Sustainagility

Sustainagility, the properties of a system that allow actors to sustain agility, has been introduced as the complement of sustainability. Operational criteria and indicators of sustainability, tend to focus on 'persistence', while change and agility may at a longer time frame contribute more to high-level sustainability goals. When applied to climate change, a sustainagility focus can bridge 'adaptation' and 'mitigation' approaches.

Sustainagility is also the title of a book written by Patrick Dixon and Johan Gorecki, published by Kogan Page in May 2010. It describes how "smart innovation and agile business will help protect our future". Patrick Dixon is Chairman of Global Change Ltd, has been described as a Futurist, and is author of 12 other books including Futurewise and Building a Better Business. Johan Gorecki is an entrepreneur and Founder of Globe Forum, which organizes regular conferences across Europe, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and government to solve sustainability challenges.

Chapters in Sustainagility cover:

Climate change threat – why cost is the number one issue. The speed of innovation and the $40 trillion green technology boom. Alternative power generation: wind, solar, wave, water, thermal. Future of carbon-based power generation including methane and biofuels. Smart power use, new power grids and nuclear power. Future of transport: cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships, logistics. Future of manufacturing and green IT. Solving the water crisis and protecting rain forests. Feeding the world and protecting the oceans. How open innovation and crowdsourcing is accelerating technology development. Financing the green tech boom: carbon trading, carbon taxes and other issues. Practical steps that individuals, business leaders and governments can take now.

Brief extract from book:

"We already have all the basic technologies, methods, products and processes we need to solve global warming, feed the world, provide health for all, conserve scarce resources, rebuild rain forests and secure the future of our planet. New methods will be even better, but the main problem now is not lack of technology, nor lack of political will, nor careless consumers. The central issue is price. If green ways of doing things were cheaper and easier than non-green, no force on earth could possibly prevent the stampede of humankind to make it happen. Market forces and agile, innovative business will bring almost all the changes we so urgently need, so long as people know what can be done, the price is right, and governments act together in a responsible way. The greater the cost-savings, the faster it will happen."