Preface: Sustainable Development and Society

When Thomas Jefferson wrote of the human desire for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the revolutionary in him was essentially railing at the idea of remote tyranny. Political tyranny was the stated object of Jefferson’s scorn, but tyranny of any kind (economic, physical, emotional, mental or spiritual)is anathema to the full expression of human life. No one wants to be tyrannized. If our goal is to bring forth a truly life sustaining world, then it is imperative that we understand the tyrannies of our time and the ways in which they undermine our hopes for a just, prosperous and healthy future.

Doing so places human-centered concerns at the heart of the contemporary conversation on “sustainability.” Indeed, equity and fairness permeate all aspects of sustainability. Questions of social equity beget economic and ecological questions and the lenses of each can be used to examine each other. Economic activity, for example, has a huge social impact, which can be seen in the shifting fortunes of the public realm during times of prosperity or poverty. Social well-being is also dramatically affected by the health, or ill health, of ecosystems: Farmers with no water, buildings that make their inhabitants sick, coal-fired power plants releasing neurotoxins into the food chain: these are all forms of remote tyranny that oppress the life and liberty of workers, families and communities.

So how do we consider social factors when designing a building, a master plan for a site, or a housing complex? What about the materials used in building construction and the infrastructure that services the built environment? To begin, we can consider social factors right from the start, at the beginning of the design process. An architect designing a new facility might ask: Are the materials and products I am going to specify safe for all the people producing, installing and using them? Are all the people associated with the building earning a living wage? How will the facility affect the surrounding community?

But these questions alone will not ensure good, life-sustaining designs. They can ensure that social factors will be considered a fundamental element of the design process, but we need to remember to always consider the social realm in relation to economic and environmental concerns. To make any single area of concern a primary focus can distort the design process to the detriment of the whole, as we see in designs for energy-efficient buildings that pay scant attention to the impact of materials on human health. When we consider the rich connectivity of economy, ecology, and equity, however, we begin to notice the many ways in which their interplay generates unforeseen possibilities. We discover that we can create buildings that have a positive impact on the world: buildings that are not simply less polluting or less harmful to their inhabitants, but which generate a wide spectrum of beneficial, even regenerative effects.

This is not only possible, it's an effective, proven design strategy. Its practitioners, while maintaining the need to be practical and profitable in the conventional sense, are following Einstein’s insight that no problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it. So rather than trying to be “less bad” or more efficient within the framework of conventional design, they are innovating, enhancing the positive impacts of human activity and leaving the world a better place for having been here.

The impact of this shift is growing. In the realm of product design, we see safe, healthful materials that can be perpetually recovered and re-manufactured, effectively closing the loop on material flows. We see buildings designed to generate more energy than they consume and green-roofed manufacturing plants that create habitat, restore landscapes, and cost-effectively filter storm water while also providing safe, comfortable places to work. We see public facilities with operations that approach the effectiveness of natural systems which also offer delightful, refreshing places to meet, confer and learn. From this perspective, one can ask, not “How can I meet the minimum standards for building design?” but “How can I enhance the economic, ecological and social health of those who construct, work in, and live near my facility?”

Peter Drucker, the well-known management guru, has said that a manager’s job is to do something right (to be efficient), but an executive's job is to do the right thing (to be effective). Once the executive defines the right thing to do (create a safe, healthful product people want; generate quality work by investing in people; develop policy that generates more benefits rather than fewer detriments), it becomes the manager’s job to perform based on the strategy. Executives, therefore, have a strategic leadership role.

This book is designed with that role in mind. Its purpose is to encourage the development of meaningful strategies of change, to empower leaders to do the right thing. Through detailed analysis, case studies, and informed commentary it refines and expands the conventional understanding of sustainable development, giving policy-makers the tools they need to make intelligent choices today and chart an ethical, effective path into the 21st century.