Sustainability Principles Catalyze Innovation
The principles of sustainability carry the seeds for next generation innovation. It matters less which principles you have and more that you have them. Here are a few principles worth reviewing to get you started on your own. What are your organization's principles and how do you think they can help to trigger new forms of innovation?
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From Guiding Principles of Sustainable Design
THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY
The concept of sustainable design has come to the forefront in the last 20 years. It is a concept that recognizes that human civilization is an integral part of the natural world and that nature must be preserved and perpetuated if the human community itself is to survive. Sustainable design articulates this idea through developments that exemplify the principles of conservation and encourage the application of those principles in our daily lives.
A corollary concept, and one that supports sustainable design, is that of bioregionalism - the idea that all life is established and maintained on a functional community basis and that all of these distinctive communities (bioregions) have mutually supporting life systems that are generally self-sustaining. The concept of sustainable design holds that future technologies must function primarily within bioregional patterns and scales. They must maintain biological diversity and environmental integrity, contribute to the health of air, water, and soils, incorporate design and construction that reflect bioregional conditions, and reduce the impacts of human use.
Sustainable design, sustainable development, design with nature, environmentally sensitive design, holistic resource management - regardless of what it's called, "sustainability," the capability of natural and cultural systems being continued over time, is key.
THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/phg/intro.html
Sustainability does not require a loss in the quality of life, but does require a change in mind-set, a change in values toward less consumptive lifestyles. These changes must embrace global interdependence, environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability.
Sustainable design must use an alternative approach to traditional design that incorporates these changes in mind-set. The new design approach must recognize the impacts of every design choice on the natural and cultural resources of the local, regional, and global environments.
A model of the new design principles necessary for sustainability is exemplified by the "Hannover Principles" or "Bill of Rights for the Planet," developed by William McDonough
1. Insist on the right of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse, and sustainable condition.
2. Recognize Interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend on the natural world, with broad and diverse implications at every scale. Expand design considerations to recognizing even distant effects.
3. Respect relationships between spirit and matter. Consider all aspects of human settlement including community, dwelling, industry, and trade in terms of existing and evolving connections between spiritual and material consciousness.
4. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions upon human well-being, the viability of natural systems, and their right to co-exist.
5. Create safe objects to long-term value. Do not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance or vigilant administration of potential danger due to the careless creations of products, processes, or standards.
6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and optimize the full life-cycle of products and processes, to approach the state of natural systems in which there is no waste.
7. Rely on natural energy flows. Human designs should, like the living world, derive their creative forces from perpetual solar income. Incorporate this energy efficiently and safely for responsible use.
8. Understand the limitations of design. No human creation lasts forever and design does not solve all problems. Those who create and plan should practice humility in the face of nature. Treat nature as a model and mentor, not an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.
9. Seek constant improvements by sharing knowledge. Encourage direct and open communication between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers, and users to link long-term sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility, and reestablish the integral relationship between natural processes and human activity.
Read on for other a list of other sustainability principles ...
Thank you Philipp Muessig from NextStepMN !
Summary:
This article summarizes nine well-used conceptual frameworks for sustainable development.
Content:
Several groups of individuals of international stature have, over the past several decades, distilled their thinking about sustainability into principles, conditions, management models and guidelines for building a sustainable world. Nine well-used frameworks are summarized below, along with principles developed in 1996 by the Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative of former Governor Arne Carlson.
Common themes run through all these frameworks, for example, a long-term perspective and attention to ecological carrying capacity. But each framework includes other differing principles reflecting the particular perspectives of their authors. A sentence of introduction to each framework provides a flavor of the differing perspectives.
The Hannover Principles
http://www.mcdonough.com/principles.pdf
The primary author behind the Hannover Principles (written in 1992 for the 2000 World's Fair) is William McDonough, a designer and architect. Six of the nine principles reflect the perspective that unsustainability is fundamentally a human design problem.
- Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist.
- Recognize interdependence.
- Respect relationships between spirit and matter.
- Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions.
- Create safe objects of long-term value.
- Eliminate the concept of waste.
- Rely on natural energy flows.
- Understand the limitations of design.
- Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge.
McDonough's later thinking is crystallized into his book "The Next Industrial Revolution" and a cradle-to-cradle philosophy (see
http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/res_detail.cfm?id=421).
The Natural Step System Conditions
http://www.ortns.org/framework.htm
The oncologist Dr. Karl Henrik Robert, leader behind The Natural Step, studied the link between human health and environmental toxins. "System conditions" developed by him and 50 leading Swedish scientists in 1990 focus on absolute physio-chemical requirements for sustaining life on Earth, setting conditions for how we can develop our products, services, our individual lives, our economy and our society in a sustainable manner. The Natural Step asserts that, in a sustainable society:
* What we extract from the Earth (fossil & radioactive fuels, mined metals & minerals), and what we make synthetically (chemicals, pesticides, plastics, etc.), must not accumulate long-term in the environment as wastes. "Wastes" must ultimately be compostable or remain in closed-loop reuse cycles that don't contaminate compostables.
* Biodiversity and natural systems -- soils, forests, water, air, genetic material -- must not be irreversibly degraded by human activities.
* The bounty of the Earth -- food, raw materials, natural systems -- must be used equitably, fairly and efficiently so that the basic needs of all humans are met locally and globally.
The Conservation Economy
http://www.conservationeconomy.net
A framework based upon social, natural, and economic capital and 57 "patterns" (e.g., sustainable forestry) -- presented in one graphic whose elements can be clicked on to access extensive text background -- for an ecologically restorative, socially just, and reliably prosperous society. Developed by the non-profit assistance group Ecotrust during ten years of practical conservation work in the coastal temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest and based in the belief that a conservation economy inherently serves the self-interest of individuals and communities.
