I define sustainability as “the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources and promote human equality in order to maintain and social and ecological balance.” The concept of interdependence ties into this because sustainability is also holistic. Sustainability interconnects with Diversity, Equity and inclusion because sustainable development goals need to be achieved with solidarity and inclusivity. It is important to keep sustainability movements diverse in order to promote change for everyone and have them prosper with the assistance of equitable knowleadge.
@Maddy- Thanks for this. It’s great to see your thinking evolve. I will be interested to see how your definition might change after the diversity, equity and inclusion workshop. Pay particular attention to the focus on equality versus equity and think about how those words play into this definition you have created. Thanks for your participation in our workshop and for your work in sustainability at Dickinson.
Good insights Maddy. Two complementary ways of thinking about diversity, equity and inclusion in context with sustainability are (i) they are intrinsically valuable as characteristics of the types of sustainable communities we aspire to create and (ii) they are sources of strength that contribute to greater community resilience and greater community capacity to support the wellbeing of community members. Diversity, equity and inclusion are necessary if our communities are to prosper.