 What is sustainability? In natural terms, it's the ability of a system to maintain its own viability, or endure without giving way, or to use resources so they're not depleted or permanently damaged. Up until the mid-1980s, sustainability wasn't thought of, really, outside of the context of an ecosystem. But that began to change, slowly, unfortunately, and the United Nations provided a new context for the term sustainability, that of dealing with human existence. In fact, it wasn't really until the 1980s that people began thinking of humanity and the planet in terms of an expiration date. When businesses emphasize sustainability, old-school thinking of the bottom line gives way to new-school thinking about the triple bottom line. The triple bottom line focuses on profits for sure, but also in terms of its impact on people and the planet. Long-term success will only happen when all three areas are considered when making business decisions. The Industrial Revolution really began the cycle of manufacturing with little regard to anything but the bottom line. At the time, who could blame them? The air was clean, water was pure and plentiful, land, timber, minerals, and other natural resources were so abundant that sustainable business environment seemed unnecessary. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. economy has been focused heavily on consumerism, convenience, and disposability. Food became fast. Buying a house, car, and other creature comforts became entitlements. And before we're too critical of this generation, the greatest generation, let's not forget that the end of World War II also ended the Great Depression. Overindulgence might be expected from those who lived through those times. In the past 30 years, and especially the past 10 years, there has been a big movement towards sustainable business models. Many businesses have stopped fighting pressures to be more environmentally friendly and now working to embrace it. But why? What or who caused the change? Well, you did. Or your generation at least. Millennials are the largest, most diverse population in the U.S. Millennials value community, family, and creativity in their work. Millennials are better educated than prior generations. Millennials are more health conscious, more brand loyal. Millennials are also concerned about the environment, and they expect more from, well, everyone and everything. So your generation, both as consumers and employees, are driving the change towards sustainability. The traditional linear economy of take, make, and dispose is giving way to a circular economy of make, use, and return. Finally, sustainability has caused businesses to do a life cycle assessment where the triple bottom line is reviewed at each phase of the product life cycle. This is known as cradle to grave approach, but the overall goal is cradle to cradle. And that concludes this introduction to sustainability.