This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on March 9th, 2010.
The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:
Sustainability is something we hear a lot about these days; people are becoming increasingly conscious of how the decisions we make today will have an impact on our future, environmentally, financially and socially.
But what is the best way for a community to tackle such a broad issue? Over the next few weeks, the city’s new business network, Sustainable Saint John, will meet with current and potential members to discuss the issue of sustainibility and identify the best ways for the network to proceed.
“The city can’t do this on its own, so we have to think how do you mobilize the entire community to promote this theme of sustainability,” says deputy city manager Andrew Beckett.
Charting the Path Forward is a two-part workshop event that will examine the key success factors for the network and the best course of action to ensure the factors are met.
Sustainable Saint John is a regional network launched in 2009 by the city’s environment committee, with support from the province’s Environmental Trust Fund and in partnership with the Saint John Board of Trade. The network was formed as a result of feedback from Saint Johners expressing the need to think and act sustainably by balancing the community’s economic, environmental and social needs. Recent community initiatives such as Vision 2015 have articulated this vision for a sustainable community.
“We started to develop the tool kit about a year ago, and there was a great level of interest from the local communities and great stories exchanged between local businesses on how they were promoting sustainability,” Beckett said.
The Sustainable Saint John Business Toolkit was developed to help businesses and organizations create their own sustainable action plan.
“Sustainability is an issue that is gaining momentum across the country,” said Saint John Board of Trade president Imelda Gilman on the business group’s partnership with the Sustainable Saint John network.
“The business case for sustainability is very strong. We look forward to playing a supportive role and helping to promote it to our members and other businesses in the Greater Saint John area.”
In a community like ours, it is crucial that both environment and social sustainability be taken into consideration. Getting businesses and organizations committed by way of an official network gives them the means to share resources, feedback and new ideas that will ensure the city remains on a course that will not simply see us sustain ourselves, but prosper in the future.
Sustainable Saint John’s Charting the Path Forward workshops will take place March 16 and March 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lily Lake Pavilion.
Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtpr.ca.
