The Sustainability Laboratory

An Overview

New York November, 2011

229 East 85th Street P.O. Box 1571, New York, NY 10028 Tel: 212 767 9936, www.sustainabilitylabs.org

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Note from the Founder In December 1963, as a first year student at the Architectural Association in London, I attended a lecture which was to define the direction of my life for the years that followed. The occasion was a speech given by Buckminster Fuller to the British Association of Architectural Students. Fuller was advocating an ambitious program -- the World Design Science Decade -- calling for all architectural students and all architectural schools everywhere, to collaborate on a ten year program for “redesigning” the world. This was vintage Fuller. Preposterous in light of limitations inherent to Academia, naïve perhaps, but bold, creative and absolutely on the mark. The program anticipated, by at least a decade or two, what later emerged as the burgeoning sustainability agenda. I was privileged to meet Fuller the day after the event and although a youngster in total awe we hit it off personally and I started to work on the program. Much of the rest of my time in school was devoted to working with him and when I graduated in 1969 I moved to the United States at his invitation, joining his group at the University of Southern Illinois in Carbondale and working on the World Resources Inventory, the World Game and other projects. It soon became obvious that I shall not be following a straightforward architectural career, as originally intended, so while continuing my work with Fuller in the US, I started commuting to London in pursuit of a doctorate in Cybernetics studying under Gordon Pask. England was a center of exciting innovations in the field at that time and Stafford Beer’s pioneering work on Management Cybernetics became of central importance for me since it provided powerful tools for understanding and addressing issues of managing complexity. I found in it a potent context for viewing a complex world and contemplating the perplexities of emerging global challenges. Having earned my Ph.D., I left Fuller’s operation and started experimenting with the application of concepts derived from General System Theory and Cybernetics in practical management situations – questions of “sustainability” had not yet emerged to the fore. In the years which followed, I was fortunate to be called upon to assist in projects of increasing scope and complexity, with organizations of all types, working on issues of strategy development, organizational design and the management of change processes. By the mid eighties the world was catching up and I became involved in assignments which echoed Fuller earlier concerns. Some involved large regional planning efforts but whatever the specific context, all required a systemic integration of strategies involving economic, social, environmental, technological, and other considerations. I began to focus on issues of sustainable development working mostly with multilateral development agencies on projects in many parts of the world. In the sixties, when Fuller was advocating his world design program, there were just over 3 billion people on the planet. There are now nearly 7 billion and another 2 billion people are likely to be added by 2050. There is absolutely no precedence for managing a peaceful, harmonious existence of 9 billion people on the planet. The adverse impacts of rapid resource depletion and the reality of whole ecosystems overwhelmed by waste by-products generated by human activity are alarming yet they continue unabated. Broad based awareness of the issues, and recognition of a need for change are expanding rapidly and today, there is a world wide flurry of activity by individuals, groups and organizations of all kind, all addressing one aspect of sustainability or another. Yet, many key components of the biosphere continue to show serious signs of stress. Why? It appears that the world is trapped in a syndrome whereby a dominant but no longer relevant mind set, deeply embedded in the culture, in most existing institutions, in the established ways of doing things, in the very fabric of civilization itself, is

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unable to produce effective new solutions from within its existing frame of reference. Most current efforts are simply not conceived of at a level required by the called for transformation. The required change is profound. It has to cover all key dimensions of the human experience. It has to involve comprehensive transformation in our existing mental models, in the competence and focus of our technology, in our assumptions about the purpose and structure of the economy, in our concepts of governance and how organizations work, in the manner we interact with each other, in the way we behave in the biosphere in relation to all other species, and in the fundamental values that we hold sacred. This is a tall order and an unprecedented challenge. It requires going beyond mere adjustments in existing patterns of things to fundamentally changing the way we manage human affairs. Effective responses will not likely emerge from the same ways, structures and mechanisms which produced the many problems that beset our planet in the first place. The capacity for radical innovations, for thinking out of the box and pursuing creative experimentations free from obstacles imposed by prevailing self interests, is rare in the context of most institutions – governments, international multilateral organizations and private sector entities alike. For the moment, the gap between the sustainability rhetoric and actual accomplishments on the ground remains very wide. Free and unencumbered experimentation with new approaches and ideas is essential. Hence the concept of establishing the Sustainability Laboratory and launching an independent, agile, proactive and creative network of activities that, without fear or prejudice, will pursue investigation and demonstration of groundbreaking new paths to sustainability. The comments which follow provide a brief overview of this initiative. Michael Ben-Eli New York

