Merriam-Webster defines sustainable as “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged”. The term sustainability is now broadly applied and has come to represent designing with nature in mind and exercising environmental leadership and responsibility.

So what does this mean to you? In the simplest terms, that our kids and grandkids have clean air to breathe, forests to roam through, fresh water to play in and drink.

We’ve read the news, we’ve seen the documentaries. We are reconciling ourselves with the fact that the Earth’s resources are finite. The era of rampant economic growth and consumption with no regard for the consequences  is over. Sustainable activities, whether it’s manufacturing, building, purchasing, farming, traveling and everything else humans do, are activities performed in a manner that our planet can support for the long term. It means that we consume less whenever possible, reuse rather than replace, build using rapidly renewable natural resources, and create biodegradable and recyclable products.

Our economy can still grow; we can still produce, purchase, and sell the things we need. But we can do it better. We can innovate. We can do business and excel while maintaining a high regard for our planet and its people. That’s sustainability.