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Thu, 30 Mar 2006

Expand Your Green Vocabulary With The Dictionary of Sustainable Management

Bennett Gordon in the current issue of Utne's Web Watch, says about the Sustainability Dictionary: "From "Accountability" to "Zero Waste," the Dictionary of Sustainable Management looks to be the go-to website for green definitions. This project of the Presidio School of Management is designed for conscious professionals who need to know what the heck 'Grousers' are."

'Grousers', by the way, are "A selection of consumers defined by the Market research firm Roper ASW (the Green Gauge Report) as disinterested in "green" or environmental issues. These customers represent 19% of the total American consumer population. They tend to view environmental issues as too big and complicated to address." Hmmm. Only 19% - I'd have guessed much higher!

The core definition of Sustainability is "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Furthermore: "This definition was created in 1987 at the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission). It is enshrined in the Swiss federal constitution. It is similar to the 'seventh generation' philosophy of the Native American Iroquois Confederacy, mandating that chiefs always consider the effects of their actions on their descendants seven generations in the future."

Couldn't have said it better! Unfortunately, there was no definition for 'tree hugger' in the sustainable dictionary. As a genuinely committable treehugger, I find that omission puzzling, but maybe it's just because it's too slangy.

What About 'Green'? Here it is: "A common metaphor referring to environmental association based on the shared secondary color of many plants. It is often used to associate products, organizations, political parties, or policies with environmental sensitivity." Unhappily, 'green' is rapidly becoming as co-opted as 'organic' in sustaina-speak, used by pretend organic companies like Horizon Organics to boost their public image. In the sustainable dictionary, that's called 'green marketing', synonymous with 'green washing.' That's the last time I use that phrase!

Expand and polish your sustainable vocabulary, to enhance your credibility as a bonafide bleeding heart liberal tree hugging environmentalist, or at least, make yourself sound like one at appropriate moments, with the Sustainability Dictionary.