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The Sustainability Laboratory The Context For decades now, increasing numbers of thoughtful observers have called attention to disturbing patterns in the current trajectory of human affairs. Accelerating dramatically since the early days of the industrial revolution, powerful forces in development and technology have brought new promises and opened so many new possibilities for humankind. At the same time, driven largely by the impact of human activities, serious threats have emerged to the integrity of whole ecosystems, to other forms of life and to the future well being of humanity itself. In response, a growing number of individuals, communities, governments, academic institutions, businesses, faith-based organizations, and others have begun to join forces in actively seeking more harmonious, inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable forms of development. Ensuring a conscious transition of society and the world’s economy to a sustainable basis has emerged as the most significant challenge of our time. Why the Laboratory? Sustainability can be defined as “a dynamic equilibrium in the processes of interaction between a population and its environment such that the population develops to express its full potential without producing irreversible, adverse effects on the carrying capacity of the environment upon which it depends.” It is such equilibrium which has been greatly disturbed by current patterns of human activity with the result that all key components of the biosphere are showing signs of alarming stress. Regaining balance and establishing the concept of sustainability as the organizing principle in a new world order has now become an urgent necessity. The required transformation is unprecedented in scope touching on all aspects and all sectors of human activity. The objective is to foster a well functioning alignment between individuals, society, the economy and the regenerative capacity of the planet’s life supporting ecosystems. The Sustainability Laboratory was established in order to advance a timely and peaceful realization of the required transformation to an enduring sustainable state. Just as the great defense laboratories assembled extraordinary talent to work on the development of destructive weapons of unimaginable power, the Sustainability Laboratory will facilitate the integration of world wide talent in order to develop advanced designs for enhancing the well being of the planet as a whole with all its inhabitants. To this end the Lab will engage in research, development, demonstration, and dissemination of new models for cutting edge sustainability practices. It will do so through a world wide network of linked activities which will function, by design, as a vehicle for fostering change.

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Mission of the Lab In this broad context, the Lab will act as a global change agent. Its mission is: “To act as a catalyst for accelerating the transition of world’s society and its economy to a sustainable basis by researching, developing, demonstrating, and facilitating adoption of breakthrough sustainability practices, expanding prospects and producing positive, life affirming impacts on people and ecosystems in all parts of the world.”

The Lab’s Signature Approach To guide its activities, the Lab has developed its own, unique action-oriented conceptual framework integrating a number of key elements: A rigorous definition of sustainability with a derived set of five core sustainability

principles. Developed by Dr. Michael Ben-Eli, these principles are expressed in relation to five domains: the Material domain which constitutes the basis for regulating the flow of materials and energy that underlie existence; the Economic domain which provides a guiding framework for creating and managing wealth; the domain of Life which provides the basis for appropriate behavior in the biosphere; the Social domain which provides the basis for social interactions; and the Spiritual domain which identifies the necessary attitudinal value orientation and provides the basis for a universal code of ethics. The original document is appended below.

A perspective on evolutionary process and a theory of change which together provide a blueprint for addressing complexity and managing significant change processes. This framework is informed by General System Theory and Cybernetics. It has been developed and refined in conjunction with undertaking multiple concrete, practical cases of strategy formulation and change management assignments with organizations of all types.

A comprehensive, systems oriented design strategy for project planning and the

facilitation of development processes that integrates a number of essential traditions notably, Buckminster Fuller’s Design Science; Russell Ackoff’s Idealized Design; and Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model. These great bodies of thought have been synthesized, applied and honed during numerous consulting projects with diverse organizations in many parts of the world.

