Sustainability
WIXENERGY Sustainability
hanging our relationship with energy is crucial – as families look to take control of their energy at home; businesses work to reduce their emissions and their bills; and cities and governments try to transform how they use and manage energy – from electrifying public transport to helping bring more renewables onto the grid.
  • The definition of “sustainability" is the study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance. It also acknowledges that human civilization takes resources to sustain our modern way of life.
  • There are countless examples throughout human history where a civilization has damaged its own environment and seriously affected its own survival chances.
  • There are countless examples throughout human history where a civilization has damaged its own environment and seriously affected its own survival chances.
  • We now live in a modern, consumerist and largely urban existence throughout the developed world and we consume a lot of natural resources every day. In our urban centres, we consume more power than those who live in rural settings and urban centres use a lot more power than average, keeping our streets and civic buildings lit, to power our appliances, our heating and other public and household power requirements.
  • That's not to say that sustainable living should only focus on people who live in urban centres though, there are improvements to be made everywhere – it is estimated that we use about 40% more resources every year than we can put back and that needs to change.
  • Sustainability and sustainable development focus on balancing that fine line between competing needs – our need to move forward technologically and economically, and the needs to protect the environments in which we and others live. Sustainability is not just about the environment, it's also about our health as a society in ensuring that no people or areas of life suffer as a result of environmental legislation, and it's also about examining the longer term effects of the actions humanity takes and asking questions about how it may be improved
THE THREE PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY
These “pillars" in many national standards and certification schemes, form the backbone of tackling the core areas that the world now faces.  We must consider the future then, in making our decisions about the present.

SUSTAINABILITY

Economic Development

This is the issue that proves the most problematic as most people disagree on political ideology what is and is not economically sound, and how it will affect businesses and by extension, jobs and employability. It is also about providing incentives for businesses and other organisations to adhere to sustainability guidelines beyond their normal legislative requirements.

Also, to encourage and foster incentives for the average person to do their bit where and when they can; one person can rarely achieve much, but taken as a group, effects in some areas are cumulative. The supply and demand market is consumerist in nature and modern life requires a lot of resources every single day for the sake of the environment, getting what we consume under control is the paramount issue.

Economic development is about giving people what they want without compromising quality of life, especially in the developing world, and reducing the financial burden and “red tape” of doing the right thing.

SUSTAINABILITY

Social Development

There are many facets to this pillar. Most importantly is awareness of and legislation protection of the health of people from pollution and other harmful activities of business and other organisations. In North America, Europe and the rest of the developed world, there are strong checks and programmes of legislation in place to ensure that people's health and wellness is strongly protected. It is also about maintaining access to basic resources without compromising the quality of life.

The biggest hot topic for many people right now is sustainable housing and how we can better build the homes we live in from sustainable material. The final element is education – encouraging people to participate in environmental sustainability and teaching them about the effects of environmental protection as well as warning of the dangers if we cannot achieve our goals.

SUSTAINABILITY

Environmental
Protection

We all know what we need to do to protect the environment, whether that is recycling, reducing our power consumption by switching electronic devices off rather than using standby, by walking short journeys instead of taking the bus. Businesses are regulated to prevent pollution and to keep their own carbon emissions low.

There are incentives to installing renewable power sources in our homes and businesses. Environmental protection is the third pillar and to many, the primary concern of the future of humanity. It defines how we should study and protect ecosystems, air quality, integrity and sustainability of our resources and focusing on the elements that place stress on the environment.