Sustainability: business, life, environment

Is sustainable progress an absolute or relative measure?

As a sustainability consultant, we are constantly asked how sustainable progress can be measured, evaluated, and compared.  Our work has presented us with arguments and debates on what differentiates one’s pursuit versus another’s: who is on the right track and who is not?  Based on our professional consulting experience, the answer to this question really does depend.

Having worked for years in the Energy Industry, we have seen the environmental and social skepticism that can result from sustainable claims.  When sustainable development in the Energy Industry has held to an absolute measure, progress can appear to be lagging.  However, when compared relatively to past performance, the Industry as a whole shows definite progress and has stories that often stand-out.

But which measure most accurately defines progress?

In a recent post, Sustainability Measures for a New Economy, we discuss the relative indicators of sustainable success.  With each business navigating the economic dynamics and shifting sustainable expectations in the marketplace, we believe the definers of sustainable progress are relative and unique to the experiences of the individual businesses.  

Our professional consulting subscribes to the concept of personal measures and leverage Guy and Kibert’s suggested criteria for identifying business sustainability indicators:

•    Validity – do they measure something relevant?
•    Available and Timely – is the data available on a regular basis?
•    Responsive – do they respond quickly and measurable to change?
•    Representative – do they cover the important dimensions of the evaluation?
•    Flexible – will they be available in the future?
•    Proactive – do they act as a warning or a measure of current state?

At Taiga Company, our sustainability consulting is continually looking for indicators of success in our own business and the pursuits of our clients.   Our small business resources help clients identify specific indicators that define the successes of each individual business sustainability plan.