Furniture Design Ideas

Also known as eco-efficiency1, the Natural Capitalism framework was developed by three luminaries of sustainability: Paul Hawking, Amory Lovins, and Hunter Lovins (see Figure 3.1). It is described in detail in their influential book 2002 Natural Capitalism. It is a frame­work for rethinking the value of social and natural resources in the context of business. […]

Natural Capitalism 83 Cradle to Cradle 94 Biomimicry 109 Life Cycle analysis 121 social return on investment 147 the natural step™ 154 total beauty 158 sustainability helix 172 other Frameworks 180 Putting them Ап together 182 80 Enter code DITPDE for 15% off any Rosenfeld Media product directlypurchased from our site: http:Zrosenfeldmedia. com T here […]

The reality of most sustainability measuring is that there are no perfect scores. At best, there is “better” and “worse”—and these aren’t often clear. Complex systems, by definition, con­nect to many issues and often create surprising interactions and conclusions and even unin­tended consequences. An example as seem­ingly simple as “paper” or “plastic” grocery bags yields […]

However, the other side claims that plastic bags are better than paper because they weigh so much less per bag that the gasoline and diesel burned to move them around (from the factory where they’re made to the stores where they’re used to your car taking your groceries home) save so much in emissions of […]

One way to test these concepts is to consider how they interact with real questions people have in the world. We’ll look quickly at two— not necessarily to answer them definitively but to uncover, in a real-world context, the com­plexities encountered when asking such seem­ingly simple and obvious questions. Quick, which bag is better for […]

How we measure financial returns says a lot about our values, just as it does with social and environmental returns. We can’t ignore finan- cial measures—even in nonprofit endeavors— but we have to be aware of what to measure and what not to measure. Sustainability asks us to consider a host of nonfinancial issues in […]

• High construction costs due to complex radia­tion containment systems and procedures. • High subsidies needed for construction and operation, as well as loan guarantees. • Subsidies and investment could be spent on other solutions (such as renewable energy sys­tems). • High-known risks in an accident. • Unknown risks. • Long construction time. • Target […]

• Lower carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) released into the atmosphere in power generation. • Low operating costs (relatively). • Known, developed technology “ready” for market. • Large power-generating capacity able to meet industrial and city needs (as opposed to low – power technologies like solar that might meet only local, residential, or office […]

Environmental criteria are usually both easier to measure and easier to address than social issues—if only because the emotion and ambi­guity surrounding most social issues aren’t part of the picture. Environmental issues are often measured and addressed in terms of materi­als and energy use (both amount and type of each). There is often little disagreement […]

But how does one value social issues? How do you measure the financial benefit of saving a life or not causing pain to an animal? And should you? Even in purely financial terms (such as calculating the lifetime earning capac­ity for a Nigerian child saved from a disease), these approaches ignore the emotional, ethical, and […]