sustainability is everywhere these days sustainable jet fuel sustainable fashion sustainably sourced food so many people products and businesses are using it it's become a bit of a buzzword but what exactly does sustainability mean [Music] when applying the word to business and society the most common definition used comes from the 1987 united nations brentwood report it defies sustainability as the practice of meeting the needs of society today without compromising the needs of future generations it's the mindset of living our lives and running our businesses like you are going to be living here for the next 50
100 even 200 years currently that's not what's happening we're over consuming basically everything land water material so fast that the earth it can't keep up july 29th earth overshoot day 2021 that's the day in 2021 that we used more materials than the earth is able to make back in an entire year for the rest of the year we're just borrowing from the future actually we're more like that muji friend that always asks to borrow money but we all know they're not paying you back so are we living sustainably no modern society is not we're meeting
some of the needs of people today but we are definitely compromising the needs of our kids their kids and their kids too if we continue with business as usual according to nasa human-caused climate change will worsen prolonged droughts wildfires floods hurricanes and unpredictable seasons will bring about intense food and water insecurities for future generations but sustainability is more than just environmental issues there are three circles to sustainability environmental social and economic environment focuses on caring for the earth to make sure it has healthy ecosystems now polluting and cleaning up our air oceans lakes and rivers
maintaining forests jungles deserts and wetlands and leaving enough land water and healthy soil for the wild to thrive basically we have one planet don't destroy it the social aspect is taking care of people and their communities it's creating equity paying workers fair wages having safe working conditions and giving health happiness and prosperity to those who don't have it basically take care of your neighbor don't ignore them and don't exploit them lastly the economic aspect is ensuring that you don't dive right into economic ruin it's supporting a profitable business that is free of corruption and overwhelming
debts basically look beyond short-term growth and focus on long-term stability and you must have all three sustainability encompasses environmental social and economic aspects it's like a spaghetti dinner you need noodles sauce and a bowl if you lose one you either have just noodles a saucy soup or an absolute mess [Music] so sustainability is it a product a business model or a lifestyle well actually it can be all three sustainability is the pursuit of creating a less wasteful more responsible more equitable world for all living beings on this planet it's a complex term that isn't used
the same across all businesses and products be aware there are a lot of people who have hijacked the word to try and sell you on the idea that their product or business isn't bad for the earth when in reality it is this is called greenwashing but we'll get into that in another video [Music]
