GREEN GLOSSARY

“Wisdom is the capacity to know what we don’t know.” – Paul Hawken

> Sustainability – (1) Meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. (Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment & Development, 1987.) (2) A society’s rate of use of renewable resources should not exceed their rates of regeneration; its rate of use of non-renewable resources should not exceed the rate at which sustainable renewable substitutes are developed; and its rates of pollution emissions should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment. (Elkington, John. Cannibals with Forks, 1998.)

> Restorative Economics – Restoring the environment, conducting business and making money in the same process. “The act of restoration involves recognizing that something has been lost, used up or removed. To restore is to bring back or return something to its original state.” (Hawken, Paul. Ecology of Commerce, 1993)

> Industrial Ecology – Manufacturing that addresses environmental needs and works with natural processes. Future utility of products and by-products and avoidance of waste are considered from the beginning (design).

> Cradle-To-Cradle – The opposite of “cradle-to-grave;” designing a product with reuse in mind rather than disposal. A strategy and certification offered by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) of Charlottesville, VA.

> Eco-Efficiency – Being “less bad;” reducing emissions, recycling, product reuse, emissions regulations and other “end of pipe solutions” that reduce environmental degradation but don’t stop it completely.

> Eco-Effectiveness – “Working on the right things instead of making the wrong things less bad.” (McDonough, William & Braungart, Michael. Cradle To Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things, 2002). Eliminating the environment problems from a products’ design altogether.

> LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A rating system and certification by the U.S. Green Building Council used to recognize environmental quality and efficiency in buildings.