The earth’s risk profile is changing. Global warming / Climate change is now a recognized real risk to human welfare. The world has taken cognizance of this risk.

Across the world, policymakers, businesses, scientists, nongovernment organizations and sundry others including environmental enthusiasts continue to debate risk reduction strategies including ‘Reduce, Recycle, Reuse’ ideas. The ‘Triple bottom line’ approach of yore (people, planet, profit) has given way to a new paradigm.

Sustainability has become a buzzword especially after the United Nations adopted. Sustainable Development Goals 2030 in September 2015 and set 17 goals to be achieved in a 15-year period.

Broadly, the goals seek to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Importantly, in order to arrest the adverse impact of climate change, world leaders are now keen to advance ‘de-carbonization’ and ‘green energy transition’ to reduce carbon emissions from polluting fossil fuels and promote non-polluting renewable energy.

The word ‘sustainability’ or ‘sustainable’ is often used in a manner that constricts its real scope and meaning. Sustainable practices are generally used in a sense to convey actions intended for environmental protection that may include preserving biodiversity, not polluting the atmosphere, reducing carbon footprint, saving water, rational or optimal use of finite resources, and so on.

At ERTF (Economic Research and Training Foundation, Mumbai) we continue to assert that sustainability has meaning or connotation far greater than mere environment protection although such protection is a critical component of sustainable practices.

Sustainability is a multi-dimensional and multi-generational concept. It is possible to apply the concept of ‘sustainability’ and the word ‘sustainable’ to a host of activities covering, for example, government policies and programs, business plans, industrial projects, investments, and indeed, life as such.

It is important to ascertain whether a policy, program, business plan, project or investment is sustainable. This is because resources are committed from a long-term perspective.

The moot question is: What is sustainability? The word lends itself to several interpretations and explanations. Instead of seeking to define the word that’s imbued with multi-dimensional meaning, we believe, it is more sensible to test or ascertain whether a policy, program, business or investment is sustainable.

How does one test or ascertain sustainability? We at ERTF have developed a test to ascertain sustainability called the ‘ERTF 7-way Sustainability Test’. It is also called STEEPLE test, for short.

As said earlier, sustainability is multidimensional. Each one of the seven letters in S.T.E.E.P.L.E stands for a particular dimension or aspect of sustainability.

The STEEPLE test:

• Social
• Technological
• Environmental
• Economic
• Political
• Legal
• Ethical

To ascertain sustainability of a subject matter (policy, program, project, investment, business, life, anything), one must apply this 7-way test to the subject matter.

The question to ask is whether the subject matter is: • Socially relevant?

• Technologically feasible?
• Environmentally friendly?
• Economically viable?
• Politically acceptable?
• Legally unassailable? and importantly,
• Ethically right?

If the answer to each one of the seven dimensions or aspects of sustainability is in the positive, then there is a high degree of probability that the subject matter (policy, project, investment, business) may be sustainable from a long-term perspective.

If the answer to even one is in the negative, the subject matter risks not being sustainable in the long run.

While the response is binary – Yes or No - it needs to be measured; and what can be measured can be improved. So, metrics are currently under development and it is a complex exercise.

Costs and benefits have to be measured. For example, social relevance will have to be examined for social costs and social benefits. Likewise, economic viability will have to be measured for benefits and costs.

By no means is the aforesaid test the last word on sustainability; but it provides a good framework to test whether something is sustainable or otherwise.

Because it involves public money, every policy, plan, program and outlay of the government must be subjected to STEEPLE Test to examine its sustainability.

Take agriculture for example. Because agriculture has multiple linkages – social, environmental, economic and political to name a few – it is imperative that government policies and programs are drawn up in a manner that advance the sustainability principle and promote sustainable practices.

If we as a nation are keen to genuinely advance the idea of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, contribution of the farm sector and farmers is critical. Agriculture must enjoy sustained growth in a sustainable manner. Our policies have to ensure equity and inclusivity.

We need a long-term national farm policy with regionally differentiated strategies as natural resource endowments vary from region to region.

Finally, sustainability is not a concept alien to our country. The term is ‘Shaashvat’ (शाश्वत), loosely translated as eternal or permanent. But the term is loaded with a lot more meaning including the idea of sustainability.

(ERTF (www.imcertf.com) is a Mumbai based registered charitable trust dedicated to promoting economic research and training.)