About Sustainability

Sustainability is about more than protecting the environment. Reducing or eliminating negative environmental impacts is a big part of what we do—but it’s not the only thing we do. Though environmental aspects may immediately come to mind when you hear the term “sustainability,” economic and social performance are also key attributes of sustainable solutions. Our technical recommendations are formulated to achieve balance among environmental, social, and economic factors, and when implemented, may save you money in the long run, while simultaneously improving stakeholder relations, protecting human health, and fostering environmental integrity.

The following graphics represent slightly different ways of visualizing the concept of sustainability.

Graphic representation of the three aspects of sustainability, environment, society and economy, as concentric circles. Environment is outermost with society within it and economy within society.
Graphic representation of the three aspects of sustainability. Image created by Travelplanner. Contains artwork from Wikimedia Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons .

 

More traditional "Venn diagram" illustrating how sustainability is the state in which social, ecological and economic factors are balanced.
Sustainability can be thought of as the state in which social, ecological and economic factors are balanced. Attribution: Andrew, Sunray, based on “File:Sustainable development.svg” by Johann Dréo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

“Sustainable development” is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Learn more about how our efforts align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).