Using this framework, combining and integrating its elements, the Lab will focus its work on identifying key sustainability-related issues and developing a portfolio of cutting edge, show- case model approaches and demonstration projects, applicable to local, regional, or planetary concerns. Functional Focus To bring about deep change, the Lab will initiate, stimulate and support the creation of multiple path-breaking solutions in locations around the world. Its action oriented demonstration projects will be designed to address the full spectrum ranging across the sustainability challenges. It will

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be a seedbed for creating and disseminating fundamental advances and supporting wide-spread adoption of innovative approaches through its research, development, education, financing and policy programs. Functionally, work of the Lab will be focused on four main, interrelated areas of engagement:

Strategy Development: Supporting leaders, in both private and public sectors, as well as communities, in developing proactive, innovative strategies for sustainability practices and providing strategic input for shaping public policy. Technology Development: Stimulating development of breakthrough sustainability

enhancing technologies, facilitating the transfer and adoption of pioneering technologies and assisting in designing and realizing prototype applications of integrated, appropriate sustainability technologies on the ground.

Financing: Providing assistance in sourcing appropriate capital for sustainability related

projects, assisting in tailoring financial instruments for realizing specific sustainable development goals, and helping stimulate investments in sustainability-centered ventures.

Education: Engaging in a variety of educational activities including developing training

programs for leaders in business and government, developing special programs for schools at all levels, and creating sustainability-related materials for public information.

The idea of a “laboratory” carries the connotation of sound science, effective technology and, most important, of breaking new ground -- of going beyond concepts and practices which are familiar today. The Lab will be developed to foster creative exploration with untested, innovative approaches, driven by a rigorous, holistic conceptual framework and highlighting cross-sector and cross-discipline integration.

Organization: The Lab as a Network The Sustainability Laboratory is being developed as a global network of collaborating programs and institutions subscribing to a common set of principles, values and operating practices. The Lab will comprise of a driving core with a network of cutting edge research and development centers working on addressing and solving the most critical sustainability issues facing the planet. Centers will be selected and developed based on pertinent thematic areas, particular technologies or types of human habitats, for example. They could also be defined by geographic regions, biomes, or major ecosystems that share common challenges. The latter could include centers for dry land sustainability, tropical, alpine, arctic, and other typical regions. Each such research and development center will function and develop autonomously. Each will conduct research, development and education programs pertaining to its thematic focus and its region, producing results applicable locally as well as in other similar parts of the planet. Thus, for example, a center for dry-land sustainability, contemplated for the Negev desert in Israel, could address issues of local significance while contributing to similar regions in other parts of the world. Whenever possible, centers will be anchored in already existing institution that are compatible with the Lab’s mission and its commitment to uncompromising excellence.

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While engaged in facilitating on going development of the network as a whole, the core’s primary purpose will be to launch new initiatives identifying, mapping and addressing sustainability issues that are global in nature and cannot be addressed by any region alone. Scientific, technical and other resources from network centers will join, as appropriate, in such initiatives. These kinds of efforts will be pursued as single components of a deliberate, comprehensive, design framework for the planet as a whole. Active interaction among partners will strengthen research, development and education throughout the network and help each partner institution become an effective catalyst for accelerating desired change. For example, partner institutions will be able to collaborate in a two year, Masters level educational program -- the Lab’s “Global Sustainability Fellows” program -- offering young participants opportunities for acquiring a deep understanding of sustainability issues and sharing experiences in different projects and in different parts of the world. The network as a whole will foster collaboration by developing an effective electronic platform for information sharing; converging periodically for strategy meetings on sustainability related issues; and engaging in an ongoing, collective review of experiences, best practices, key issues and management approaches. Ultimately, the goal will be to produce measurable impacts by developing breakthrough designs, at the same time touching the lives and imagination of young people, encouraging grass root involvement and devising ways to incorporate people who are kept away from the development process. Structure and Levels of Affiliation The Lab’s driving core will be comprised of a nucleus of international staff that will develop, coordinate and catalyze the work of the network. The network as a whole will be developed and expanded over time by establishing thematic or regional sustainability research and development centers; expanding the project base in each; and strengthening collaboration among centers in the network. Individual research and development centers will be able to choose to participate in the work of the Lab at different levels of affiliation and commitment. They may loosely affiliate for collaborating on a specific initiative; they may act as an autonomous, on-going center associated with carrying out Lab’s activities; or, they may participate as a full fledged member, playing an active role in the Lab’s overall development and governance. While each center will be responsible for funding its own programs, such “local” funding efforts will be augmented by resources and fund raising initiatives of the Lab as a whole. Current Status The Sustainability Laboratory has been established as a US - based, not-for-profit, research, development and educational organization, under the laws of the State of Delaware. The following points offer highlights of the Lab’s current status:

The Lab’s driving core consists of the principal founder, a three person interim board, a twenty person, international advisory council, rotating young interns, and a number of

senior level, experienced individuals who are assisting in developing various aspects of the Lab on a voluntary basis.

