WHISTLER2020

Does Sustainability Cost More?

“If we want the next generation of Canadians to have the same opportunities that we have enjoyed, we have to start changing now. That means including the social and environmental costs of our actions in all of our decision-making processes. It means focusing on the creation of genuine wealth, like health, education and the state of our environment, rather than just the accumulation of more stuff. It means moving from being wasteful and complacent, to being efficient, modern, and thoughtful.”

Sustainability Within a Generation – A New Vision for Canada, The David Suzuki Foundation

Does Sustainability Cost More?

Sustainability can sometimes cost more than the typical ways of doing things. Traditional products and services often do not reflect their ‘full’ cost – that is, the cost of the environmental and social impacts are often currently not paid for by the producer. For example, the costs of products that are made with polluting materials generally do not include the extra cost of cleaning up those pollutants. This cost is paid by tax-payers and the environment, allowing the producer to sell the product at below its ‘full’ cost.

However, more sustainable ways of doing things can also costs less, particularly over the life-time of a product or service. Sustainable products are often more efficient from an operating perspective, which decreases costs. As well, avoiding external costs can often decrease unexpected costs such as taxes, fines or other fees. In some cases, we need to rethink our financial models to work for the long-term to ensure that we recognize these costs and use our resources wisely for the long term.

 

 

 

Recognizing and Managing Trade-offs

As we strive toward social and environmental sustainability and a healthy economy in the long-term, we recognize that there will be short-term tradeoffs along the way. Tradeoffs occur when a step toward one aspect of success and sustainability means a lack of progress toward, or even a short-term step away from, another element of success and sustainability. Therefore, tradeoffs must be short-term and the initiatives that cause tradeoffs must be stepping-stones for future progress toward sustainability so that the tradeoff can eventually be avoided completely. These tradeoffs must also be managed to ensure that critical aspects are not compromised.

For example, sufficient and affordable housing for residents is fundamental to a healthy and socially sustainable community. However, building more housing to accommodate residents often requires the development of natural areas. This tradeoff is sometimes necessary to maintain the vibrancy and economic vitality of the resort community.  At the same time, during the development encroachment on critical natural areas must be avoided, and other impacts must be minimized and mitigated (e.g., by restoring natural areas elsewhere so no net loss results). Encroachment on nature must also be limited to the short term, not systematically continuing on an ongoing basis.

 

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