Sustainable farming practices

Sustainable development and the effective management of environmental impacts have become key goals for policy action at global and local levels. Sustainable wood products like FSC Ipe are gaining increased attention from homeowners and the business community. Sustainable agriculture is not just a buzz phrase in countries like Australia, but rather is essential business.

Sustainable supply chains are an integral part of a rapidly growing trend that is transforming businesses around the world. Supply chains are critical links that connect an organisation's inputs to its outputs. Sustainable supply chain efforts are a defining feature of a serious environmental commitment. Sustainable home building pursues two broad themes: construction using environmentally friendly materials and the most efficient use of energy that is possible.

A sustainable farm has to be able to produce food without depleting the natural resources required to grow more produce in the future.　 As practices have evolved and knowledge about sustainable farming practices have expanded farmers have become aware that they are responsible for much more than their crops and animals.　 Where once farmers grazed animals, today sustainable livestock farmers think about themselves as managing three living ecosystems: their animals; the grass and groundcover that animals need to eat to survive and the soils which ultimately is the most important element to manage.　 Without good soil health sustainable farming can not exist.　 If soil health is depleted the grass or crops won't grow as well.　 Environmental degradation on the farm and in the surrounding areas is also a reality if soil health is not a focus of sustainable farming.　 Without good soil health the structure of the soil can be compromised leading to dust storms and also run off of top soil in heavy rains into waterways. The most sustainable building, community or landscape is often the one that already exists. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) encourages a shift from viewing education as a delivery mechanism to a lifelong, holistic and inclusive learning process.

Thus there is a vital need to integrate the physical and social design of communities if we are to create communities that are both environmentally and socially sustainable. While new green building technology offers promise for reducing the environmental harms caused by new construction, traditional building practices provide a wealth of sustainable design solutions that are premised on sensitivity to local conditions, careful siting and planning, and longterm durability, all of which provide essential models for the future. Many companies can learn from PUMA's leadership. PUMA has added value to its offering by changing its corporate mission from the most 'desirable' sporting brand, to 'desirable AND sustainable.' Once accused of having low labor standards, Puma is now emphasizing transparency and using supply chain reporting as a central part of its strategy to become the most sustainable sport-lifestyle company in the world. 　 Walmart and HP are　also leveraging their buying power to increase sustainability throughout their supply chains.In this series of four columns I will discuss the concept of social sustainability, the implications for urban design and planning, the "new economics" of environmentally and socially sustainable communities, and the integration of these concepts in a human development strategy. Sustainability on the Shelves: A Guide for Category Managers and Buyers is a valuable tool and resource to help food retail buyers and category managers respond to both their company's and customers' demand for more sustainable products in specific retail categories. We can help our clients to capitalise on any opportunity to retain their existing customers or to build their customer base whilst ensuring their direct mail campaigns are commercially viable, measurably successful and environmentally sustainable.

Equally, while there is much that can be done on the "design" of the soft infrastructure of the community to ensure its social sustainability, the physical design of the community can make it either easier or more difficult for communities to be socially sustainable. Irrigation is somewhat of a polarising subject, particularly in areas of water scarcity.　 There are concerns that water is being diverted from its natural course, which has environmental impacts downstream.　 However others argue that without irrigation in some parts of the world that sustainable agriculture would not be possible.　 The debate is slowly moving towards finding a point where both objectives can be met to deliver sustainable agriculture and sustainable river and water systems downstream from where the agriculture irrigation is occurring.