Deep Reporting
Degrees of
Sustainability
Why a non-financial corporate ledger is
conceptually similar to traditional bookkeeping.
By Mark W. McElroy and Jo van Engelen
We are all accustomed to hearing people refer to human behaviors as being more or less sustainable, such as the phrase: Using compact
fluorescent light bulbs is more sustainable than using incandescent ones. But given the binary property of sustainability discussed in our
previous pieces this comparative construct is not always appropriate, much less true. Using less fossil-fuel-based energy, for example,
might not in the strictest sense of the term be more sustainable. Instead it might only be less unsustainable. What do we mean by this?
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CR MAGAZINE | MAY/JUNE 2013