What is sustainability? Green?
There are many definitions for “sustainability,” “sustainable development” and “green.” Often times you will hear these words used interchangeably, however sustainability is much broader than the environment. The most common definition of sustainability is:
"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Our Common Future: the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (also known as the Brundtland report)
Green
The term “green” typically refers more specifically to environmentally-friendly concepts such as conservation, preservation, stewardship of natural resources, minimal negative impact on the environment and earth friendly. By definition, sustainability includes principles that are green.
Sustainability
Instead of getting caught up in the semantics lets talk about the concept. The concept of sustainability is that people matter, the environment matters and the economy matters – sometimes you’ll hear people, planet and profit to explain this balance. It is the integration of environmental, social, and economic considerations that comprise the triple bottom line or the three-legged stool, commonly used in sustainability business speak.
Sustainability is about finding the balance between people, the environment and the economy both now and in the future. For example, a sustainable campus is one that manages resources with ecological/environmental limits (water, energy, land, etc), provides means for students, faculty and staff to meet economic needs (jobs, lifting people out of poverty, economic diversity) , and promotes socially just and vibrant communities (social equity, healthy citizens, educational opportunities, community engagement).