Sustainable Practices

In order for sustainable development to be achieved, humans need to reduce their effect on the environment by consuming less in terms of resources, and living more lightly on the planet. As difficult as this may sound, there are a number of ways in which this is easily achievable. One of the most effective ways to do this is to alter the way in which we function day-to-day, and to begin to change our homes to make them more efficient in terms of resources. In addition, sustainability is not only about ensuring a future in which we can sustain our society without impacting negatively on our environment, but also but ensuring that everyone can have access to this. Therefore we must look at the triple-bottom line approach and align our movement towards sustainable development with this.

“Sustainability is a matter of long term development” (Fowler, J., Sept.24th), this is the simplest statement describes the word “sustainability” till the end of the third week lecture. After two weeks’ lecture classes and ESS lecture classes, the concept that “sustainability is not a certain technology or policy” (Introduction to Environment, Sustainability and Society, slide79) is founded in my mind. Mind Shift organization and professor Matthew Schnurr’s research taught me more specifically that sustainability is not only about the environment.

Sustainable practices are the resulting actions, technology development, and social and environmental perspectives from the concept of

A major part of living sustainably is using clean and renewable energy sources for as much as possible.(3) Wind, water, and the sun all provide an alternative to fossil fuels which harm the environment through carbon emissions and pollution. Sources such as oil and natural gas can not be replenished quickly, where as solar energy or hydropower can be harvested regularly with little to no effect on the environment. One way to become green in everyday life is to make your home sustainable.(4) A sustainable home should be constructed of recycled or natural, environmentally friendly materials, and renewable energy sources should be utilized. Its important that the construction process as well as the building itself impacts the surrounding environment as little as possible. In addition to living in a sustainable home, eating green can reduce the impact on the natural world. Because the meat production industry uses so many resources and can often harm the environment through waste pollution, many people who eat sustainably decide to be vegetarian. Organic and locally grown vegetables are far better for the sustainable movement compared to factory farm produce due to pesticides used and the negative effect factory farming can have on soil composition and erosion.(3) Even with a sustainable personal life, work takes up much of society’s time and sustainable practices should be brought to

Deborah Sik’s insights on property rights, participatory governance and consumption practices offers the best explanation to the environmental crisis but Maggie Black gives better long lasting solutions for the environmental crisis.

Sustainable practices can be implemented in any workplaces and regardless of how green a workplace may be there is always room for improvement. In a school environment such as Paralowie R -12 there are a variety of both positive a negative sustainable practices.

There are many civilizations that are well known for their success and progress as an large sustainable power. With growing population, geographic location, advance in tools, and methods, they start to become a major power that has influence. But what makes those societies a sustainable civilization. And then what makes those civilizations advanced?

For me sustainability is like a family house. Since I was a baby I have known that I have to take care of it, that I have to keep it alive, just like I have to take care of the community and its surroundings. To some extent, over the years the sole fact of its existence became something obvious, something that simply has to be present. However, simultaneously, every day, I am learning that there is always something more to do, to improve the current state. For example, just like fixing a faulty roof, lately our community improved the heating system in our neighborhood – we managed to convince the board to switch from gas-based to solar-based one. Not much later we’ve gathered enough money to build new bike lanes, then to introduce new bus line,

Every day, I see people walking out of stores with their own bags, or people at the register declining plastic bags. I see people who opt to ride bikes, walk, and take public transportation instead of driving a personal vehicle. On a bigger scale, I see companies pushing for greener practices, aiming to reduce their waste and use sustainable

A sustainable city is when harmony is reached between the environment, economy and society. Environmentally, sustainable cities are ecologically friendly by using alternative sources of energy such as solar or wind power. Economically, governments should share a similar decision-making process with institutions and with the public by having a common belief in what should be done by improving sustainability. Sorensen, Marcotullio, and Grant (2004), find that a good decision making process consists of planning and control at the municipal and national political levels which would allow local level functions to become reinforced. Socially, sustainable cities are classless, meaning that there are no social divisions which serve as limits; leading to a more equal society. One of the many ideas would be using mixed housing to remove the class divisions between people. Also, city streets would be walkable, with businesses and services located at close proximity to promote a healthier lifestyle and serve as an alternative to using cars for transportation. The writers differ in their analysis when examining the approaches to improving sustainability in cities. This section will analyze four important ideas on how cities can become more sustainable.

“Sustainable” business practices are being touted, or even required, more and more by western society. What is ANZ’s sustainability policy and how is this congruent (or not) with cutting edge sustainability thinking and theory. Does this thinking and practice change across borders? And if so, how does the ANZ’s Australian head office engage with it? Does what they espouse align with the reality of their practice?

As I mentioned before, the world has been using more than it created especially in the US. The only reason why we Americans can live like we do is because we use resources of other countries. If everyone in the world were to live like the average American, then we would need around 5 Earths to provide for everyone. One way to reduce our footprint would be to use less. Of course, everyone hears that we should reduce, recycle, and reuse, but how many people actually do that. One great example of a place where everything used is completely renewable and eco-friendly is the Govardhan Eco-Village in India. This village, while not possible everywhere, sets the tone for sustainable living. For sustainability they utilize various techniques like organic farming, water conservation, soil biotechnology, and waste management. This village has attracted much attention and has won many awards including the International Green World Award and International Zero Waste Award. Using this as a model, I believe that with serious reform, we can improve our cities and homes to leave a smaller footprint and to become more

Social sustainability is one of the four pillars of sustainability. It is the least clearly defined as it changes with time, the economy, the environment and political situations. With so many factors that affect it, it is as important as the other three pillars (environmental, economic and political) and should therefore be given the same treatment and attention. This essay will define sustainability, define social sustainability, discuss one key principle about social sustainability and relate social sustainability to planning.

Urbanization, which is becoming a buzzword during the last few decades, is enlarging at a booming speed. It is predicted that 93 percents urban growth will occur to the year 2020, in the developing world (Elliot J.A, 1999). Generally speaking, more than half of the people around the world have been moved to cities, which led to a series of “matters” connected with people’s life that changed in a dramatical way. In this period, sustainable development, another buzzword during the past few years, came into people’s view and gradually became the mainstream of society development. Its definition is to make the development continue in a long term, which means allowing appropriate economic growth and industrialization without

Initiatives implemented by PLAN-SG25 will be more effective when supported by the public and private sector. By helping individuals and businesses make environmentally sound decisions, PLAN-SG25 will enable better consumption choices and improve energy conservation. All of these seemingly small choices would eventually culminate in sustainable development, besides yielding cost savings – a positive-sum game indeed. PLAN-SG25 has dedicated significant attention to programs that raise public awareness on sustainable development. Importantly, basic information on initiatives by PLAN-SG25 is made widely available. This effort is complemented by education, community programs and corporate sector collaborations that emphasize the importance of sustainable urban design and promote greater recognition of efforts.