1. Sustainability 101

2. Content
History of Sustainability
Triple Bottom Line
Dimensions of Sustainability
Sustainability in Business
Sustainability in Academics
Sustainability at UNT
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3. • Sustainability concerns emerged in the 1980s as a
response to growing realizations about social, economic
and environmental issues.
• Timeline
• Events leading up to the emergence of sustainability:
• 1962 - Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”
• 1970 - Clean Air Act
• 1973 - Endangered Species Act
• 1978 - Love Canal
• 1983 - Brundtland Commission
History of Sustainability

4. Brundtland Commission
• Origin of concept of sustainable development as a
process
• Academic, administrative and political effort put forth
to define sustainability resulted in:
“Meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.”
History of Sustainability

5. Holistic Approach
 Incorporates a higher level of responsibility and
generates returns in profits from three dimensions;
social, environmental, and economic
Three P’s of the Triple Bottom Line
 People
 Planet
 Profit
Triple Bottom Line

6. In addition to expanding
traditional accounting practices,
the Triple Bottom Line also
seeks to understand how the
three dimensions of
sustainability affect each other
Triple Bottom Line

7. Environmental Sustainability
• Includes issues of environmental stewardship, natural
resources, climate change, renewable energy and
related fields
• Seeks to promote the responsible use of natural
resources to ensure a healthy life and longevity for
future generations
3 Dimensions of Sustainability

8. Social Sustainability
• Addresses the ability of a social system to function
over time
• Incorporates issues of human rights, corporate
responsibility, and resource access
• Focuses on relating individuals’ behavior to attitudes,
and well-being to create sustainable social systems
3 Dimensions of Sustainability

9. Economic Sustainability
• Encourages the responsible use of resources
• Considers both environmental and social impacts of
operational behavior
• Focuses on increasing profitability from investing in
long term sustainable practices, i.e. renewable energy
3 Dimensions of Sustainability

10. Funding is available through local and federal government
agencies, businesses and research institutions, some of
which include:
 EPA – Funds Sustainability research and projects
 Department of Energy – Offers funding or private sector
sustainability
 NCTCOG (North Central Texas Council of Governments) –
Sustainable Development Funding Program for
private/public transportation improvement
 Coca Cola – Offers 52 sustainability grants to countries
around the world
Funding for Sustainability Initiatives

11. Businesses across the world are making use of Triple
Bottom Line accounting to increase their sustainability
 Pepsi Co. - Has committed to improve water efficiency by
20% by 2015
 Nike - Incorporated a sustainable design initiative to use
environmentally preferred materials and eliminate toxins
in products
 IKEA - Renewable energy makes up 34% of energy used
Sustainability in Business

12. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Along with the growth of global markets, concern for a
broader concept of sustainability has developed in the
business world.
• The CSR and sustainable development agenda are
becoming increasingly prominent for companies and
governments.
Marketing
• Customers, whether in the private or public sectors,
tend to favor organizations that are perceived to be
more sustainable.
Sustainability in Business

13. Entrepreneurship
• Focuses on identifying opportunities for creating valuable
products and services and a profitable business
• Promotes sustainable living and environmental
improvements
Sustainable entrepreneurship involves:
• Searching for opportunities to alleviate social, environmental
and economic conditions
• More efficient use of energy and natural resources to create
products and services
Sustainability in Business

14. Business Resources
• In addition to tool and solutions provided by numerous
sustainability consulting firms, businesses can improve
their sustainability through various resources and
programs to include:
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Sustainability in Business

15. Sustainability in Campus Programs & Curriculum
• Many colleges and universities use their capabilities of
education and outreach to promote sustainability on-
campus and in the surrounding community through:
Recycling programs and contests (Recyclemania)
Green funds for projects that will improve campus
sustainability
Development of a council or committees to plan and
implement sustainability initiatives
Collaborative research in sustainability topics
Sustainability curriculum
Sustainability in Academics

16. Campus Sustainability Resources & Metrics
• American College & University Presidents’ Climate
Commitment (ACUPCC)
Effort to create a network of colleges and universities
working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions & boost
sustainability initiatives
• Clean Air, Cool Planet (CA-CP)
Campus Carbon Calculator
• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in
Higher Education (AASHE)
Conference presentations
Case study database
Publications
Sustainability in Academics

17. UNT Sustainability
• Created in 2009 to uphold UNT’s
sustainability commitment
• Works with the Sustainability
Council, UNT administration and
other campus departments
• Approaches sustainability
through R.O.O.T.S.
Research
Outreach
Operations
Teaching Students
Sustainability at UNT

18. AASHE - http://www.aashe.org/
ACUPCC - http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/
USGBC North Texas - http://www.northtexasgreencouncil.org/
NCTCOG - http://www.nctcog.org/
EPA - http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/
Our Common Future (Brundtland Report) - http://www.un-documents.net/wced-
ocf.htm
• Goodland, Robert. “The Concept of Environmental Sustainability.”
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics , Vol. 26, (1995), pp. 1-24.
• Goodland, Robert and Herman Daly. “Environmental Sustainability: Universal and Non-Negotiable.”
Ecological Applications , Vol. 6, No. 4 (Nov., 1996), pp. 1002-1017.
• Scoones, Ian. “Sustainability.” Development in Practice , Vol. 17, No. 4/5 (Aug., 2007), pp. 589-596.
• Marrewijk, Marcel van and Marco Were. “Multiple levels of Corporate Sustainability.” Journal of
Business Ethics , Vol. 44, No. 2/3, Corporate Sustainability Conference 2002: The Impact of CSR on
Management Disciplines (May, 2003), pp. 107-119.
Additional Resources & Suggested Readings

19. For additional questions regarding sustainability,
please contact Lauren Helixon at
lauren.helixon@unt.edu.