The word “sustainable” gets used a lot these days, in many different contexts – and applied to many different things – sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, sustainable industry, sustainable community…look at almost any system that involves an exchange or transfer of energy utilized by, or initiated by humans and the question “Is it sustainable?” can be applied to it.

In its most basic form, “sustainable” as defined by the North American Encarta dictionary, means “able to continue.” In its oft-used environmental meaning it refers to the potential longevity of vital ecological life-support systems, such as the planet’s climactic system, as well as systems of forestry, industry, agriculture, and fisheries that utilize the bounty of the earth’s ecological systems for the benefit of humans.When we use this word at Sustainable Nantucket – we use it in its largest and most encompassing sense: we apply it to our community as a whole.

At Sustainable Nantucket, our mission is “to preserve the community character of Nantucket while sustaining its economic and environmental vitality.”In order to further this mission, we look at all three aspects of a sustainable community: our economy, our society/culture, and our environment, and keeping in mind that these aspects are all interdependent, we identify pressing needs that fall within these areas, and develop and implement programs with actionable initiatives and measurable, achievable results in order to address those needs.

The support of our members is vital to our ability to pursue our mission and accomplish our objectives. Please consider joining us by becoming a member of Sustainable Nantucket and/or volunteering your time to help with an event, program or project.