Healthy Communities
http://www.euro.who.int/healthy-cities
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/phg/intro.html
http://www.ncl.org/cs/services/healthycommunities.html
With roots in the 19th century public health movement, this framework puts individual health at the center of a holistic view where social and economic factors become indicators of how healthy a community and its members are. As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1986, "The fundamental conditions and resources for health are peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable economy, sustainable resources, social justice and equity."
The healthy community / healthy cities approach is based upon two premises:
(1) The major determinants of personal health lie beyond biology and health care, in the environmental, social, economic, political and cultural conditions that determine the behaviors, the lifestyles and the health of individuals and communities.
(2) Individuals, community organizations and local governments can undertake actions that will alter these determinants and improve the health of the community.
Herman Daly's Sustainable Development Principles
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin (browse for back issue #624, November 12, 1998)
Herman Daly is an economist (formerly with the World Bank). In his book "Beyond Growth" (1996, p. 69), he defines sustainable development as "development without growth -- without growth in throughput beyond environmental regenerative and absorptive capacity." Two of his three conditions for sustainability focus on rates of resource use.
- Harvest renewable resources only at the speed at which they regenerate.
- Consume or irretrievably dispose of nonrenewable resources no faster than the rate at which renewable substitutes are developed and phased into use.
- Limit wastes to the assimilative capacity of local ecosystems.
Holistic Management Model
http://www.holisticmanagement.org/
Holistic management was developed over 40-years and most recently by the wildlife biologist Allan Savory in his work in land, agriculture and wildlife management.
- Define the "whole" to be managed (a farm, a business, a community), which includes the people (decision-makers), the built environment, the natural resource base (land, wildlife, etc.) and the wealth that can be generated from them.
- Set a holistic goal that includes the quality of life sought by the people in the whole, what they must produce to sustain that quality of life, and a description of the future resource base as it must be far into the future to sustain what is produced.
- Determine what tools, materials, and knowledge are needed to reach the holistic goal.
- Test all potential decisions against the goal, using seven specific testing guidelines.
- Monitor the results of decisions continually.
Permaculture
http://www.permacultureactivist.net/intro/PcIntro.htm
The word "permaculture" was popularized in the 1970's by Australian ecologist Dr. Bill Mollison, who spent decades in the rainforests and deserts of his country studying natural and human ecosystems. Permaculture is a contraction of "permanent" and "agriculture" and "permanent" and "culture."
Permaculture is a design system for harmoniously integrating the natural world and people. On one level, permaculture deals with plants, landscapes, animals, buildings, and human infrastructure (water, energy, communications, etc.). However, permaculture is more about planning for relationships among these elements than it is about the elements themselves.
The aim of permaculture is to create systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable. Permaculture is based on the observation of natural systems, the wisdom contained in traditional farming systems, and modern scientific and technological knowledge.
The Bellagio Principles
http://www.iisd.org/measure/principles/progress/bellagio.asp
The Bellagio Principles were developed in 1996 by an international group of 24 measurement practitioners and researchers brought together by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. These ten principles are actually guidelines for the practical assessment of progress toward sustainable development. They address the articulation of a sustainable development vision, clear goals, holistic perspective, scope, effective communication, road participation, ongoing assessment and institutional capacity.
The Earth Charter
http://www.earthcharterusa.org/earth_charter.html
The Earth Charter has been in development since the early 1990s in connection with the United Nations. Efforts toward the adoption of this charter, by the UN, organizations and individuals, are being led by Mikhail Gorbachev, chair of Green Cross International and Maurice Strong, chair of the Earth Council.
Principles of the Earth Charter include:
- Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.
- Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.
- Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.
- Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.
- Ecological Integrity - four principles addressing Earth's ecological systems and biological diversity, a preventive and precautionary approach as the best method of ecological protection, and compassionate treatment of all living beings
- Social and Economic Justice - five principles addressing patterns of consumption and production, human rights, community well-being, human development, poverty, spiritual well-being, and the dissemination of ecological knowledge.
- Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace - four principles addressing access to information, participatory decision making, accountability in governance, gender equality, cooperation, and formal education and lifelong learning.
Principles of Sustainable Development for Minnesota
http://server.admin.state.mn.us/resource.html?Id=1941 (see page 4)
These principles were developed in 1996 by a group of 30 business, environmental and community leaders brought together by former Governor Arne Carlson.
- Global Interdependence. Economic prosperity, ecosystem health, liberty and justice are linked, and our long-term well being depends on maintaining all four. Local decisions must be informed by their regional and global context.
- Stewardship. Stewardship requires the recognition that we are all caretakers of the environment and economy for the benefit of present and future generations. We must balance the impacts of today's decisions with the needs of future generations.
- Conservation. Minnesotans must maintain essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life-support systems of the environment; harvest renewable resources on a sustainable basis; and make wise and efficient use of our renewable and non-renewable resources.
- Indicators. Minnesotans need to have and use clear goals and measurable indicators based on reliable information to guide public policies and private actions toward long-term economic prosperity, community vitality, cultural diversity and healthy ecosystems.
- Shared Responsibility. All Minnesotans accept responsibility for sustaining the environment and economy, with each being accountable for his or her decisions and actions, in a spirit of partnership and open cooperation. No entity has the right to shift the costs of its behavior to other individuals, communities, states, nations or future generations. Full-cost accounting is essential for assuring shared responsibility.
Principles list above is from From NextStepMN