Download the cool GreenCityBlueLake poster with the vision of sustainability for Northeast Ohio (PDF, 274 KB). 

The classic definition of sustainability used by the United Nations and many others is "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Paul Hawken, author of The Ecology of Commerce, suggests a slightly different definition: "Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do." Thus, sustainability is really one of those simple things we all should have learned in kindergarten.

Sustainability has a number of attributes:

• Long time horizon -- Focus on permanence, quality, durability, stewardship for future generations.
• Multiple benefits -- Integrate considerations of environment (natural capital), equity (social capital), and economy (financial capital) and pay attention to the triple bottom line (People, Profits, and Planet).
• Multiple scales -- Understand how the individual, neighborhood, city, region, or planet are all interconnected.
• Openness -- Innovation is needed, so experiment and take risks.
• Attitude --  Be humble, hopeful, joyful in the pursuit of a better world.

Sustainability also is a commitment, a basic organizing principle, and a context for making better decisions. It's a process of continual improvement rather than an end state.

An example of thinking in terms of sustainability might be a program to invest in renewable energy technology—a program that could bring environmental benefits (reductions in air pollution and global warming), economic benefits (jobs and income to Northeast Ohio from building equipment such as wind turbine components), and social benefits (employment opportunities to cities, greater national security from reduced dependence on oil from the Middle East).

Ultimately, sustainability will require the fundamental redesign of our civilization. We can either treat this imperative as a burden or an opportunity to innovate and create a better society. In Northeast Ohio, we need to be a part of this global conversation about the future.