This document considers some of the features and concepts that should, perhaps, be included in any strategy for sustainable development, whether it is being created for use by an organisation, group, family or an individual.

The four conditions of 'The Natural Step', or some other vision statement, will help define goals that promote sustainable development rather than those that are vaguely environmental, or even primarily economic or social, which is a criticism that has been levelled at the two national strategies produced for the UK. The reason why the environmental consideration is so important is explained in 'Why Managers need to be concerned about sustainability'.

Having a sustainable development strategy should bring positive benefits. For example, energy efficiency was the subject of public policy for some time before broader concerns about sustainability were addressed and has resulted in significant reductions in energy costs (5-10%, DETR GPG 251, p1). Of course, selecting favourable tariffs can also give cost savings but these tend to be eroded over time. True efficiency is measured as a ratio between significant inputs and significant outputs: the greater the output in relation to the input, the greater the efficiency (Robertson 1998, p. 31). The US National Academy of Engineering has estimated that the overall thermodynamic efficiency of the American economy is only about 2.5% (Anderson 1998, p.73). There is no reason to suppose that Europe (or even any one in Britain) is doing significantly better. Increasing efficiency is an important move towards sustainability because it meets condition two of 'The Natural Step' and is a good example of what US entrepreneur and adviser to the President, Ray C Anderson, refers to as 'doing well by doing good' (Anderson 1998, p.71). The role of efficiency in the economy is explored further in the paper 'Sustainable and economic use of resources'.

Anderson also points out that there is no such concept as to 'throw away' because nothing is destroyed (first law of thermodynamics) and everything will disperse (second law of thermodynamics). Therefore we must prevent toxic emissions and long lasting waste altogether to stop them accumulating in the biosphere, which is essential for our survival (Anderson 1998, p. 114). This warning is translated into action by the first two conditions of 'The Natural Step'. To achieve this, the trend should be to replace resources taken from earth's crust with those that are recycled or renewable. Using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels is one practical way of satisfying the first condition and also the third. Where it is possible to use what are known as 'benign renewables, such as solar, wind and small-scale hydro generation' (Soil Association, 1999, no. 204, p.19), which recycle some of the energy that mankind has already released, this is a particularly good move towards meeting the second condition, as well. Renewable energy and recycled products are becoming increasingly available from suppliers. However, once they have been purchased, finding an additional use for any energy or materials that would otherwise be released to atmosphere, sewerage or landfill can be more efficient, better for the environment and save money. This message is important for the public too because 'household waste has increased dramatically - we now landfill enough waste every 9 months to fill a hole the size of Lake Windermere' (DETR, 1998 p.7). Therefore, the efficient use of recycled and renewable materials and energy is to be recommended. This argument is explored in more detail in the paper Energy-efficiency or renewables: which is the best immediate response to achieve sustainability?

Concerns about health have meant that both food production and traffic pollution have been subjects of recent public debate. The Government has highlighted the link between the growth in travel (particularly the use of the car) and planning (DETR, 1998 p.11) and issued revised guidelines in Planning for Sustainable Development: Towards Better Practice (DETR, 1998). Some forms of food production, transport that uses fossil fuel, some building development and all mining and mineral extraction tend to transgress the first three conditions of 'The Natural Step'. Whereas, locally grown organic food, human or other renewable power for transportation and recycled building materials on 'brown lands' are recommended solutions for sustainable development.

Environmental concerns and, in particular LA21, have led to large lists of statistics being produced on behalf of local authorities (and other organisations) to inform debate and decision-making (MacGillivray, Weston and Unsworth, 1998). An alternative approach is to use just one memorable indicator. The 'Ecological Footsteps' technique developed by Wackernagel and Rees (1996), has been used to show how much of the Earth's resources various cites and countries consume and consider how fair this share is, compared with an equal distribution amongst the world's population. However, to do this adequately requires the collection of data from several sources, complex calculation and making some assumptions (that may well be challenged). The difficulty is in finding indicators that are acceptable to and have impact for the user. The New Economics Foundation publication 'Communities Count' (MacGillivray, Weston and Unsworth, 1998) suggests ways in which the community can be involved in the selection of indicators. The paper 'Can sustainability be measured?' considers this question and gives more detail about the various approaches that have been and could be adopted.

Paul Newman

February 2000

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Please do not hesitate to email the author with comments or questions.

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