Download Creating a Common Understanding of Sustainability

Sustainability by Design
Creating a Common Understanding of Sustainability
Jerry Hembd
University of Wisconsin-Superior
[email protected]
What is Sustainability?
“Sustainable development is development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
~ The Brundtland Report
“It contains two key concepts: the concept of “needs,” in
particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to
which overriding priority should be given; and the idea
of limitations imposed by the state of technology and
social organization on the environment’s ability to meet
present and future needs.”
~ The Brundtland Report
Sustainability
• Describes a future state
• Science provides a description of the
key features of that state
• That state is dynamic and adaptable
• “Sustainable development” is the
process ….. of moving towards that
state
We know:
In nature there are no winners or losers.
Only
survivors.
“Pleistocene of South America” by D. Bogdanov
Yesterday’s solutions are often
today’s problems
We are now facing the challenges of
our species’ success
We are facing the Perfect Storm
Rapid Climate Change
“Peak Oil”/Energy Costs
(once again, when the economy
improves)
Fresh Water Scarcity
Conceptions of Sustainability
Society
Economy Environment
society
economy
environment
Source material from TNS Canada
Two Mental Models
of Sustainability Concepts
Typical Business View
ECONOMY
Sustainable View
SUSTAINABLE
ENVIRONMENT
Society
Environment
Sustainable
Economy
Sustainable
Society
Conventional Thinking
Traditionally, we try to
understand complex
systems by reducing the
whole and studying the
individual parts.
This is called
reductionist thinking.
Source material from TNS Canada
Systems Thinking
But…
We know that the properties
of systems depend on the
relationships between the
parts as much as the parts
themselves.
When you dissect the
system, you destroy the
pattern of relationships.
Source material from TNS Canada
Systems Thinking
We must
look at
the whole ...
… and not
get stuck
on details
Source material from TNS Canada
Understanding
the Sustainability Challenge
The Funnel as a Metaphor
Resource Funnel
Resource Availability and Ecosystem Ability to Provide Vital
Services
Raw materials, ecosystem services,
declining integrity and capacity of natural
systems
Margin for
Action
Sustainability
Societal Demand for Resources
Growth in population, resource requirements as affluence increases, increased
demands as technology spreads
Source: Nattrass, Brian, and Altomare, Mary. The Natural Step for Business. New Society Publishers, 1999.
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
• Food
• Freshwater
• Wood and fibre
• Fuel
Supporting
• Nutrient cycling
• Soil formation
• Primary production
Regulating
• Climate regulation
• Flood regulation
• Disease regulation
• Water purification
Cultural
• Aesthetics
• Spiritual
• Educational
• Recreational
Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Washington, DC: Island Press.
The Sustainability Challenge
TNS Canada
A Systems Perspective
The Earth as a system
Cycles of Nature
Closed system with
respect to matter
Open system with
respect to energy
1) Nothing disappears
2) Everything disperses
« Photosynthesis
pays the bills »
Slow geological cycles
(volcano eruptions and
weathering)
Sustainability is
about the ability of
our own human
society to continue
indefinitely within
these natural
cycles
Slow geological cycles
(sedimentation and
mineralization)
How We Influence Cycles
Physically inhibit
nature’s ability to
run cycles
Barriers to
people
meeting their
basic needs
worldwide
Introduce persistent
compounds foreign to
nature
Relatively large flows
of materials from the
Earth’s crust
The Cyclic Principle
Waste must not systematically
accumulate in nature, and
reconstruction of material quality
must be at least as large as its
dissipation.
Four System Conditions
In a sustainable society, nature is not
subject to systematically increasing...
...concentrations of substances
extracted from the Earth’s crust,
...concentrations of substances
produced by society,
...degradation by physical means,
and, in that society...
...people are not subject to conditions
that systematically undermine their
capacity to meet their needs.
Fundamental Human Needs
Subsistence
Protection
Participation
Idleness
Affection
Understanding
Creativity
Identity
Freedom
System Conditions Describe a
Sustainable Society
They are not negotiable.
But
The way you satisfy them
and
the rate you at which you satisfy them, is.
(But remember, nature always bats last.)
