Zipcar Analysis
What exactly is sustainability?
The term “sustainability” has gotten a growing amount of usage recently, in the media, business, and general communities. Increased exposure to the term, however, has not necessarily correlated with increased consistency of understanding of exactly what sustainability is, or what it means in today’s context. In fact, the rapidly widening usage of the term may be contributing to greater confusion about it, as the increased usage results in more people bringing slightly different interpretations of it to the conversation. Therefore, there is an ongoing need to clarify the 21st century definition of sustainability.
In the past, sustainability simply referred to the ability of someone or something “to [remain] in existence; maintain; prolong.”1 Most business owners or leaders are very familiar with the traditional definition of business sustainability, which in many interpretations referred simply to the ability of the business to remain in existence and be financially viable over the long term. The most widely accepted definition of sustainability for the 21st-century context, originated by the U.N. World Commission on Environment and Development, and subsequently refined by the international community, expands this view and refers to sustainability as the ability to meet the financial, environmental, and social needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their financial, environmental, and social needs.2 The modern definition of business sustainability expands the view from the older “single bottom line” of solely financial performance, with a corresponding perception of environmental and social resources, issues, and impacts as
“externalities,” to the “triple bottom line,” addressing all three key areas – financial, environmental, and social.
Why is it important?
So, why should a business, in particular a small to medium sized business, increase its focus on its
The term “sustainability” has gotten a growing amount of usage recently, in the media, business, and general communities. Increased exposure to the term, however, has not necessarily correlated with increased consistency of understanding of exactly what sustainability is, or what it means in today’s context. In fact, the rapidly widening usage of the term may be contributing to greater confusion about it, as the increased usage results in more people bringing slightly different interpretations of it to the conversation. Therefore, there is an ongoing need to clarify the 21st century definition of sustainability.
In the past, sustainability simply referred to the ability of someone or something “to [remain] in existence; maintain; prolong.”1 Most business owners or leaders are very familiar with the traditional definition of business sustainability, which in many interpretations referred simply to the ability of the business to remain in existence and be financially viable over the long term. The most widely accepted definition of sustainability for the 21st-century context, originated by the U.N. World Commission on Environment and Development, and subsequently refined by the international community, expands this view and refers to sustainability as the ability to meet the financial, environmental, and social needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their financial, environmental, and social needs.2 The modern definition of business sustainability expands the view from the older “single bottom line” of solely financial performance, with a corresponding perception of environmental and social resources, issues, and impacts as
“externalities,” to the “triple bottom line,” addressing all three key areas – financial, environmental, and social.
Why is it important?
So, why should a business, in particular a small to medium sized business, increase its focus on its