A sustainability organization is (1) an organized group of people that aims to advance sustainability and/or (2) those actions of organizing something sustainably. Unlike many business organizations, sustainability organizations are not limited to implementing sustainability strategies which provide them with economic and cultural benefits attained through environmental responsibility. For sustainability organizations, sustainability can also be an end in itself without further justifications.
Recently, the natural environment has become a key strategic issue in both the business and academic communities. Through "implementing sustainability strategies, firms can integrate long-run profitability with their efforts to protect the ecosystem, providing them with opportunities to achieve the traditional competitive advantages and cost leadership and market differentiation via environmental responsibility".Stead, W.E. & J.G. Stead (1995) "An Empirical Investigation of Sustainability Strategy Implementation in Industrial Organizations." Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, Supplement 1, pp. 43–66 Sustainability strategies have been persistently employed in a number of organizations.
Definition A sustainable system generally can be defined in environmental terminology as "a living system which operates in a way that it does not use up resources more quickly than they can be naturally replenished; a sustainable economic system operates in a way so that expenditures are either equal or less than the income." Sustainable social systems maintain that all members are allowed to contribute, thereby synthesizing the final product.
Corporate sustainability Corporate sustainability refers to "a company’s activities, voluntary by definition, demonstrating the inclusion of social and environmental concerns in business operations and in interactions with stakeholders".van Marrewijk, M. and M. Werre (2003) "Multiple Levels of Corporate Sustainability." Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 44, no. 2/3, Corporate Conference 2002: The Impact of CSR on Management Disciplines (May, 2003), pp. 107–119 Each individual organization should choose its own particular goals and approaches as they pertain to corporate sustainability, matching the organization's aims and intentions and aligning with the organization's strategy, as an appropriate response to the conditions in which it functions.
Motives for organizations implementing sustainability strategies
Ecological motives
Conserving energy Conserving resources Reducing pollution Reducing waste
Economic motives Generating revenue Cost reducing potential Social licence – does contribute to revenue generation but worthy of own section Reducing wastage
Legal and regulatory pressures US Clean Air Act US Resource Conservation and Recovery Act US Clean Water Act
List of sustainability organizations by topic
Agriculture Sustainable agriculture incorporates design and management procedures that coincide with natural processes in order to conserve all resources and minimize waste production and damage to natural systems, while preserving or improving farm profitability. Sustainable agriculture systems are "designed to take the greatest advantage of current soil nutrient and water cycles, energy flows, beneficial soil organisms, and natural pest controls. These systems also seek to produce food that is nutritious yet uncontaminated with products such as synthetically compound fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. Sustainable agriculture systems often depend on crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, appropriate mechanical cultivation or minimal tillage to optimize soil biological and natural pest control activity in order to maintain soil fertility and crop productivity."Rod Macrae, "Ecological Agriculture Projects", eap.mcgill.ca 1990 Also, resistant species varieties, and biological and cultural controls are implemented to control pests, weeds and diseases. Sustainable agriculture organizations aim to educate and encourage farmers to implement sustainable agriculture practices into their productions. Many sponsor research and education outreach projects.
Agricultural sustainability organizations:
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) info and links to other internet sites and documents on sustainable agriculture EnviroLink Network sustainable business network news and information National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service offers in-depth publications on production practices, alternative crop and livestock enterprises, innovative marketing, organic certification, and highlights of local, regional, USDA and other federal sustainable agriculture activities. Sightline Institute a non-profit organization that aims to foster a sustainable economy and way of life in the Pacific Northwest, a bioregion defined by the watersheds of rivers flowing through North America's temperate rainforest zone Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education communication and outreach arm of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. The Land Institute developing diverse perennial grain cropping systems to solve problems such as soil erosion, energy dependency, and water contamination. Sustainable Northwest a Portland, Oregon-based organization forging a sustainable economy in the Pacific Northwest The Food Alliance support for sustainable agriculture
Building and infrastructure "By using more efficient building methods and materials, it is estimated that we could reduce the energy, resource consumption and / or waste production by 50–60% without decreasing value, aesthetics or function."2002 Green Building Pages. All rights reserved., , "Green Building Pages", www.greenbuildingpages.com Taking the Earth's finite resources into consideration, along with acknowledging that manufactured products, including all building materials, affect the Earth's resources, it is becoming very important to make sensible decisions regarding the use of these limited resources to preserve our natural environment along with human civilization. Increased use of resource efficient construction materials and methods will help to induce more sustainable practices throughout the building and construction industry.