A flagship project -- Project Wadi Attir -- is well under way. It is focused on developing

a model sustainable, community-based, agricultural enterprise adapted to an arid environment, with a group of Bedouins in the Negev desert in Israel. This project is being developed in collaboration with the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and other local and international partners.

A Sustainability Prize and a yearly seminar program at EARTH University, in Limon,

Costa Rica are now well into their third year. Two awards were already won by students, for their graduation projects in the university’s entrepreneurial program.

Embodiment of the Five Core Sustainability Principles in Project Wadi Attir

Producing fundamental innovations on a number of fronts, project Wadi Attir is designed to demonstrate the integrated application of the Lab’s five core sustainability principles:

The project is anchored in a declared covenant in which community well being and authentic values, respect for nature and fellow human beings, a productive mode of living, creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, harmony, and integrity are emphasized.

It is designed to maximize the use of renewable resources; eliminate harmful emissions and other adverse impacts; aim for near zero waste and the highest resource productivity; implement a continuous flow of by-products by integrating key functions; and rely on the use of non-fossil, clean sources of energy.

It will demonstrate the operation of a productive, just, self-sufficient and fiscally sound economy managed to systemically enhance key, interdependent forms of capital resources: financial, natural, human, social, and manufactured through conscious deliberate design.

It will put emphasis on the care, respect and well-being of animals and plants through all phases of their life cycle, and intentionally enhance the biodiversity of the project site.

It will establish a collaborative, equitable, communal undertaking, emphasizing cooperation, mutual support, transparency, inclusion in governance and sharing in all responsibilities and benefits while empowering and educating individuals as well as the community as a whole.

The first eco-zone related node in the Lab’s network of activities -- the Drayland

Sustainability Initiative -- has been recently established in collaboration with the Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, at their Sede Boker campus in the Negev desert. The purpose is “to advance research, experimentation and field testing of means, methods, practices and technologies for achieving sustainability in dryland regions.”

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Agreement has been recently concluded for a similar joint initiative with EARTH University in Costa Rica. The purpose is to expand current activities of the Lab at the University and set up a new center with focus on sustainability issues in the humid and dry tropics. Preliminary discussions are being held with officials in Bhutan (alpine zone) as well.

A dynamic program of seminars and lectures has been undertaken in locations around the

world. A web site has been established and videos and papers produced to jump start the educational agenda of the Lab.

A Sustainability Entrepreneurs™ seminar was delivered at the Esalen Institute in

California. It is now being developed into an on-going program of yearly workshops intended for active change agents -- young professionals from around the world. These workshops are conceived to encourage the emergence of a new breed of Sustainability Entrepreneurs, men and women who wish to incorporate sustainability principles in their socially conscious businesses or philanthropic ventures.

Work has begun on design and curriculum development of the Lab’s “Global Sustainability Fellows” program. This new, international, Masters level educational initiative will be conducted in collaboration with a group of select research and educational institutions from around the world, representing different disciplines ranging from architecture and urban planning, to engineering, business, law, design, health, and more. The program is being designed to prepare future generations of leaders in government, business and civil society to effectively tackle the challenges of a world wide transition to an enduring, sustainable state.

Short Term Goals Rapid developments in the lab’s activities over the last two years have set the stage for ongoing expansion and require a new level of consolidation and integration. Short terms goals for 2011 and through 2013 include the following:

Implementation of project Wadi Attir and guidance of the first phases of its operational development. Scaling up the project regionally, in collaboration with Bedouin communities in Jordan and the Jordan University of Science and Technology at Irbid.

Expansion of current activities with the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel

and EARTH University in Costa Rica, and the establishment of permanent centers of activity of the Lab at both institutions.

Establishment of a beachhead for Lab activities in Bhutan. Launching of the Sustainability Entrepreneurs Seminars program with one yearly

workshop session in the US, one in Europe and one in Asia. Setting up of a global alumni network of graduates from this program.