The Essentials
Economic
Activity
Extraction
Waste
Nature
The take-make-waste economic system
Source adapted from Doppelt (2003)
The Essentials
Extract energy
and raw materials
without harm and
phase out the use
of natural (e.g.
fossil fuels) and
human-made
(synthetic) toxic
and
bioaccumulating
substances
Economic
Activity
Extraction
Recirculate
biological
materials back
into nature
without harm
Waste
Design processes,
products, services
and infrastructure
to be easily
recirculated and
so they do not
cause
environmental or
socioeconomic
harm
Nature
Recirculate toxic
substances and
technical
materials in
closed-loop
industrial cycles.
The sustainable circular borrow-use-return
economic system
Source adapted from Doppelt (2003)
Products
Retail
Finishing
Manufacture
Raw Materials
Use
Linear Resource Use
End of Life
Mine
Dispose
Waste streams
Reduced waste streams
Products
Retail
Finishing
Manufacture
Raw Materials
Mine
Use
Recycle:
Chemical
Physical
Cyclical Resource Use
End of Life
Dispose
Source: The Natural Step
Waves of Innovation
Source: Natural Edge
6th Wave
Innovation
5th Wave
Iron
Water Power
Mechanization
Textiles
Commerce
3rd Wave
2nd Wave
1st Wave
Steam power
Electricity
Railroad
Chemicals
Steel
Internal combustion
Cotton
engine
1785
1845
1900
Sustainability
Radical resource
productivity
Whole system
design
4th Wave
Biomimicry
Green chemistry
Industrial
ecology
Renewable energy
Green
nanotechnology
Digital networks
Petrochemicals Biotechnology
Software
Electronics
information
Aviation
technology
Space
1950
1990
2020
Change is really the only constant in our universe.
Rapid Change = Risk + Opportunity
Opportunities…
The Journey
5. Purpose/Passion
4. Integrated Strategy
Enhanced business value
•
•
•
Sustainable governance
New products, services, markets
Improved supply chain conditions
3. Beyond Compliance
2. Compliance
1. Pre-Compliance
Green Retrofits
Job Creation
“Every $1B capital investment in energy and
efficiency would create approximately 9,500
building-retrofit jobs. Such an investment
would also create 1,200 jobs from building and
installing solar photovoltaic panels
and about 900 wind-energy jobs”
"In the jobs-creation sweepstakes, retrofitting
buildings runs away with it. That's about 10-to-1
over any other investment."
~ Lester Brown, Earth Policy Institute founder
(Nov 08) ~
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/green_recovery.html
Potential Green Jobs in U.S.
2008: 750,000 green jobs
• 419,000 in engineering, legal, research and
consulting
• 127,000 Renewable power generation
• 57,500 in Agriculture and Forestry
2038: 4.2M jobs - 5 times today;
fastest growing job segment
•
•
•
•
1.23M in renewable electricity production
1.50M in alternative transportation fuels
1.40M in engineering, legal, research, and consulting
0.81M in commercial and residential retrofits
http://www.globalinsight.com/Highlight/HighlightDetail14474.htm
Crisis is Resetting the Economy
“If you think this is only a cycle, you’re just
wrong. This is a permanent reset. There are
going to be elements of the economy that will
never be the same, ever.”
“The NA companies best positioned to tap that
growth will be the ones that double-down on
investments in innovation and technology
during the downturn. If you keep investing in
technology and innovation in the worst of
times, your competitive advantage grows."
(Jeff Immelt, CEO, General Electric, Feb 09)
Tyler Hamilton, The Toronto Star, Feb. 11, 2009
Are you up to the job?
Tools
for
the
Job
Systems Thinking
Systems Dynamics
Triple Bottom Line
Industrial Ecology
Cradle to Cradle
Rapid Climate Change & Energy
Strategy
Energy Efficiency & Renewable
Energy
Green Building
Bio-based Production
Full Cost Accounting
Life Cycle Assessment
Ecological Design
Biomimetics/Biomimicry
www.capacitycenter.org
Innovation
Political will
Courage
Communication
Cooperation
A sense of urgency
A desire for a better life for our
children
“It is not the strongest of the species that
survive, nor the most intelligent, but the
one most responsive to change.”
Charles Darwin
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
Albert Einstein
www.capacitycenter.org