About
Sustainability is when a product meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. If something requires hurting the environment in order to be produced, then it is not a sustainable product.
So essentially, sustainability is all about protecting the future. How can we live today to help protect our kids and grandkids down the line? Along with protecting the future, we must think about where to start right now. What can we improve today to create a better world in the long run? Right now, sustainability is about awareness. Awareness that when you purchase a product, it is being created through environmental resources and maybe depleting the world around us. It is about understanding how all of these systems are connected and how they affect each other.
Breakdown of Sustainability
I would like to introduce you to a concept called replacement rate. With sustainability, this is the rate at which the environment is able to replace its resources that are being used by consumers. This includes the idea that certain things replenish, and certain things do not. Some replenish quickly and some do not replenish at all, so it is important to be aware of what you are taking from the environment. It is about keeping a consistent rate of usage and replacement. This maintains an equilibrium to be sure that everything we are taking from the environment is being equally replaced back into the environment. Right now, we as consumers are consuming things at a higher rate than they are being replaced which is why a problem has arisen. Levels of environmental resources are decreasing because our consumption rate is too high and too fast for the environment to replenish itself.
The Three E's
The three E’s are a system that is used to discuss the impact of sustainability. This includes Environment, Economy, and Equity. You must pay attention to all of these aspects both long term and short term in order to maintain consistency in the others. But how do you balance these factors and how do they connect? First, we must dive into what these three objectives mean and how they are influenced by sustainability. If you only look at one or two of the three aspects your idea will fail because they all lean on each other to succeed.
Economy has to do with the economic profit of sustainable products. How much money are you putting into the production of these goods and how much are you getting out? If you are not making a profit your business will not succeed and you will not end up with a thriving economy in the long run. The next E is Environment. This is the concept of preserving the environment and using the right resources that will replenish with a strong replacement rate. If you are only looking at preserving the environment without looking at economics, the process of producing goods can be incredibly expensive which in turn is bad for the economy. The final E is Equity. Equity is about being fair to all people. When producing sustainable goods, you must be sure that you are providing options for all sizes, genders, races, etc. If you choose to be minimal with your products and only include a certain type of person, not everyone will be able to shop sustainably, and you will not be able to sell as much. This could also lead to dissatisfied customers due to the feeling of being excluded from a brand. Angry and excluded customers are bad for the economy because people will not buy your sustainable products and if people are not shopping sustainably the environment is struggling. These three E’s create a circle of causes and effects that revolve around the market of sustainable goods. Sustainability is about addressing all of these factors and understanding how they are all connected.