Economy

These are the three pillars of sustainability.

Every business affects stakeholders: employees, customers, owners, neighbors, and anyone impacted by how a product is made, used, and disposed of. This full impact—from creation to end of life—is called a product’s lifecycle.

In a circular economy, products and services are designed to be reused, repaired, or repurposed so they create ongoing value rather than waste. If a product damages people or the environment during its lifecycle, or cannot be safely reused at the end of its life, it should not be produced. Businesses must take responsibility for pollution and partner with others to turn waste into resources—or they should not operate.

Public dollars should support jobs and products that improve our lives and environment, such as renewable materials, not toxic plastics that pollute water and soil and never truly break down.

A business that does not pay a livable wage undermines itself: employees cannot meet their needs or afford the goods and services the economy depends on. Likewise, a business that overuses resources or poisons air, water, or soil destroys the very systems that sustain its workforce, customers, and long-term success.