Finalizing course design and curriculum development for the Lab’s Masters level

“Global Sustainability Fellows” program. Signing up academic partners, resolving

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accreditation questions and launching the program with first batch of international students.

Establishment of a Project Development Fund that will be used to finance the

preliminary stage of projects. This fund will make possible the financing of early, preparatory activities including preliminary concept formulation; reconnaissance and concept validity assessment; identification and early engagement of key stakeholders; and the establishment of an early project team and a project development strategy.

Completion of organizational transition from the initial core group to a viable

governance and management structure. Update of web site and development of an interactive on-line platform to support the Lab’s activities.

Securing of stable, long term funding for the Lab consistent with its mission and scope

of the world wide sustainability challenge. Developments during the next three years should set stable foundations for a period of expansion and growth that would follow, characterized by facilitating change and affecting positive, strategic impacts in the world. Indicative Operating Budget for the Next Three Years Seed financing of $180K has been raised for each of the past three years to support the initial start-up activities of the core of the Lab. During this time, the Lab was instrumental in leveraging nearly one million dollars in direct project funding. With the same basic level of yearly operating expenses, the Lab is now involved in securing nearly seven million dollars in direct project funding to be disbursed over the next three years. Indicative budget for operating the lab and developing a number of new programmatic fronts would be in the order of $5 million over the next three years. This indicative budget will comprise the following: a small core staff, operations and space, at an average of $0.5 million per year; setting up and operating the “Sustainability Entrepreneurs” program and the masters level “Global Sustainability Fellows” program; setting up and operating four regional centers at an average cost of $ 0.5 million, per year, each; provision for a project development fund; and provision for a reserve; as follows: Three Years Operating Costs: $ 1.5 M Educational Programs: 1.0 Four Regional R&D Centers: 2.0 Project Development Fund: 0.5 Reserve: 0.5 _______ Total: $ 5.0 M

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Long Term Vision: The Lab in Ten Years Ten years from today the Lab will have emerged as a preeminent global resource for advancing a peaceful transition of world society, its economy and its institutions to a sustainable basis. The Lab will be operating as the R&D hub of a global network of interrelated socio-economic activities: technology startups, capital deployment, media, and other initiatives. These will be set up in collaboration with individual and institutional partners; they will be consistent with the Lab’s mission and approach to sustainability; and they will contribute, as appropriate and through fair arrangements, to the Lab’s own long-term economic foundations. Ten years from now, the Lab will be widely acknowledged as a leading instrument in a world- wide sustainability revolution. It will be respected as a source of inspiration, as a well-spring for shift-making new ideas, as well as for its high-impact, effective actions on the ground. The Lab’s clusters of activity would have been honed and expanded considerably and will include:

Multiple regional R&D centers, reflecting major ecosystem conditions and other critical sustainability related issues around the world, all engaged with issues of local significance and collaborating on questions inherent to the planetary scale.

The Lab will be recognized as a prime source for independent policy research and advice

to progressive leaders of all sectors of society.

The Lab’s thriving, dynamic, signature education and training programs will be greatly sought after as a global resource for shaping future generations of sustainability change leaders in business, government and civil society.

Alumni of the Lab’s educational, research and project initiatives will be pursuing on their

own, in spontaneous collaborative groups and often in collaboration with the Lab itself, entrepreneurial activities which would swell to a tidal wave of change around the world.

The Lab’s own yearly strategy sessions will become the center of a periodic global

convergence of change leaders who will come together in order to review pressing issues, share experiences and collectively address significant sustainability related questions.

The Lab would have established a stable financial foundation, of a scale commensurate

with the sustainability challenge facing the planet. Throughout, Lab initiatives and its multiple on-going activities will follow a vision of the future in which all people live in peace; develop a planetary civilization that encourages the creative self realization and well being of all; use the planet's resources wisely; avoid adverse impacts on other forms of life while actively enhancing regenerative capacities of the biosphere; and celebrate the underlying mystery, unity and sacredness of all existence.

