Question

What’s balancing needs of the environment, community, and economy

Answer 1

“Economic sustainability” can be taken as meaning a combination of (i) remaining commercially viable (both now and ideally across future generations) and (ii) being able to sustain operations in the face of unexpected and severe events, such as the global financial crisis which struck in 2007/8 for example.

Economic sustainability can be viewed through five capitals, which include:

-Natural capital which comes from our ecological system;

-Produced capital which comes from our productive activities;

-Human capital which comes from our talented people;

-Social capital which comes from social trust and social interaction; and

-Financial capital which connects all the previous four capitals to help grow and sustain an economy.