A friend - a businessman who is devoted to educating disadvantaged children, who contributes his own money and time out of his life to get them into good schools and change policies that keep them in poor ones - expressed some exasperation toward "greenies" over lunch recently. I told him about my involvement in the sustainability movement, and he said he hoped I wasn't doing anything that would interfere with free markets. I assured him that I am, just a mother and grandmother, unlikely to have much sway over markets.
We exchanged notes on our children and my grandBaby, and as we parted he said that he thinks it's very important we Babyboomers get wise to the fact that we are leaving our kids and grandkids with poorer education and quality of life than we enjoyed. I told him that I agree with him. And have wondered whether we really understand one another. So I went back to basics and looked for a succinct explanation of a way in which our mutual interests might intersect, honoring both the earth upon which we depend for our existence, and the markets on which we depend for our income.
In 1987 the United Nations' World Commission on Environment and Development issued a report titled "Our Common Future: From One Earth to One World." Headed by Norwegian Gro Harlem Bruntland, it has become known as The Bruntland Report, and it's introduction to the concept of sustainable development has become accepted as a mission statement for sustainability:
"Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure
that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of
sustainable development does imply limits - not absolute limits but
limitations imposed by the present state of technology and social
organization on environmental resources and by the ability of the
biosphere to absorb the effects of human activities."
To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, that sounds like the practice of every responsible parent and corporation. It sounds like good business as well as sound environmental policy, and it serves as a most useful touchstone for judging our activities at home and in the marketplace.
As I look at my grown children and this first grandBaby I begin to understand that while I can always expect to have more money, I cannot expect to have more time: I realize that the profit of sustainability is, first of all, life itself.
Markets can adjust to changing circumstances and alter business models to create monetary wealth from the opportunities imposed by the "limits" of which the Bruntland Report speaks. One of those limits is time - we need to move quickly, before we run out of time for future generations. Money won't matter when the air and soil and water are beyond consuming, but, paradoxically, there will be money - lots, for everyone - if we develop more sustainable technologies, livestyles, and business models.
You can read The Bruntland Commission Report Our Common Future at http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-cf.htm
It's written clearly for a layperson's easy understanding; there are some policy pronouncements that one may not agree with, but the informing intelligence of the report is quite eloquent.