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The Sustainability Laboratory

Sustainability

The Five Core Principles

A New Framework

Michael Ben-Eli New York

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Copyright © 2005, 2006 by Michael U. Ben-Eli

All rights reserved

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Introduction

The concept of “sustainable development,” as coined by the World Commission on Environment and Development and with it, the term “sustainability” itself, have been gaining increasing recognition in recent years all around the world. Wide-spread use, however, has been followed by growing ambiguity so that today both terms are employed within a very broad spectrum of meaning often, to the point of trivialization.

The set of five Sustainability Principles proposed below is offered in order to advance and restore some rigor to the underlying ideas. Its development was informed by a number of existing frameworks and was inspired, in particular, by the work of R. Buckminster Fuller. The principles are articulated in a general fashion but can receive a specific operational meaning in relation to particular sectors of the economy, development issues, business strategies, investment guidelines, or initiatives taken by individuals. They are expressed in relation to five fundamental domains:

The Material Domain: Constitutes the basis for regulating the flow of materials and energy that underlie existence.

The Economic Domain: Provides a guiding framework for creating and

managing wealth.

The Domain of Life: Provides the basis for appropriate behavior in the biosphere.

The Social Domain: Provides the basis for social interactions.

The Spiritual Domain: Identifies the necessary attitudinal orientation and provides the basis for a universal code of ethics.

The result is a set of five core principles, each with its own derived policy and operational implications. The set is fundamentally systemic in nature, meaning, that each domain affects all the others and is affected by each in return. This systemic aspect is fundamental. It reflects the interdependent nature of reality itself. It has far reaching implications for policy and for any competent attempt at strategy for change. It implies that in seeking a transition to sustainability as a predominant planetary state, no piece-meal approach -- emphasizing some aspects while neglecting others -- is likely to yield effective, lasting results.

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Definition of sustainability

Transforming society and the world’s economy to a sustainable basis presents the most significant challenge to the 21st century. This challenge is unprecedented in scope. Its context is the planet as a whole. It requires a fundamental shift in consciousness as well as in action. It calls for a fresh vision, a new dream and new approaches for shaping an evolving new reality. Earth is exquisitely configured to accommodate life abundantly. We have consistently compromised, however, every vital component of its intricate fabric. This trend must be reversed and a lasting balance restored. The ultimate objective of establishing the concept of sustainability as an organizing principle is to foster a well-functioning alignment between individuals, society, the economy and the regenerative capacity of the planet’s life-supporting ecosystems. This alignment represents a particular type of balance in the interaction between a population and the carrying capacity of its environment. It is this specific balance which must be the focus of a meaningful definition of sustainability. The currently prevailing definition of sustainability emphasizes cross generational equity, clearly an important concept but one which poses difficulties since it is not always easy to determine future generations’ needs. Anchoring an alternative definition to the relationship between a population and the carrying capacity of its environment offers superior operational leverage since it contains a number of key variables, all potentially measurable. For example: population numbers, rate of consumption of resources, impacts on absorption capacity of sinks, a measure of well-being, and the like. Hence, in general, but more importantly in the specific context of human activity on the planet, the following is offered:

Sustainability: A dynamic equilibrium in the processes of interaction between a population

and the carrying capacity of an environment such, that the population develops to express its full potential without producing irreversible adverse effects on the carrying capacity of the environment upon which it depends.

The principles which follow are grounded in this definition, and the five domains in relation to which they are expressed represent key dimensions of the underlying interaction.

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The Five Core Principles I. The Material Domain: Underlying Premise: All the physical processes which provide the basis for human existence are subject to the primary laws of thermodynamics -- the First Law, which addresses the fundamental conservation of energy in universe and the Second Law, which stipulates the direction of energy events. These laws prescribe the ultimate limits of possibilities in physical systems and, therefore, underlie the productive potential in the use of resources. The Second Law underscores the ultimate increase of entropy and disorderliness in all physical systems. At the same time, even inorganic, but in particular life processes and consciousness, are able to create, maintain and increase order, seemingly, at least temporarily. Such order is manifest in both individual and complex networks of specific embodiments: molecules, organisms or eco-systems. Consciously disciplined intelligence, applied to the design of universally advantageous configurations of energy and matter -- arranging and rearranging components of the physical domain -- provides the essential tool for creating the wealth infrastructure required to ensure lasting abundance. Contrary to the potential immanent in superior design driven by a conscious pursuit for manifesting order and delaying the proliferation of entropy, our current industrial infrastructure is wasteful, destructive, fragmented and grossly inefficient. With the appropriate intention, it could be reinvented, redesigned and reconfigured to deliver and enhance an enduring, regenerative advantage for all. The First Principle:

Contain entropy and ensure that the flow of resources, through and within the economy, is as nearly non-declining as is permitted by physical laws.

