The New Sustainable Frontier:

Principles of Sustainable Development

Jonathan Herz, AIA, LEED AP

GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy
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Real Property Sustainable Development Guide (2000)

“Our Common Future” (1987)
The Brundtland Commission
“Sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs. It contains within it two
key concepts:
 the concept of 'needs', in particular the
essential needs of the world's poor, to which
overriding priority should be given; and,
 the idea of limitations imposed by the state
of technology and social organization on the
environment's ability to meet present and future
needs.”
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Real Property Sustainable Development Guide (2000)

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (1997)
"Sustainable development involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic
prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. Companies aiming for
sustainability need to perform not against a single, financial bottom line, but against
[this] triple bottom line."

Ecology

McDonough Braungart
Design Protocol™

Equity Economy
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Sustainable Development and Society (2004)

 Respect
 Well-being
 Quality of Life
“Neither we, nor any other people, will
ever be respected till we respect
ourselves and we will never respect
ourselves till we have the means to live
respectfully.”
Frederick Douglass, 1881
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Life cycle cost-effectiveness

Life Cycle Cost Analysis & Life Cycle Assessment

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Some history

“The immense mineral resources of some of

those Territories ought to be developed as
rapidly as possible… It is worthy of your serious
consideration whether some extraordinary
measures to promote that end can not be
adopted...”

Abraham Lincoln, addressing Congress, 1862

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Some more history

“The conservation of our natural
resources and their proper use
constitute the fundamental problem
which underlies almost every other
problem of our National life... We
must show foresight...
“As a nation we not only enjoy a
wonderful measure of present
prosperity but if this prosperity is
used aright it is an earnest of future
success such as no other nation will
have.”
- Theodore Roosevelt, 1907
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Even more history

“… Our conservation must be not just the classic

conservation of protection and development, but a creative
conservation of restoration and innovation. Its concern is
not with nature alone, but with the total relation between
man and the world around him. Its object is not just man's
welfare but the dignity of man's spirit.”
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965

“We still think of air as free. But clean air is not free, and
neither is clean water. The price tag on pollution control is
high. Through our years of past carelessness we incurred
a debt to nature, and now that debt is being called.”
Richard Nixon, 1970
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The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

“The Congress, recognizing the profound impact of
man's activity on the interrelations of all components
of the natural environment… [and] the critical
importance of restoring and maintaining
environmental quality to the overall welfare and
development of man, declares that it is the continuing
policy of the Federal Government… to create and
maintain conditions under which man and nature can
exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social,
economic, and other requirements of present and
future generations of Americans.”
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Social and environmental legislation
 National Historic Preservation Act 6
 Clean Air Act (CAA)
 Clean Water Act (CWA)
 Superfund (CERCLA)
 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
 Endangered Species Act (ESA)
 Energy Policy Act
 From Environmental Health Risks and
Safety Risks EO 13123
 EO 12898: Environmental Justice
 Safe Drinking Water Act
 EO 13045: Protection of Children
 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(FFDCA)
• Occupational Safety and
Health (OSHA)
• Pollution Prevention Act (PPA)
• Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA)
• Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act
(EPCRA)
• Government Performance and
Results Act
• Chief Financial Officers and
Accountability for Tax Dollars
Acts
• Energy Policy Act of 2005
• Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD)
Act
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Economic decision-making
Logrolling - The trading of
influence or votes among
legislators to achieve passage of
projects that are of interest to one
another.

Cost Benefit Analysis and Circular A-

94 — promotes efficient resource
allocation through well-informed
decision making, provides general
guidance for conducting benefit-cost
and cost-effectiveness analyses.
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Economic decision-making: LCCA and LCA

LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS (LCCA) - “The cost of a capital

asset is its full life-cycle cost, including all direct and indirect costs
for planning, procurement… operations and maintenance… and
disposal.” OMB Circular A-11, Part 7 “Capital Programming Guide”

LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) - “LCCA should be applied

within a life-cycle assessment framework that accounts for both
the costs over the asset life and the environmental consequences
of investment decisions on upstream (e.g., extraction, production,
transportation, and construction), ongoing (e.g., health impacts on
tenants and the community), and downstream (e.g.,
decommissioning and disposal) costs.” GSA Bulletin FMR 2008-B5 –
“Real Property Asset Management Guiding Principles”
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Where are we today?

“Living Planet Report 2008”

WWF–World Wide Fund For Nature
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Where are we today?

Climate Change
Between 1970 and 2004, GHG emissions due to human activities
increased 70%, increasing water scarcity, ocean warming and
acidification, sea level rise, extreme weather, public and ecosystems
health, and national security.

Toxification of the Planet

In 2007, 253,000 Tons of
Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic
chemicals were released, including
lead, mercury, PCBs, and dioxins.
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Where are we today?

Natural Resources Depletion
The average person uses 5.7
ac of biologically productive
land, but only 4.7 ac/person
exists. We are consuming both
our natural ‘income’ and our
‘natural capital.
Unjust Distribution of Resources
• The poorest 2.3 billion (36%) get less than 3%
• The richest 1 billion (15.6%) get more than 80% (of which the
U.S. (4.7%) consumes 41%)
• The middle 3.1 billion (48.4%) get 17%.
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The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG

time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will
cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does.

The planet has been through a lot worse than

us…

The planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!

George Carlin
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Our world is a closed system

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What does “sustainable” mean?

Sustainable (adj) - Capable of being
carried on for a prolonged duration, or
for the foreseeable future.

