A2. The Problem with Vague Definitions

The problem with vague definitions Ask ten people what they think sustainability is, and you get ten different answers. Likely responses are things about material recycling, prevention of waste, renewable energy, and issues surrounding the climate. Others feel sustainability is more about how we’ll manage to survive as a species on this planet, curbing population growth, or saving biodiversity. As one of the most important words of the last few decades, sustainability as a concept is the driver of many programs and initiatives in society. If understood correctly, it represents the pinnacle of challenges in our century. Yet, as important as it is, there is little solid ground to find when investigating what sustainability exactly is. And this is a problem. Since the start of this century, the realities of our impoverished environment, social inequality, fragile economy, and unstable climate have brought ‘sustainability’ to the forefront of debates in almost all sectors. Inevitably, the word since then has eroded. At this point, it is used in virtually every marketing strategy, political speech and new product labeling. Because its use is often abused, and we’re all getting tired of it, it’s losing its meaning and power. We see that many ‘sustainable’ developments are not sustainable at all, often due to a lack of understanding of what it actually means rather than any nefarious purpose. To make things worse, time has shown a fair amount of well intentioned sustainability measures that turned out to make things a lot worse. As they say; the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There are regula­ tions on power saving, in the name of sustainability, that produce increased environmental toxicity. Some recycling practices burden developing countries and hurt social equality, and many ‘sustainability’ certifica­ tions, labels, and policies seem to simply invent their own reality, and do more harm than good. At the same time, virtually no-one seems to have the tools and methods available to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. This leaves these issues lingering and enables less than pure motivations to take advantage of the situation. Next time you see a disposable bag claiming it’s a sustainable product, realize that the word ‘sustainability’ in this case, and you yourself, are being made a fool of. The vagueness in understanding of the very foundation of sustainability is not the only issue we face, but it’s certainly a large part of it. After all, if few people know what something exactly is, how could you hope to achieve it? Imagine two people together trying to build a house but with a different understanding of what the house should be. It would be a disaster. If we don’t agree on what the word ‘sustainability’ means, it’s impossible to agree on what we’re trying to do. Having a good definition of sustainability is therefore funda­ mental to any attempt at doing something ‘sustainable’. So, why is the term ‘sustainability’ so elusive and vague? In part, this is due to history, and in part, due to the complexity of the subject.