Policy and Operational Implications:

Strive for highest resource productivity

Amplify performance with each cycle of use

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Employ “income” rather than “capital” sources and continuously recycle non-regenerative resources

Affect an unbroken, closed-loop flow of matter and energy in a planetary productive infrastructure conceived as a whole

Control leakages and avoid stagnation, misplaced concentrations or random diffusion of chemical elements during cycles of use

Establish a service, “performance leasing” orientation for managing durable goods

II. The Economic Domain: Underlying Premise: Economies consist of markets where transactions occur and guiding frameworks by which transactions are evaluated and decisions about commitments are made. Often treated as though they reflect an independent, objective reality, such frameworks ultimately represent human constructs, rooted in values, biases and dominant interests and concerns. These latter factors determine adoption of the underlying economic perspective: short term, narrow, linear focus, or long term, comprehensive, eco-sensitive cycles of return. The accounting framework used at present to guide our economy grossly distorts values. It systematically ignores important cost-components, for example, depletion and pollution. Economists are beginning to reflect on the inadequacies inherent in the narrow concept of growth that dominates measurement of national economies, and some even highlight the basic absurdity of counting consumption as if it were income, a common practice in the way we treat natural resources. Inadequate measurements, with regulations and subsidies which often accompany them, drive markets and continue to fuel the destructive effects of the economy as a whole. The prevailing conventions of our accounting framework exacerbate such effects and limit the scope of individual initiatives seeking better practices. This self-reinforcing pattern is clearly one key dimension requiring radical change.

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The Second Principle:

Adopt an appropriate accounting system, fully aligned with the planet’s ecological processes and reflecting true, comprehensive biospheric pricing to guide the economy.

Policy and Operational Implications:

Employ a comprehensive concept of wealth related to the simultaneous enhancement of five key forms of capital: Natural, Human, Social, Manufactured and Financial

Align the world’s economy with nature’s regeneration capacity and incorporate critical “externalities” in all cost and benefit accounts

Embody a measure of well-being and human development in economic

calculations

Design regulation and taxation policies to accentuate desirable and eliminate adverse outcomes, optimizing the whole

Rely on market mechanisms, calibrated to reflect “true” costs, for allocation of capital assets

III. The Domain of Life: Underlying Premise: The adaptive success of the human species and its quick propagation almost everywhere on planet earth comes at the continuous expense of many other forms of life. The destruction of individual animals, species, habitats and whole ecosystems, a trend now reaching ominous proportions, is a deep cause for concern. Complex, self-organizing, living systems: brains, societies, ecosystems -- rain forests, coral reef communities, and industrial economies alike -- depend on their very complexity, their internal “variety,” for long term viability. Lasting stability in all such systems is in fact, science tells us, a direct function of complexity, of inherent redundancy which allows for emergence and re-emergence of different configurations in response to changing underlying events. Monocultures are brittle in principle, the antithesis, in this context, of vibrant life.

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On this point contemporary science seems to be joining with many of the world’s ancient traditions which insist on the uniqueness and fundamental sacredness of all forms of life. The Third Principle:

Ensure that the essential diversity of all forms of life in the Biosphere is maintained.

Policy and Operational Implications:

Assume a responsible stewardship for our planet’s web of biological

diversity

Harvest species only to regeneration capacity

Conserve the variety of existing gene pool

Shape land use patterns to reduce human encroachment on other forms of life and enhance biological diversity in areas of human habitat

IV. The Social Domain: Underlying Premise: Work of early 20th century scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers of science brought to the fore the fundamental fallibility of human knowledge. This suggests that, in a true ecological fashion, myriad expressions and species of truth should be allowed to coexist without any particular one seeking to aggressively dominate others. Societies, like ecologies, depend on diversity and internal redundancy for robustness, long term viability and health. This alone underscores the importance of encouraging variety and plurality in social forms. At the same time, modern genetics and the sequencing of the human genome indicate that the underlying genetic differences between the many ethnic groups on the planet are insignificantly small, rendering arguments for an inherent superiority, of any group, baseless.

