ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

In February 1998, then-Governor Hunt held an Emerging Issues Forum that focused on sustainable development issues concerning the state. This conference inspired the Governor to address sustainability in state government. In August 1998, Hunt hosted a follow-up conference of state agencies to kick off a state government sustainability initiative called NC Project Green. As part of this initiative each state agency, including DENR, developed departmental sustainability plans in the first quarter of 1999. In April 1999, the Governor’s Office worked with DENR’s Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance to develop a State Government Environmental Sustainability Plan.

A departmental Sustainability Team was created to put in place the DENR plan, and the team mailed letters to Division Directors and all DENR employees announcing the formation of the Sustainability Team.

DENR SUSTAINABILITY TEAM…

The sustainability team consists of representatives from all of DENR’s divisions. After a year of hard work, it published the department's sustainability report. The report includes information on the success of department-wide initiatives and recommendations on how the department can further promote and implement sustainability in DENR. The sustainability team is now in the process of implementing several of the recommendations. Click here to see what projects we are working on or have already completed. 

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

Many people ask what sustainability means. Below is the definition that the DENR sustainability team uses. 

"Environmental sustainability is the act of working toward minimizing the environmental impacts of daily activities and projects, with a goal of having no environmental impact at all." 

OTHER SUSTAINABILITY DEFINITIONS...

"Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." 

"Sustainable development meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations."  

United Nations Commission, 1987

"I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."  

Theodore Roosevelt, c. 1902

"Then I say the earth belongs to each…[yet] no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence."  

Thomas Jefferson, 1789

"Meeting present needs without compromising future generations' of their ability to meet their own while integrating environmental protection, economic, and social concerns." 

"Sustainability supports current uses while safeguarding future needs." 

"Sustainability is a line of improvements to current ways of doing things that will allow doing a job better, smarter, and cheaper with less waste of resources, to a point that the job can be done well without any loss of resources."