Sustainable building and infrastructure organizations: Building Green authoritative information on environmentally responsible building design and construction from the publishers of Environmental Building News oikos detailed information on sustainable design and construction Healthy Building Network promotes healthy building materials as a means of improving public health and preserving the global environment Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, was formed by a group of industry professionals from engineering, environmental, planning, legal, financial and construction backgrounds working in both private and public organisations related to infrastructure. Northwest Ecobuilding Guild association of building professionals and homeowners interested in ecologically sustainable building thePOOSH.org an Estonian-based NGO with an international scope that connects volunteers with sustainable build projects all around the world to exchange labor, skills and knowledge
Business Sustainable business organizations participate in environmentally friendly or green practices in order to make certain that all processes, products, and manufacturing activities sufficiently address current environmental concerns while still retaining a profit.”United Nations General Assembly (1987) Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation: Environment. Retrieved on: 2009-02-15.Anderson, D. R. (2006). "The critical importance of sustainability risk management." Risk Management. Vol. 53, no. 4. Concurrently, it is a business that “meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. It is the method of evaluating how to design products that will correspond to current environmental conditions and how well a company's products perform with renewable resources.Rennie, E. (2008). "Growing Green, Boosting the bottom line with sustainable business practices." APICS Magazine. Vol. 18, no. 2. There are many organizations and networks currently interacting with businesses in order to integrate sustainability into their central goals and contribute to the environmentally and socially responsible business movement.“Sustainable Business Movement” www.bus.wisc.edu accessed 18 November 2010.
Sustainable business organizations:
Business and Industry Resource Venture, provides free information, assistance and referrals to help Seattle businesses improve their environmental performance Business for Social Responsibility a business membership organization Center for a Sustainable Economy non-partisan research and policy organization that promotes innovative tax and other market-based approaches to achieving a sustainable economy CERES the largest coalition of environmental, investor, and advocacy groups working together for sustainable prosperity. These groups form a community of forward-looking companies that have committed to continuous environmental improvement by endorsing the CERES principles, a ten-point code of environmental conduct. Cool Companies A guide for businesses seeking to cut energy costs and reduce pollution. Global Environmental Management Initiative standard reporting for environmental, economic and social activity GreenBiz A resource center on business, the environment, and the bottom line International Society of Sustainability Professionals the professional association for people working in the field of sustainability. Focus is on developing both the profession of sustainability as well as the competencies and expertise of those working in the field. Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability a market segment focused on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living, and social justice. Sacramento Area Sustainable Business Program Regional partnership that encourages businesses to adopt environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. Certifies and promotes businesses that take voluntary actions to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and pollution, recycle and purchase recycled products, improve air quality, and implement green building measures. FL Sustainability is an online news and media outlet focused on people, place, and profit, the triple bottom line of sustainability. Based out of Florida, the organization organized a major summit that brought leaders from various innovation sectors together to discuss regional and statewide initiatives to improve quality of life for today and tomorrow.
Communities Sustainable community organizations often encourage and cultivate collaborative community projects and education programs that improve connections between businesses, institutions and the public with their communities, the natural environment, and each other. For example, the Sustainable Community Initiatives organization: Acts to help the business community, local government and the general public develop an awareness of the value of sustainable community development Endeavors to combine knowledge (through public education) and action (in the form of community programs) to promote prosperous and healthy communities Explores opportunities to develop educational, entrepreneurial and environmentally sound community-based projects Develops materials on the efficient use of urban environmental resources and sustainable activities for distribution to local businesses and to the general public