Inquiry International ™ The Sustainable Organization ™ “We Build Healthy Soil” 1 Defining...

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Inquiry International™The Sustainable Organization™ “We Build Healthy

Soil”

Defining Sustainability for an Enterprise or Community

The Triple Bottom Line: People: Personal and Community Wellbeing Planet: Renewable Environment/Resources Profit: Financial Abundance

ECONOMY

Society

Environment

Sustainable View

SUSTAINABLEENVIRONMENT

SustainableSociety

SustainableEconomy

Typical World View

Journey to

Sustainability

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Daly Pyramid

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Journey to Sustainability: Development of a Circular Economy

Linear Economy*Natural Resources &Resource Industries

•Air•Water•Land & Minerals•Energy•Biological

IndustrialProcesses, Distribution & Product Use

Waste & Pollution

From Eugene Odum, Ecology, 1963 and www.Ecocycle.org, 2008

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Circular, Zero Waste, Economy*

Natural Resources &Resource Industries

•Air•Water•Land & Minerals•Energy•Biological

IndustrialProcesses, Distribution & Product Use

Waste & Pollution

Environmental Industry

Journey to Sustainability: Development of a Circular Economy

From Eugene Odum, Ecology, 1963 and www.Ecocycle.org, 2008

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Sustainability = CollaborationAll about managing differences!Conflict Contrast Collaboration

Forcing Collaboration

Avoidance Accommodation

Compromise

SELF ASSERTIVE100

COMPASSIONATE1000

0

Collaboration

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Nested Resource Cycles

Tier 1: Residential, On-site/Facility - “Onsite Market”

Tier 2: Community, Municipality, Agency – Wholesale - Retail “Markets”

Tier 3: Between Communities – “Government to Wholesale Markets ”

Industry

ResidentialCommercial

No one niche is “right,” correct or “the best.” Wastewater agencies are typically involved in all at the same time. Water Market Development Strategies and Tactics must work

synergistically to build resource value and system efficiency (esp. energy!!).

This is still a goal to which all our communities are actively working.

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Zero Waste Movement*

Zero Waste is emerging as a: paradigm shift, a new, comprehensive socio-technical system, that addresses our resource use from product design to

disposal “Cradle to Cradle” -

http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm

* From www.EcoCycle.org

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Zero Waste Movement

There are four central concepts to the Zero Waste system:

1. Changing the Rules to support resource recovery;

2. Producer Responsibility to hold industry liable for creating less toxic and more efficient products;

3. Purchasing for Zero Waste to use our buying power as our voice for Zero Waste; and

4. Resource Recovery Infrastructure to build the processing and recovery systems to move us toward Zero Waste. Learn more about all these aspects and the Zero Waste System.

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Zero Waste Resource Recovery Centers

Seven key Zero Waste Facilities Needed: The MRF – “Materials Recovery Facility” (sorting) The CHaRM – “Center for Hard to Recycle Materials Composting Facility – to recycle organics Re-Use Facilities – e.g. like thrift stores C&D Facilities – “Construction & Demolition” debris

recycling Residue Facility – like the old “landfill” but MUCH smaller Wastewater/Biosolids Facility – solids separation and

anaerobic digestion (methane & residuals production) facility

Can be built at closed landfills!

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Barriers to TransformationThey’re in our mind… and imbedded in past

investments!

Specialized (non-integrated) Professions E.g. civil, structural, electrical, chemical “engineers” vs. ecological

engineers Air, water or solid specialists, vs. cradle to cradle integralists!

Resources Laws Based on Linear vs. Circular Economic Model

Profit-centric (economic) vs. Planet & People-centric view

Trillions of Dollars of “Sunk Investments” E.g. Old refineries, manufacturing practices, mines, etc., etc. People DO NOT want to “abandon” those investments!

Building Economies of Scope vs. Economies of Scale i.e. lot’s of little, distributed, integrated values, vs. a few, large,

centralized, specialized values

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Reference Sites Global Reporting Initiative, www.globalreporting.org International Society of Sustainability Professionals, www.

sustainabilityprofessionals.org Grass Roots Recycling Network, www.grrn.org San Diego Green Business Network

www.greenbusinesssd.com San Diego Regional Sustainability Partnership

www.sdrsp.org City of Portland, Office of Sustainable Development,

www.portlandonline.com/osd SustainableBusiness.com www.sustainablebusiness.com Sustainable Industries, www.sustainableindustries.com In Buiness, www.jgpress.com/inbusiness (ended 2007, after 30

years!) CorporateResponsibility.net www.corporateresponsibility.net Environmental Business Journal, www.ebiusa.com Terry Tamminen, “Lives per Gallon: The True Cost of our Oil

Addition” www.terrytamminen.com Paul Hawken, “The Ecology of Commerce”

www.paulhawken.com Natural Capital Institute, www.naturalcapital.org Ecocycle, Inc., www.ecocycle.org Ecological Engineering Group, www.ecological-engineering.com

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