Background and Motivation
Two series of events crystallized some of the problems surrounding the
sustainable community movement and provided the motivation for this report. The
first series was the development and initial implementation of the National
Environmental Technology Strategy. From summer 1994 through spring 1995 the
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)[2] sponsored a
series of policy workshops, broader symposia, and a White House Conference on
Environmental Technology to gain stakeholder input into the development of the
Bridge to a Sustainable Future: National Environmental Technology
Strategy.[3] More than 10,000 participants from industry,
environmental groups, academia, and state and local governments attended over 30
events held throughout the country. From participant input at these many events,
the theme of sustainable communities emerged. Since then, more and more
communities in the United States and throughout the world are conducting some
sort of sustainability project.
Three points emerged from analyzing this development and implementation process and ongoing community efforts. First, in spite of the author's skepticism about the existence of a sustainable community movement, the response to the process of developing and implementing the national strategy and the range of community activities made it clear that such a movement exists, albeit in a diffuse and uncoordinated form. Second, it became clear that considerable confusion surrounds the definition of terms related to sustainability, particularly "sustainable community." Each community uses a slightly different definition and some use a different term altogether. However, their activities have many elements in common. The differences in terms are especially confusing to people who are just learning about such activities. Third, it became clear that many of the communities involved in sustainability activities are unaware of what other communities are doing along the same lines.
The second series of events was the NPPR conferences. The same confusion about the meaning of the term "sustainable community" was observed at these conferences. Furthermore, there was a lack of understanding about the relationship between sustainable community activities and pollution prevention activities. At the same time, many P2 practitioners and sustainable community practitioners were using P2 as a building block in their sustainable community activities. There appeared to be many potential benefits for P2 professionals from sustainable community activities and synergism between the two types of activities. There also was more and more interest in sustainability among P2 practitioners and others who view community relationships and challenges in a holistic manner. For these reasons, there seemed to be a need for a document providing sustainable community information for the P2 practitioner.[4]
Objectives of This Report
This report defines the term "sustainable community" to help dispel some of the
confusion about such community efforts. It describes a range of sustainable
community activities to help provide communities with more information about what
others are doing. It also identifies benefits for P2 practitioners and provides
reference material about sustainable communities for supporters of P2, including
information about resources, documents, and points of contact.[5]
How the Report Is Organized
The next chapter presents working definitions for sustainability and the
sustainable community and describes the "movement." To help set the context for
how such initiatives are created and implemented, Chapter Three discusses basic
elements in the sustainable community process, such as their development and
organizational focuses. Then the report describes the sources of resources
available for sustainable community projects in Chapter Four. Next, Chapter Five
offers four examples of specific community sustainability efforts. Chapter Six
provides a brief overview of the relationship between sustainable community
activities and P2 activities. This chapter also provides suggestions for taking
action, namely, how P2 promoters can use sustainable community activities to
enhance their own efforts. Chapter Seven provides a brief conclusion.
The report also contains an annotated bibliography that provides points of contact (POC), WWW page addresses, and documents about sustainable community activities. These references were chosen as a small sample of the many different resources available about sustainable communities.
[2] NSTC, a cabinet-level council, is the principal means for the President to coordinate science, space, and technology policies across the federal government.
[3] Bridge to a Sustainable Future: National Environmental Technology Strategy, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., April 1995. To obtain a copy of this document, call 1-800-ENV-6676 or access on the World Wide Web (WWW) at: http://www.gnet.org/gnet/gov/usgov/whitehouse/bridge/bridge.htm.
[4] Throughout this report, the term "P2 practitioner" is used to refer to state and local government officials as well as other individuals supporting, promoting, and/or practicing pollution prevention. However, other individuals with interests in sustainability and P2 can also be considered P2 practitioners by this definition, since the term is meant to capture those who have any interest in integrating P2 practices and sustainable community efforts.
[5] The information provided here was accurate to the best of the author's knowledge when the document was published. However, some of the information, such as the WWW page addresses, may have changed since its publication. Please contact the author with any corrections or additions. The author welcomes any additional input about sustainable community activities and references.