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All these thoughts reinforce the still fragile idea that open processes, responsive structures, plurality of expression, and the equality of all individuals ought to constitute the corner-stones of social life. As we enter the twenty first century, however, society continues to operate predominantly by the worn-out assumptions, concepts and structures of yesterday. The Fourth Principle:

Maximize degrees of freedom and potential self-realization of all humans without any individual or group, adversely affecting others.

Policy and Operational Implications:

Foster Tolerance as a cornerstone of social interactions

Enshrine Universal Rights within a framework of planetary citizenship

Provide for Inclusion and effective Democracy in governance

Ensure Equitable Access to life nurturing resources

Establish Cooperation as a basis for managing global issues and planetary commons

Outlaw War and Trade in weapon technologies

Promote sustainability literacy through education at all levels

Embody Sustainability Enhancing Concepts in an effective planetary framework of legislation

V. The Spiritual Domain: Underlying Premise: The human spirit has consistently sought to transcend material, biological, physiological, psychological, and technological limitations. This constant drive for touching a “beyond,” for taking progressively more into the field of vision and integrating an increasingly broader “reality” has a huge practical significance. With its intuitive reach for wholeness and completion, it fuels the development and evolution of individuals and societies alike.

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The extent to which this deeply rooted drive is actually allowed to manifest in the daily affairs of society, affects the choices we make and the quality of our actions in the world. Ultimately, it underscores the difference between a greedy, ego-centric, predatory orientation and a nurturing, self-restrained, inclusive approach which honors the larger system of which we are a part and on which we depend for our very existence. The essential quality of the spiritual domain, recognized, as it is, by all known wisdom traditions, is not easy to pin down. In the English language, the term spiritual carries opposing connotations: sacred, exalted, virtuous, divine, but also, insubstantial and occult. It is meant here to evoke a sense of a deep, underlying essence -- a combination of inspiration, meaning, purpose, and a motivating, all encompassing value. The fundamental imprecision which is involved is manifest in the more elaborate way in which the fifth principle is expressed. The Fifth Principle:

Recognize the seamless, dynamic continuum Of mystery, wisdom, love, energy, and matter That links the outer reaches of the cosmos With our solar system, our planet and its biosphere Including all humans, with our internal metabolic systems And their externalized technology extensions -- Embody this recognition in a universal ethics For guiding human actions

Policy and Operational Implications

Acknowledge the transcendent mystery that underlies existence

Seek to understand and fulfill humanity’s unique function in Universe

Honor the Earth with its intricate ecology of which humans are an integral part

Foster compassion and an inclusive, comprehensive perspective in the underlying intention, motivation and actual implementation of human endeavors

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Link inner transformation of individuals to transformations in the social collective, laying foundations for emergence of a new planetary consciousness

The Five Principles as an Integrated Whole

Deeper reflection on the concept of sustainability and the five core principles which together prescribe it reveals that the spiritual dimension, the spiritual principle, is fundamental to the quality and coherence of the whole. It is rarely incorporated, however, in the conventional calculus of practical affairs. As a guiding principle, the spiritual dimension does not carry the connotation of conventional religion. Rather, it evokes the soul-focused integration of mind and heart in realization of the essential oneness at the center of being. By anchoring the essence of human motivation and intention, the spiritual principle acts as the causal root which sets the tone for the whole. It drives the integration of the other four principles, those related to the material, economic, life, and social domains. If integrated in a balanced way, it can infuse a common purpose, provide a common foundation, and stimulate common resolve. Lacking the ethical commitment implied by the spiritual principle, considerations of questions related to the four other domains, no matter how elaborately expressed, are reduced to mere technicalities. By their very nature language, logic and action force separation, discrimination and choice. A balanced and full integration of all five principles is essential, however, for conceptualizing and realizing sustainability as a state. The whole set has to be integrated into a single unity in which the five principles come together as one. The five domains underlying the principles interact and co-define one another and, as in a holographic image, each embodies the whole general scheme in its own sphere. When the principles are thus integrated and seamlessly inform choices and actions, a state of sustainability, which otherwise appears as a difficult, distant goal, can be realized spontaneously and completely.

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