Sustainability |
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An Action Plan for Cape Cod
The Cape Cod Sustainability Scorecard
Perspectives on Sustainability
Sustainability Reference Desk
Articles on Sustainability
Articles on Sustainability Indicators
To download the Cape Cod Sustainability Indicators Report 2003, click here.
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An
Action Plan to Achieve
Part 9. A Personal Tool Kit by Sarah James
Translated into practical terms, four questions related to creating a framework for a sustainable society give rise to a set of answers that can guide us in changing from unsustainable to sustainable practices in whatever situation we find ourselves. How can my household, business, town, or region
Through redirecting our activities in these four ways, we can contribute to the transformation of unsustainable trends into sustainable and eventually restorative ones.
Successes and benefits Companies such as the multinational Interface Corporation and Skandic Hotels have reoriented their business operations toward sustainable practices using these four objectives as their guide, and they have saved millions of dollars in the process. More than 60 towns and cities in Sweden -- 20 percent of all municipalities in that country -- have reoriented planning and operations using this framework, substantially reducing costs in areas, such as energy and solid-waste management, and revitalizing depressed local economies
We can do it! In asking questions such as those above, and devising our own strategies to move toward the answers in our households, businesses, and communities, we can begin to redirect our journey toward the right direction from whatever place we currently find ourselves in society. We will also be addressing the root causes of the trends that are converging upon us globally and locally -- addressing "upstream" causes rather than arguing about downstream effects. In doing so, we will be taking the road to sustainability -- a livable future. Last in a nine-part series. Return to Part 1. Editor's note: All of the articles included in "An Action Plan" were published and are copyrighted by the Community Newspapers' Register, Cape Codder, and Upper Cape Codder. |