Which Is Most Sustainable? Using Everyday Objects to Examine Trade-Offs Among the “Three Pillars” of Sustainability

Abstract

In everyday conversation, the term “sustainability” is used so frequently and in so many different contexts that, for some, it has lost precise meaning. For others, it simply means environmental sustainability. Because of its conceptual fuzziness, it is important for students to carefully think about what they mean when they say something is “sustainable.” The activity described in this chapter introduces students to the “three-pillar” conceptualization of sustainability that includes social, economic, and environmental aspects. It also illustrates the difficulty of operationalizing this concept, especially when weighing potential trade-offs among these three pillars. Through ranking and discussion of a number of common household items, this activity encourages students to articulate their assumptions about what makes something more or less sustainable and challenges them to think about sustainability in a multifaceted way. After completing the activity, students should be able to (1) explain the “three-pillar” concept of sustainability, (2) question their previous assumptions about the meaning of sustainability, (3) articulate their own analysis of why an object is or is not sustainable, and (4) describe the difficulty of weighing potential trade-offs among social, environmental, and economic aspects of an object’s sustainability.

Electronic Supplemental Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

2_McKendry_ESM-A (DOCX 21 kb)