Paul Hawken

"Sustainable businesses:

 Replace nationally and internationally produced items with products

created locally and regionally.
 Take responsibility for the effects they have on the natural world.
 Do not require exotic sources of capital in order to develop and grow.
 Engage in production processes that are human, worthy, dignified, and
intrinsically satisfying.
 Create objects of durability and long-term utility whose ultimate use or
disposition will not be harmful to future generations.
 Change consumers to customers through education."

Paul Hawken. The Ecology of Commerce. (New York, New York: Harper
Business, 1993), p 144.
Lowell Center for Sustainable Production

"Sustainable Production is the creation of goods and services using processes and
systems that are: non-polluting; conserving of energy and natural resources;
economically efficient; safe and healthful for workers, communities, and consumers;
and, socially and creatively rewarding for all working people."
http://www.uml.edu/centers/LCSP/
Principles of Sustainable Production

Products and services are:

 safe and ecologically sound throughout their life cycle;

 as appropriate, designed to be durable, repairable, readily recycled,
compostable, or easily biodegradable;
 produced and packaged using the minimal amount of material and
energy possible.
Processes are designed and operated such that:

 wastes and ecologically incompatible by products are reduced,

eliminated or recycled on-site;
 chemical substances or physical agents and conditions that present
hazards to human health or the environment are eliminated;
 energy and materials are conserved, and the forms of energy and
materials used are most appropriate for the desired ends;
 work spaces are designed to minimize or eliminate chemical, ergonomic
and physical hazard.
Workers are valued and:

 their work is organized to conserve and enhance their efficiency and

creativity;
 their security and well-being is a priority;
 they are encouraged and helped to continuously develop of their talents
and capacities;
 their input to and participation in the decision making process is openly
accepted.
Communities related to any stage of the product lifecycle (from production of raw
materials through manufacture, use and disposal of the final product) are respected
and enhanced economically, socially, culturally and physically.

Continued economic viability does not depend on ever-increasing (i.e., unsustainable)

consumption of materials and energy.
What is an indicator of sustainability?
An indicator is something that helps you understand where you are, which way you
are going and how far you are from where you want to be. A good indicator alerts you
to a problem before it gets too bad and helps you recognize what needs to be done to
fix the problem. Indicators of a sustainable community point to areas where the links
between the economy, environment and society are weak. They allow you to see
where the problem areas are and help show the way to fix those problems.
Indicators of sustainability are different from traditional indicators of economic,
social, and environmental progress. Traditional indicators -- such as stockholder
profits, asthma rates, and water quality -- measure changes in one part of a community
as if they were entirely independent of the other parts. Sustainability indicators reflect
the reality that the three different segments are very tightly interconnected, as shown
in the figure below:
Trying to run a complex society on a single indicator like the Gross
National product is like trying to fly a 747 with only one gauge on the
instrument panel ... imagine if your doctor, when giving you a checkup,
did no more than check your blood pressure." Hazel Henderson, Paradigms of
Progress

when there is a ten-car pileup on the highway, the GDP goes up because of the money
spent on medical fees and repair costs. On the other hand, if ten people decide not to
buy cars and instead walk to work, their health and wealth may increase but the GDP
goes down.
In contrast, a comparable sustainability indicator is the Index of Sustainable Economic
Welfare. In order to get a more complete picture of what is economic progress, the
ISEW subtracts from the GDP corrections for harmful bases or consequences of
economic activity and adds to the GDP corrections for significant activities such as
unpaid domestic labor. For instance, the ISEW accounts for air pollution by estimating
the cost of damage per ton of five key air pollutants. It accounts for depletion of
resources by estimating the cost to replace a barrel of oil equivalent with the same
amount of energy from a renewable source. It estimates the cost of climate change due
to greenhouse gas emissions per ton of emissions. The cost of ozone depletion is also
calculated per ton of ozone depleting substance produced. Additionally, adjustments
are made to reflect concern about unequal income distribution. The correction for
unpaid domestic labor is based on the average domestic pay rate. Some health
expenses are considered as not contributing to welfare, as well as some education
expenses.
Like the GDP, the ISEW bundles together in one index tremendous amounts of
information, but the key difference is that the information takes into account the links
between environment, economy and society.
Economic Indicators

Emphasis of
Traditional Sustainability
Indicators Sustainability Indicators Indicators
Median income Per capita Number of hours of paid employment at the What wage can buy Defines
income relative to the average wage required to support basic needs basic needs in terms of
U.S. average sustainable consumption

Unemployment Diversity and vitality of local job base Number Resilience of the job
rate Number of and variability in size of companies Number and market Ability of the job
companies Number of variability of industry types Variability of skill market to be flexible in times
jobs levels required for jobs of economic change

size of the economy as Wages paid in the local economy that are spent in Local financial resilience
measured by GNP and the local economy Dollars spent in the local
GDP economy which pay for local labor and local
natural resources Percent of local economy based
on renewable local resources
Environmental Indicators

Emphasis of
Traditional Sustainability
Indicators Sustainability Indicators Indicators

Ambient levels of Use and generation of toxic materials (both in Measuring activities
pollution in air and production and by end user) Vehicle miles traveled causing pollution
water

Tons of solid waste Percent of products produced which are durable, Conservative and cyclical
generated repairable, or readily recyclable or compostable use of materials

Cost of fuel Total energy used from all sources Ratio of Use of resources at
renewable energy used at renewable rate compared to sustainable rate
nonrenewable energy
Social Indicators

Traditional Emphasis of Sustainability

Indicators Sustainability Indicators Indicators
SAT and other Number of students trained for jobs that are Matching job skills and training to
standardized test available in the local economy Number of students needs of the local economy
scores who go to college and come back to the community

Number of Number of voters who vote in elections Number of Participation in democratic

registered voters voters who attend town meetings process Ability to participate in
the democratic process