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Sustainability refers to the ability of a society to maintain a healthy environment, healthy social life and strong economy without depleting natural resources. It is the perfect balance between human activity and ecology and achieving better standards of living among he community.  There are different measures than can be taken to determine how sustainable a community is. Maintaining sustainability however requires careful monitoring as well as constant assessment to ensure that progress is made. The triple bottom line concept is one such means of following through on sustainability efforts.

How it works

Triple bottom line, also referred to as TBL or 3tbl, refers to the three dimensions of sustainability which are the ecology, society and economy. Every decision based on the triple bottom line must impact on the three aspects of sustainability. Let us explore the three aspects in detail to understand how they contribute to ecological sustainability.

Ecology

Ecology has everything to do with the planet and all the natural resources found in it.  Sustainability efforts made to keep the planet safer include non-exposure of the environment to harmful substances. This includes using proper waste disposal methods which ensures that all pollutants are completely destroyed. It includes use of proper sewerage and solid disposal systems.

Maintenance of a greener environment is achieved through planting of trees in open spaces. Another action to keep the environment green is through preservation of natural habitats. This has two advantages: the first one is that it creates a balance between the exchange of unclean used up gas and clean oxygen released from the plants. The second way in which it is beneficial is that it enables continuity of animal life, whose habitat is in the wild.

Society

Sustainable communities are formed through a series of societal changes.  For sustainability to be attained, living standards in communities have to be favorable. This means there has to be provision of basic social services that every person needs. This includes things like education and health services. Accessibility to these facilities matters a lot too because it does not help to provide amenities but due to the distance between them and the community, only a few of the community members have access to them.

A sense of belonging is very vital in a community as it gives meaning to life and builds self-worth. If this is missing in a community, then members will not be proud of their heritage and will therefore not think much about improving their well being. The same can be said of trust. Trust has to exist in a society for people to be able to open up to each other and help one another. A sense of freedom is also important, as it frees people to think and pursue their area of interest in career, education and other vocations.

Economy

True ecological sustainability is achieved when the economy is finally stable enough. When members of sustainable communities are earning comfortable incomes, they can then think of working towards improving their surroundings.