At Staiy, we preach progress over perfection. We want to make living life easier and more comfortable, but at the same time, more sustainable in as many simplified ways we can. The word “sustainability” has come to mean a myriad of concepts and practices geared toward making virtually every aspect of life, environment, resources, and the planet more sustainable for future generations. That being said, we can affirm that being sustainable is a way of life that makes sure anything we do at present doesn’t take away anything from our future.

Many natural resources are finite. The way we use them to produce products, energy, food, and other necessities must be evaluated in terms of how best to preserve nature. That's why sustainability is a direction that we need to pursue to make sure whatever we do can be maintained at the same rate, as it is right now, when we project it into the future. If you’re interested in learning like us, keep in touch with our weekly column “Your Guide To Sustainability” and learn step by step what sustainability is. In our introduction, we advise some basics to pack for your upcoming journey towards sustainability.

The Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda rest on an architecture which can be described as “hybrid multilateralism”, as it splices together state and non-state actions both in the state defined contributions to the agreements as well as in the efforts initiated by UN organizations to orchestrate actions to reach the goals of the agreements.

Their implementation is based on countries identifying, and subsequently acting and reporting on their own priorities, while non-state actors are formally expected to participate in overseeing and facilitating the implementation.

The motivations behind sustainability are often complex, personal and diverse. It is unrealistic to create a list of reasons why so many individuals, groups and communities are working towards this goal. Yet, for most people, sustainability comes down to the kind of future we are leaving for the next generation. Sustainability as a value is shared by many individuals and organizations who demonstrate this value in their policies, everyday activities and behaviors. Individuals have played a major role in developing our current environmental and social circumstances.

There is no escaping the fact that almost all of our human activity today is unsustainable. Whether we talk about fossil fuel consumption, or if we talk about the deforestation happening around. The excessive fishing, mining, wastage of food and water, pollution or extinction, all are unsustainable. And not only unsustainable, the rates are accelerating.

By saying this, we imply that proliferation of substances and resources also occurs naturally, but it is the speed and size of this change in the system that our consumption causes, which is unnatural and unsustainable.

While thinking about sustainability, we need to think about not just the humans but every being which forms a part of it. Every being has a role to play in the world ecosystem and losing even one species is a loss.

One of the best analogies which we can use here to understand the importance of every single being on this planet is through the dramatic decline in global bee population. Massive decline in honey bee populations was first reported in 2006–07. Experts were perplexed on what made this happen. Honey bees are responsible for most of the efforts for pollination of plants and trees. This meant an unsustainable decline in the bee populations worldwide would result in massive food shortages. The US alone is looking at a recurring average loss of 30% yearly in managed bee colonies. These are the bee colonies professional beekeepers manage for various purposes like the production of honey, for renting out to fruit and vegetable farmers for pollination, and for industries like beeswax and so on. Needless to say, it is just one of the many contributors to a complex system called nature. And the involvement of every single species is a priority. And a need for sustainability.

The shift is a challenge, but it also brings new opportunities in infrastructure, energy and production in their adaptation to fit the circular economy model. The goal is to throw nothing away and to reduce the need for purchasing new commodities, while production and transportation is best achieved with renewable energy. Some business models are easier than others to begin with, such as the leasing of products instead of buying (everything from jeans to trucks), companies which collect and renovate their own products and then sell them in the store in a separate department or peer-to-peer models. Companies will find new ways to extend the life of products or components, to find value in the waste, or the design of circular use. In broad terms, sustainable development is a process that aims for human well-being and economic development, whilst ensuring that ecological systems are in balance. To successfully achieve this necessary and challenging change, it is vitally important for everyone to take responsibility and do what is possible from their perspective.

Here at Staiy, we will provide a great series of articles that will help you to get connected with this vital topic, ranging from green economy, circular economy, SDGs, planetary boundaries and so on.

In the end, it is all about encouraging the next generations to think and design in a sustainable way as well as using circular business systems to build a better future.