Questions And Position Paper On Sustainability

Sustainability has become a relevant word in the vocabulary of many organizations, governments and individuals. More than just a word, sustainability relates to the ability of institutions to continue executing their functions without forgetting the effects on the environment and taking into consideration the fair treatment of their employees and the human rights of society. Although sustainability is a widely used term by many individuals, the understanding of this term is not as clear as its popularity. When discussing the ideas of sustainability, most people automatically associate the term with the human impact on the environment. Others relate sustainability to the ability to cut costs and inefficiencies within the organization. A few individuals believe that sustainability is a matter of human rights. So what exactly is sustainability?

Sustainability relates to the ongoing capacity of Earth to maintain all life, which means developing ways to ensure that all resources on Earth are used and managed responsibly so they can be maintained for future generations.

The concept of sustainability is about the capacity of the environment to continue to support our lives and the lives of other living creatures into the future. There are a number of programs to restore the river to maintain communities, fisheries and navigation, to ensure long-term sustainability.

Sustainability describes how well someone or something is able to thrive and survive. It also can apply to humans, in which there are three general ideas. First is environmental, which is how well humans can help the earth. Second, is economic, which states that everybody deserves the right to make money.

Sustainability is a concern, which has only been arising from the impact we humans have done in the past couple of decades. The word sustainability means how long you can continue doing what you are doing without coming to an end (Sustainability 2015).

UVM, specifically Vermont, is the perfect place for sustainability and going “green.” UVM has taken many steps in becoming a top school for not only environmental education but a top school for sustainability as well. UVM is continuing to strive for climate neutrality and these efforts will continue well into the future. UVM’s efforts are inspirational to the community, students and the future of sustainability.

The results from the explosion in 2015 in the gulf of New Mexico was very extreme. According to the National Wildlife Federation, they have monitored the research on the impacts of the disaster (2016). In 2015, the Federal government came up with a plan for the restoration of the wildlife and habitats from the oil spill. The report concluded, “These injuries affected such a broad array of linked resources and ecological services over such a large area that they can best be described as an injury to the entire ecosystem of the northern Gulf of Mexico.” (National Wildlife Federation, 2016). The oil spill became outstanding and needed everybody help to save the wildlife. The research of the Gulf Wildlife and Habitats has made it clear that wildlife and habitats throughout northern Gulf were damaged by the oil and dispersants, and for many species the impacts are ongoing (National Wildlife Federation, 2016, par. 2). This is an ongoing event of today and need everyone help for wildlife and habitat.

The major ethical issue is to protect the stakeholders and win back the trust of the stockholders. Right after the disaster, the stock value of BP has significantly decreased by 52% in 2 months of times, published by the New York Times. There was also a significant drop in the sales by 40% in 4 months of time. BP was made to pay huge fines to the United States government including the federal costs, the cost to clean up the water and stop the leak, relief camps to the local residents, providing the stipends because of the unemployment, thousands of claims had to be processed and paid to the victims. The investors

BP being the responsible party had the liability to bear all the costs and organizational duties associated with the cleanup effort while the Coast guard monitored and approved the things. Part of BPs liability depended on how much oil has been leaked. Therefore, it was in the financial interest of the company to do everything it could do to:

When we look at the effect of the deepwater oil spill on other stakeholders, we see that they were impacted more negatively. There were 11 people killed and 17 were injured. Although the number of people in this group is small, losses of life and health weigh heavily on the scale as we assess the consequences of BP’s decision to forego the back-up switch.

The government was also responsible for activating coast guards and the military in its response to the spill. Hence, the role of the US government here is crucial as a “parent” to ensure that BP acts in the welfare of its citizens.

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

Sustainability is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations” (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 1987). The concept of sustainability comprises of four pillars: environmental; economic; political and social; as can be seen in the image below. Environmental sustainability is the use and management of the environment in a way that it does not deplete our finite resources. Economic sustainability is a long term sustainable economy that supports its community and political sustainability is the collaboration of different bodies of government to achieve a sustainable future. Now social sustainability is hard to define as it encapsulates many different factors; however to be very broad it is to achieve social justice. The real objective for sustainability is that all four pillars work together equally in a precautionary principle;

Every living being are directly or indirectly depend on natural environment. Sustainability helps to balance financial, social, and environmental factors to facilitate responsible business decision making over the immediate and long term. . Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Oxford University press 1987, p.43). Sustainability is also being protective and aware of use of natural resources and development that meets the need of present and everything that is need for our survival and well being depends, directly or indirectly on our natural environment. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sustainability is

Before we tackle environmental sustainability, we must first focus to what sustainability means. Sustainability according to the Merriam Webster website, is being able to use without being completely used up or able to last for a long time. In other words, it simply means to preserve it and strengthen it rather than break it down. Environmental sustainability is simply just that; it involves actions that involve protecting and preserving our environment so that it can further improve