Environmentally Sustainable World

1. Consumption of renewable resources
at a rate below their regeneration rate
or carrying capacity,
2. Consumption of non-renewable
resources at a rate below that at which
they can be replaced by renewable
substitutes,
3. Waste generation below the
ecosphere’s assimilative capacity, and,
4. Maintaining critical ecosystems that
provide essential life support.
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What do sustainable operations look like?

SUSTAINABLE SCALE
•Natural Resources Conservation
•Greenhouse Gas Reduction
•Pollution Prevention
JUST DISTRIBUTION
•Wage Rates and Occupational Safety
Standards
•Use of Mandatory Sources & Socially And
Economically Disadvantaged Small
Businesses
•Environmental Justice
EFFICIENT ALLOCATION
•Closed-World Cost Benefit, Life Cycle Cost,
and Life Cycle Analysis
•Closed-World Discounting
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Traditional Economics
The environment is a
subset of the
economy.

ECONOMY
RE
SO T E
UR AS
CE W
S

ECOSYSTEM
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Traditional Economics

Price

Supply & Demand

Equilibrium is found
Supply
between consumer and
producer in the market.

P*

Deman
d

Q* Quantity
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Traditional Economics: Market Failures

Externalities:
 Unintended consequences of economic
activity.
 Can be positive or negative
 Prevent commodities from being
produced at a socially optimal level.

The British Government’s “Stern

Report” describes Global Warming as
“The biggest market failure the world
has ever seen.” © Arne Naevra
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Traditional Economics: Market Failures

Public Goods
Government intervention necessary to
produce at optimal levels.

“The market cannot tell us how

much clean air, clean water,
healthy wetland, or healthy forests
we should have, or what risk is
acceptable when the welfare of
future generations is at stake.”

Herman E. Daly and Joshua Farley

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Traditional Economics: Market Failures

Free Rider Problem

Private and public
incentives not in line.

Tragedy of the Commons

Public resources become
overexploited.
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Traditional Economics
Environmental Economics and Resource Economics
 Branches of traditional economics
 Address environmental problems and allocation of natural
resources
 Use taxation and other market-based policy mechanisms to
correct externalities
 Seek to improve relationship between market economy and
natural world

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Traditional Economics: Limitations

Cost Benefit Analysis:
 Difficult to price environmental goods and services
 Impossible to price human lives
 Successful environmental legislation would not pass CBA test

Discounting
 Systematic devaluation of future assets.
 Based on assumption of economic growth.
 Appropriate for financial and investment considerations.
 Is it appropriate to discount natural resources?
Intergenerational costs/benefits? Human lives?
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Traditional Economics
The environment is a
subset of the
economy.

ECONOMY
RE
SO T E
UR
CE AS
W
S

ECOSYSTEM
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“Triple Bottom Line” Paradigm

“The concept of a Triple

Bottom Line in fact turns
out to be a “Good old-
fashioned Single Bottom
Line plus Vague ECONOMY
Commitments to Social
and Environmental
Concerns.” (Norman and
MacDonald, 2003)

ECOSYSTEM SOCIETY
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Conceptions of sustainability

Traditional Economics Ecological

Economics

Goal Economic Growth Ecological and

Economic System
Sustainability

Timescale Short: 50 years max, Multi-scale, extending

usually 1-4 years. eons into the future.
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The New Sustainable Paradigm

Ecological Economics
The economy exists within
the environment as a
construct of society

ECOSYSTEM

SOCIETY

ECONOMY
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Ecological economics

Principles of Ecological Economics

• Sustainable Scale
• Just Distribution
• Efficient Allocation
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Tools: backcasting

Forecasting
=> Likely development
Status Quo pathway => Outline of a likely future

Backcasting
<= Necessary development
Status Quo pathway <= Vision of a desirable future
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Tools: Multi Criteria Analysis

• Expands upon cost-benefit
analysis.
• Multi-disciplinary
• Uses qualitative as well as
quantitative measuring
scales
• Used to resolve problems
with multiple values systems
and objectives.
• Involves stakeholders directly
in decision-making.
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The new sustainable frontier

• No “free ride” on ecosystem

services
• Everyone is responsible
• Measure progress against a future
steady state
• Reconsider tools that are not
supporting a closed loop process
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Operationalizing Sustainability in the Government

Look for alternatives to consuming

natural resources and generating
waste
Know what you are buying:
• Who made it?
• What’s in it?
• Where does it go when no longer
needed?
Share the government’s vision for
sustainability with suppliers, and favor
those that support that vision
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Executive Order 13514 “Federal Leadership In

Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance”
Sustainable Scale
• increase energy efficiency
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• conserve and protect water resources
• eliminate waste, recycle, and prevent pollution
Just Distribution
• strengthen the vitality and livability communities
• support transportation planning and transportation infrastructure
• use locally generated renewable energy;
• choose pedestrian friendly sites near existing employment centers, ,
accessible to public transit
Efficient Allocation
• consider environmental measures as well as economic and social
benefits and costs in evaluating projects and activities based on
lifecycle return on investment
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Another World Is Not Possible

Let’s make the one we have: sustainable

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The New Sustainable Frontier:

Principles of Sustainable Development
Appendices
1. Operating Sustainably –
Case Studies
2. Economic Decision-Making –
An Outline of Ecological
Economics
3. The State of the World
4. The Government Mandate for
Sustainability

Jonathan Herz, AIA, LEED-AP

GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy
Washington, DC 20405
202.501.3476
Jonathan.herz@gsa.gov
www.gsa.gov/sustainabledevelopment