diversity in expectations regarding the suggests that since an ecological approach will associated scope of duties (Greenwood and Bliss). better characterize the present situation, it should The descriptions varied in emphasis from not much serve to limit conventional economic reasoning more than straightforward accounting to an almost to ensure sustainability. Economic sustainability evangelistic extreme of sustainability championing, should involve analysis to minimize the social costs (Morelli et al., “Sustainable Consumption”). of meeting standards for protecting environmental assets but not for determining what those standards should be.
2 Journal of Environmental Sustainability – Volume 1 In “Social Sustainability: towards some the professional goal of the environmental manager definitions,” McKenzie identifies several attempts to as an independent and commonly held meaning of define social sustainability and concludes it generally the profession itself. to be, “a positive condition within communities, and In 2009 Butler concluded that a common a process within communities that can achieve that professional goal for environmental managers condition.” This definition is supplemented with a does exist separate from, though related to, that of list of corresponding principles, including: the industries that employ them, and he tentatively • equity of access to key services identified that goal as “ecological balance.” His • equity between generations efforts were unique in that they were supported • a system of relations valuing disparate by a collaborative international research program, cultures established at Rochester Institute of Technology, • political participation of citizens, called the Environmental Management Leadership particularly at a local level Initiative (EMLI), which was created specifically • a sense of community ownership “to define and develop the evolving role of the • a system for transmitting awareness professional environmental manager in moving our of social sustainability from one social economic systems toward a more sustainable ______future,” (“Statement of Purpose”). • mechanisms for a community to fulfill its The author supported and has continued own needs where possible this work during the past four years toward further • political advocacy to meet needs that refining this goal and vetting the evolving results cannot be met by community action through presentations and corresponding workshops at a series of EMLI symposia hosted by Corvinus Others attempt to capture its use for those University in Budapest, Hungary; American working in agriculture (Harwood) or in the College of Management and Technology in various functional units of business organizations Dubrovnik, Croatia; Bocconi University in Milan, (Morelli et al., “Sustainable Consumption”) Italy; Leuphana University in Luneburg, Germany; Not surprisingly, environmental managers have and Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, identified “environmental sustainability” as a New York in the US. The outcome of this process concept that has a professional meaning for them,” was a determination of strong support by members (Morelli and Lockwood). of the profession for establishing “environmental There is ample evidence in the literature sustainability” as the professional goal of the by Chan, Ionescu-Somers, Rothenberg, and others environmental manager. indicating that above and beyond all other pursuits, achieving regulatory compliance is the primary III. A CASE FOR and principal role of the environmental manager ENVIRONMENTAL in industry. Markusson enriches the related body SUSTAINABILITY of knowledge by exploring the characteristic of “environmental championing,” defined as “any effort Whether one considers sustainability to exist as a made by an (individual or collective) actor in a firm three-legged table consisting of the environment, the to promote environmental issues.” However, until economy, and society, or as a dualistic relationship fairly recently, there had been little that discussed between human beings and the ecosystem they
Environmental Sustainability: A Definition for Environmental Professionals 3 inhabit, there should at least be agreement that production, nutrient cycling and dispersal, ensuring the provision of clean air, clean water, seed dispersal, and water cycling; and and clean and productive land is foundational to a • Cultural services, the nonmaterial responsible socioeconomic system. Examining, for a benefits people obtain from ecosystems moment, the three-legged model, the question might through spiritual enrichment, cognitive be raised, Do these legs provide equal support or development, reflection, recreation, and is there some associated hierarchy of values among aesthetic experiences (“Ecosystems and them? It is apparent that, without a sustainably Human Well-Being”). productive environment to provide a resource foundation, it would be difficult or impossible to If it can be agreed that a sustainable environment imagine having a sustainable society. Similarly, a is a necessary prerequisite to a sustainable socio- sustainable economy depends upon a sustainable economic system, then it also should make sense that flow of material, energy, and environmental the actions we take to remove threats to and foster resources. Without it, economic systems will fail. environmental sustainability should contribute However, a sustainable environment need not be to such a system. While ecosystems range “from dependent on the existence of either society or those that are relatively undisturbed, such as economy and, as evidenced in the wild, can stand natural forests, to landscapes with mixed patterns alone as a sustainable system. As the only piece of of human use, to ecosystems intensively managed the puzzle that can actually stand by itself, it should and modified by humans, such as agricultural be the model to emulate, and indeed there have been land and urban areas,” the “environmental” focus attempts to do so. proposed here delineates the portion of that range “The human species, while buffered against where there exists significant patterns of human use environmental changes by culture and technology, is (“Ecosystems and Human Well-Being”). A general fundamentally dependent on the flow of ecosystem definition of “environmental sustainability” can services.” Such services include: now be crafted in recognition of these linkages • Provisioning services, the products between human well-being and ecosystems and, in obtained from ecosystems, including food, particular, “ecosystem services.” fiber, genetic resources, biochemicals, natural medicines, pharmaceuticals, IV. A DEFINITION OF ornamental resources, fresh water, and all ENVIRONMENTAL forms of energy resources; SUSTAINABILITY • Regulating services, the benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem Understanding and use of the word “environmental” processes, including air quality regulation, quite often tends to be associated with some kind water purification and waste treatment, of human impact on natural systems. This context pest regulation, disease regulation, climate distinguishes it from the word “ecological,” which regulation, water regulation, erosion can be characterized as a concept of interdependence regulation, pollination, and natural hazard of elements within a system. As discussed above regulation; in the essay, “Ecological Sustainability as a • Supporting services, including soil Conservation Concept,” the authors suggest that an formation, photosynthesis, primary ecological definition of sustainability be advanced
4 Journal of Environmental Sustainability – Volume 1 that is in better accord with biological conservation. generation without compromising the ability of Their suggestion was that ecological sustainability future generations to meet their needs,” by taking is “meeting human needs without compromising the on the general definition “meeting the resource and health of ecosystems.” This seems inappropriate in services needs of current and future generations that the general perception of the word “ecological” without compromising the health of the ecosystems is that it implies a broader context than just the human that provide them,” (“Our Common Future”). experience. The word “environmental,” however, is More specifically, environmental sustainability almost always used in reference to human interaction could be defined as a condition of balance, resilience, with the ecosystem. To increase precision, it thus and interconnectedness that allows human society to seems reasonable to view “environmental” as a satisfy its needs while neither exceeding the capacity subset of the broader concept of “ecological,” i.e., of its supporting ecosystems to continue to regenerate the intersection of human activities and ecological the services necessary to meet those needs nor by our systems. actions diminishing biological diversity. Understanding and use of the word “sustainable” or “sustainability” endured a period V. SUPPORTING PRINCIPLES of accelerated evolution commencing in 1987 with OF ENVIRONMENTAL the publication of Our Common Future, which was SUSTAINABILITY then followed by a more recent decline in coherency to become an often-abused term simply meaning The primary purpose for this effort to develop “good” and sometimes used even without a a definition of environmental sustainability was connection to the natural environment or ecological to help environmental professionals and others health (Kiss). As discussed above, meanings for operationalize a portion of the concept sustainable this concept of sustainability have been evolving as development as set forth in Our Common Future. individual professions have attempted to develop The general understanding and conditions proposed definitions that make sense in the context of their in the preceding section do provide more clarity of respective areas of expertise and contribution. purpose and direction but do not include instructions The basic understanding of the term for serving that purpose or following that direction. “environmental sustainability” set forth in this The list below contains 15 guiding principles, paper essentially expands our common perception collected from a variety sources by the author and of human activity so as to more clearly connect it his students and colleagues. They are sorted into with the ecological concept of interdependence, five imperfect but helpful categories. They are thus delineating the boundaries of this use of included to stimulate thought as well as provide “sustainability” to correspond to the overlay advice. Readers are encouraged to visit the original of human activity upon the functioning of the sources for greater depth and perspective. supporting ecosystem. Environmental sustainability, then, is limited to and, in fact, becomes a subset of Societal Needs ecological sustainability. Broadly speaking, this • Produce nothing that will require future concept of “environmental sustainability” might be generations to maintain vigilance seen as adding depth to a portion of the meaning (“Sustainability Report”). of the most common definition of sustainable • Design and deliver products and services development, i.e., “meeting the needs of the current that contribute to a more sustainable
Environmental Sustainability: A Definition for Environmental Professionals 5 economy (“Moffat). per capita x technology) of the human • Support local employment (Southampton economic subsystem should be limited City Concil) to a level that, if not optimal, is at least • Support fair trade (Williams). within the carrying capacity and therefore • Review the environmental attributes of sustainable (Goodland). raw materials and make environmental • Keep waste emissions within the sustainability a key requirement in the assimilative capacity of receiving selection of ingredients for new products ecosystems without unacceptable and services (“Global Sustainability degradation of its future waste absorptive Principles”). capacity or other important ecological services (Goodland). Preservation of Biodiversity • Develop transportation criteria that • Select raw materials that maintain prioritize low-impact transportation modes biodiversity of natural resources (“Global (Moffat). Sustainability Principles”). • Approach all product development and • Use environmentally responsible and product management decisions with full sustainable energy sources and invest in consideration of the environmental impacts improving energy efficiency (“Global of the product throughout its life cycle Sustainability Principles”). (Moffat).
