What does Sustainability mean to you? A great deal of the time it means the ability for your company to maintain itself for a long time.

Dictionary.com had ten definitions of sustain, but here are the two that I think most people think of when they hear the word:

• to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
• to keep up or keep going, as an action or process But in the last couple of years,

Sustainability has taken on a whole new meaning…Well sort of. Actually, it has been applied to a whole shift in American thinking, business practices, strategies and tactics, economics and governance. It’s coupled with words that normally send many of us into deep skepticism, fear and doubt. Terms, like “green”, “climate change” and “global warming”. Thankfully, sounder voices have prevailed and regardless of where you stand politically or philosophically on the issue, Sustainability is here to stay and it will effect your business. The good news is a lot of mechanisms are in place to help forge your path to a sustainable future, both in the traditional sense and in this new one.

So let’s dig a little deeper into the terminology you might hear revolving around Sustainability: energy efficiency, water conservation, recycling, green building/LEED, alternative transportation, organic agriculture/sustainable food and alternative energy. All sound big and some might even say it’s just another go around of yet another fad. But let me ask you this. Has your local government come up with green building standards? Do they offering recycling? Is your local government offering tax incentives for energy efficiency projects? When it goes on the law books it’s hard to argue that it’s just a fad. Mini-skirts – fad. Energy efficiency tax rebates – ways to make your business sustainable.

I plan to take on each issue in a separate blog. Yes, I know that much about all of it. I admit I have no life. But better yet, I will also include ideas that will help you market these strategies as you move forward. Because there is a green side to being green and that’s dollars and we could all use a little bit of that. If anyone has already taken some of these issues on I would love to hear how you have solved them.