What is “Total Sustainability”?5/4/2009 10:13:44 AMIf all of this talk about sustainability is making you dizzy, let me help pull the picture into better focus. At Padma Gonpo, Inc., we have been successfully delivering “total sustainability” to people and businesses in easily implemented, logical elements.
What is “Total Sustainability”?
For true sustainability to happen, it must take three areas of human resources into consideration and manage them accordingly. Specifically, Environment (usually called “Green” or “Eco-Friendly”) sustainability, Economy (seldom addressed by most groups) and Society (also seldom addressed by most groups, but usually the focus of government).
Environmental Sustainability is all about the “Reuse, Recycle and Replace” that everyone is constantly being preached about by the rogue promoters of this “business opportunity”. While their point is a true one, it is missing important details. For this to work, first, people need to understand value so that they acquire resources that can survive long term reuse, be recycled/converted into productive raw materials and are made of materials that can be easily replaced by a process that can keep up with demand and not deplete the environment of critical components.
Green house gases are getting a lot of play in the media, but other important issues like the genetic degradation of our food sources due to chemicals, drugs and unnatural elements in the soil and water are also important. Before the Organic Foods industry was hijacked by the rogues, the original purpose was to use new understanding in the public to drive agricultural industries to develop new purification and monitoring technologies to bring our food back to safe levels. This still needs to be revisited as it effects health in the population (society) and impacts economy. All three of the three areas of human resources directly effect each other. No problem remains solely in one area alone.
Economic Sustainability is all about ensuring that people's quality of life can be sustained. Low income conditions affect how people consume resources and also impacts their ability to focus on long term goals. A perfect picture of sustainable economy is where most goods and services happen locally, and specialty goods and services are imported and exported to support the local supply chain. A balance between these two (local/import/export) is what creates the three pillars of sustainable economy.
People in general do not take an active role in the economy. They feel that this is a subject for the government to deal with. This is where the problem begins. When we take control of our own future as a group, however small, we gain the ability to change the future for ourselves and our children. Organizing local co-op industries, service providers and pressing local government to support us in these endeavors is where we must start if we truly want a good future.
Social Sustainability is all about a unified larger vision. When people are all working toward the same goals, regardless of their individual motivations, this is when amazing cultural growth happens. Sometimes the vision comes at the end of a spear, sometimes it comes because of strong leadership, but however it comes, if the long term goals of the people are aligned, society prospers.
Problem areas that are resolved if the three areas of human resources are properly managed include: Environmental regulation, subsidy reform, public education, procurement, food, energy, transportation, water, cultural change, waste management, hunger and biodiversity loss. These problems all arise from ineffective management of resources.
Total sustainability must be the target of every individual and be supported by their community and government. If not, little progress can be made. It all must begin with a firm understanding of what total sustainability is and a desire to achieve it. There must be “small category specialists” to deliver technologies and services to the public. These are our technicians that install solar systems, fix inefficient structures, clean up agricultural toxic zones, work with consumers, introduce green living techniques...
We also need consultants that can recognize the proper sequence to apply these technicians to a project so that economic resources are not depleted and the gains are maximized. Additionally, reuse and recycling strategies on replacement jobs is a critical element and normally beyond the technician's scope.
Consultants need engineers that understand the whole scope of sustainable engineering sciences to provide them with the best solutions and to tackle issues that lack proper solutions. Likewise, the engineers need sustainability masters to tackle the larger sustainability field and be a resource for resolving complex engineering problems. Masters must be able to be the “expert's expert”.
Above the Sustainability Masters, there needs to be a platinum level of people that can undertake long range planning, research, strategy development and serve as an interface with governments for long term gains.
Hidden in the wasted resources that threatens our survival as a collection of species is a huge wealth of profit and new opportunities for wealth. Reducing the cost of healthy living and new materials acquisition adds to the wealth we gain. This is a golden time to be involved in this phase of the Sustainability Industry.
If you would like to learn more, please contact us.
Padma Gonpo, Inc.
info@padmagonpoinc.com