Regenerative Capacity VI. CONCLUSION • Keep harvest rates of renewable resource inputs within regenerative capacities of This paper defines environmental sustainability: the natural system that generates them as meeting the resource and services needs of current (Goodland). and future generations without compromising the • Keep depletion rates of nonrenewable health of the ecosystems that provide them, resource inputs below the rate at which renewable substitutes are developed …and more specifically, (Goodland). as a condition of balance, resilience, and Reuse and Recycle interconnectedness that allows human society • Design for re-usability and recyclability to satisfy its needs while neither exceeding the (“Sustainable Living 101”). capacity of its supporting ecosystems to continue • Design (or redesign, as appropriate) to regenerate the services necessary to meet those manufacturing and business processes as needs nor by our actions diminishing biological closed-loop systems, reducing emissions diversity. and waste to zero (Robinson). It is intended to help operationalize the concept of Constraints of Nonrenewable Resources and Waste sustainability by providing more clarity of purpose Generation and direction, particularly regarding the importance • The scale (population x consumption of valuing ecological services and recognizing our
6 Journal of Environmental Sustainability – Volume 1 interconnectedness. [7] Foy, George E. “Economic Sustainability It is intended as an articulation of the and the Preservation of Environmental professional goal of the environmental manager and Assets.” Journal of Environmental Management 14.8 (1990): 771-778. other environmental professionals. [8] “From One Earth to One World.” Our Common Future: Report of the World VII. Acknowledgments: Commission on Environment and Development (1987). The good work of many is reflected in the thinking that [9] Goodland, R. “The Concept of went into this paper. I would especially like to thank Environmental Sustainability.” Annual Review of Ecological Systems 26 (1995): Brian Butler, Lisa Greenwood, and Stefano Pogutz, all 1-24. the students in my Environmental Sustainability and [10] Greenwood, Lisa, and Alexis Bliss. “An Social Responsibility course and all those in Lisa’s Exploration of Disparate Missions Served Environmental, Health and Safety Management course by the Sustainability Manager.” Sixth during the 2010-2011 academic year. Environmental Management Leadership Symposium: From Environmental to Sustainability Management. 23 Mar. 2010, VIII. References Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany. RIT EHS Management MS program, 6 Nov. [1] Butle, Brian P. (2009). Ecological Balance: 2009. The Greater Goal of the Environmental [11] Harwood, Richard R. “A History of Manager. (Graduate Thesis). Rochester Sustainable Agriculture.” Clive A. Edwards, Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, et al. (Ed.) Sustainable Agricultural Systems. USA. Soil and Conservation Society, 1990. [2] Callicott, J. Baird, and Karen Mumford. [12] Ionescu-Somers, Aileen, Oliver Salzmann, “Ecological Sustainability as a Conservation and Ulrich Steger. “The Economic Concept.” Conservation Biology 11.1 Foundations of Corporate Sustainability.” (1997): 32–40. Corporate Governance 7.2 (2007): 162-163. [3] Chan, K. K., C. M. Tam, Vivian W. Y. ABI/Inform & ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2008. Tam, and S. X. Zeng “Environmental [13] Kiss, Károly. “Rise and Fall of the Concept Performance Measurement Indicators in Sustainability.” Journal of Environmental Construction.” Building and Environment Sustainability 1.1. Web.
Environmental Sustainability: A Definition for Environmental Professionals 7 [18] Morelli, John, and Kelley Lockwood. [27] Sixth International Environmental “Environmental Sustainability and EHS Management Leadership Symposium. Professional Responsibility.” Seventh 22-23 Mar. 2010, Leuphana University, Environmental Management Leadership Lüneburg, Germany. Symposium. 2 May. 2011, Rochester, NY. [28] Southampton City Council, Sustainability [19] Morelli, J., L. Greenwood, K. Lockwood, Principles. Web. 30 Oct. 2010.
8 Journal of Environmental Sustainability – Volume 1 ity Principles. 2007. Web. 30 Oct. 2010.
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