Multiple Dimensions of Sustainability

When co-founding Global Consulting Group, an international consortium of organizational consultants committed to a positive sustainable future, we dialogued sustainability for some time. Our mission evolved from those dialogues and reflect a more holistic concept of sustainability: "We come together to discover and apply the practices of living systems which allow people, organizations and socioeconomic systems to thrive in balance with ecological systems."

I'm wondering what dimensions and breadth of sustainability will emerge in this forum on business sustainability. Who ever is reading this, please add your concept of the multiple dimensions and breadth of sustainability.

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2000

Answers

Jan,

Still foumulating my thoughts on all the myriad issues but the word "convergence" between all the multiple stakeholders seems to describe the trend I sense is underway.

Diane

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2000

At the risk of being flamed, I have had experience with the economic aspects of implementing "sustainable" policies. The baseline is that you can't bleed a turnip. Regulatory approaches that suck the life out of a small family enterprise leave hands and pockets without the capacity to be generous to critters and habitat. They also leave resource owners embittered and polarized against any concept attached to the words "ecology" or "environment." This is sad because these people often grew up in intimate closeness to the land and are its natural stewards; motivated with a generous dollop of of education, technical resources and individual respect.

"Sustainable" has to recognize and use existing social and economic institutions. As so much of people's self esteeem can be tied to their status or place in their world, positive reinforcement of these factors must be utilized to introduce change. One need only take a close look at Happy Camp California to see the family and economic destruction rendered in the path of the northern spotted owl prohibitions. A lot of good and decent logging families were torn apart. The town is now almost empty and the scars are deep.

I believe strongly in the voluntary approach. We have seen it work in our valley. We have also seen it wither under the threat of draconian regulations and sabbotage by aggressive NGO participants with agendas.

You cannot dictate change. It won't stick. The Romans knew that. People will be attracted to approaches that positively enforce their status and sense of value. People will be attracted to change that brings them additional profit or less work. Farmers and ranchers are used to being "shown" change through demonstration projects.

There were several primate studies on the introduction of change into a social unit. They might provide some interesting insight.

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2000