
Sustainability
The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $21.48
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Don Hagen
-
By:
-
Kent E. Portney
About this listen
The word sustainability has been connected to everything from a certain kind of economic development to corporate promises about improved supply sourcing. But despite the apparent ubiquity of the term, the concept of sustainability has come to mean a number of specific things. In this accessible guide to the meanings of sustainability, Kent Portney describes the evolution of the idea and examines its application in a variety of contemporary contexts - from economic growth and consumption to government policy and urban planning.
Portney takes as his starting point the 1987 definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development of sustainability as economic development activity that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". At its heart, Portney explains, sustainability focuses on the use and depletion of natural resources. It is not the same as environmental protection or natural resource conservation; it is more about finding some sort of steady state, so that the Earth can support both human population and economic growth.
Portney looks at political opposition to the promotion of sustainability, which usually questions the need for sustainability or calls its costs unacceptable; collective and individual consumption of material goods and resources and to what extent they must be curtailed to achieve sustainability; the role of the private sector, and the co-opting of sustainability by corporations; government policy on sustainability at the international, national, and subnational levels; and how cities could become models for sustainability action.
©2015 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2015 Gildan Media LLCListeners also enjoyed...
-
Sustainability
- A History
- By: Jeremy L. Caradonna
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caradonna's unique and concise history broadens our understanding of what "sustainability" means, revealing how it progressed from a relatively marginal concept to an ideal that shapes everything from individual lifestyles, government and corporate strategies, and even national and international policy. For anyone seeking understand the history of those striving to make the world a better place to live, here's a place to start.
-
-
Excellent
- By marc grub on 03-06-17
-
Thinking in Systems
- A Primer
- By: Donella H. Meadows
- Narrated by: Tia Rider Sorensen
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the years following her role as the lead author of the international best seller, Limits to Growth - the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet - Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001. Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world....
-
-
Skip to the Middle
- By John Chambers on 06-20-20
-
A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership
- The Hidden Power of Ecological Worldviews
- By: Steve Schein
- Narrated by: Matt Patterson
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on interviews with 75 leaders in more than 40 multinational organizations and NGOs, the author explores how ecological worldviews are expressed in the context of global sustainability practice. By empirically grounding key theories from developmental psychology in sustainability leadership practice, the author encourages us to think about leadership in a different way.
-
-
One of the best books I've ever listened to.
- By Vic Akemann on 11-28-19
By: Steve Schein
-
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
- The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
- By: Bill Gates
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Bill Gates
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Gates shares what he's learned in more than a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address the problems, and sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions. Bill Gates explains why he cares so deeply about climate change and what makes him optimistic that the world can avoid the most dire effects of the climate crisis. Gates says, "We can work on a local, national, and global level to build the technologies, businesses, and industries to avoid the worst impacts of climate change."
-
-
Be curious, not furious
- By Axel Merk on 02-20-21
By: Bill Gates
-
Auctions
- The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series
- By: Timothy P. Hubbard, Harry J. Paarsch
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although it is among the oldest of market institutions, the auction is ubiquitous in today's economy, used for everything from government procurement to selling advertising on the Internet to course assignment at MIT's Sloan School. Yet beyond the small number of economists who specialize in the subject, few people understand how auctions really work. This concise, accessible, and engaging book explains both the theory and the practice of auctions.
-
-
Theoretical Review of Auctions
- By Jack Graham on 08-03-18
By: Timothy P. Hubbard, and others
-
The Carbon Almanac
- It's Not Too Late
- By: The Carbon Almanac Network, Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Seth Godin
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem. The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next.
-
-
Disconnected anecdotes. 
- By stev0 on 12-07-23
By: The Carbon Almanac Network, and others
-
Sustainability
- A History
- By: Jeremy L. Caradonna
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caradonna's unique and concise history broadens our understanding of what "sustainability" means, revealing how it progressed from a relatively marginal concept to an ideal that shapes everything from individual lifestyles, government and corporate strategies, and even national and international policy. For anyone seeking understand the history of those striving to make the world a better place to live, here's a place to start.
-
-
Excellent
- By marc grub on 03-06-17
-
Thinking in Systems
- A Primer
- By: Donella H. Meadows
- Narrated by: Tia Rider Sorensen
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the years following her role as the lead author of the international best seller, Limits to Growth - the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet - Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001. Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world....
-
-
Skip to the Middle
- By John Chambers on 06-20-20
-
A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership
- The Hidden Power of Ecological Worldviews
- By: Steve Schein
- Narrated by: Matt Patterson
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on interviews with 75 leaders in more than 40 multinational organizations and NGOs, the author explores how ecological worldviews are expressed in the context of global sustainability practice. By empirically grounding key theories from developmental psychology in sustainability leadership practice, the author encourages us to think about leadership in a different way.
-
-
One of the best books I've ever listened to.
- By Vic Akemann on 11-28-19
By: Steve Schein
-
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
- The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
- By: Bill Gates
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Bill Gates
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Gates shares what he's learned in more than a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address the problems, and sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions. Bill Gates explains why he cares so deeply about climate change and what makes him optimistic that the world can avoid the most dire effects of the climate crisis. Gates says, "We can work on a local, national, and global level to build the technologies, businesses, and industries to avoid the worst impacts of climate change."
-
-
Be curious, not furious
- By Axel Merk on 02-20-21
By: Bill Gates
-
Auctions
- The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series
- By: Timothy P. Hubbard, Harry J. Paarsch
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although it is among the oldest of market institutions, the auction is ubiquitous in today's economy, used for everything from government procurement to selling advertising on the Internet to course assignment at MIT's Sloan School. Yet beyond the small number of economists who specialize in the subject, few people understand how auctions really work. This concise, accessible, and engaging book explains both the theory and the practice of auctions.
-
-
Theoretical Review of Auctions
- By Jack Graham on 08-03-18
By: Timothy P. Hubbard, and others
-
The Carbon Almanac
- It's Not Too Late
- By: The Carbon Almanac Network, Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Seth Godin
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem. The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next.
-
-
Disconnected anecdotes. 
- By stev0 on 12-07-23
By: The Carbon Almanac Network, and others
-
Memes
- In Digital Culture
- By: Limor Shifman
- Narrated by: Karen Saltus
- Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this audiobook, Limor Shifman investigates Internet memes and what they tell us about digital culture. Shifman discusses a series of well-known Internet memes - including "Leave Britney Alone", the pepper-spraying cop, LOLCats, Scumbag Steve, and Occupy Wall Street's "We Are the 99 Percent". She offers a novel definition of Internet memes: digital content units with common characteristics, created with awareness of each other, and circulated, imitated, and transformed via the Internet by many users.
-
-
Great Read
- By Rodrick Howard on 07-22-24
By: Limor Shifman

-
Overpopulation And Women's Rights: A Feminist Exploration On Birth Population Control and Management
- A Look at Gender Inequities, Reproductive Rights, Family Planning, Policy & Global Collaborations
- By: Gabrielle Townsend
- Narrated by: Hedy Parks
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hear the echo of a revolution at the intersection of overpopulation and women’s rights. Dive into an auditory journey that captures the essence of a world striving for balance and justice. Listen as Townsend's compelling narrative unfolds, highlighting the profound connection between overpopulation and the very essence of women's lives, rights, and aspirations. Every chapter, every word, and every nuance is brought to life in this Audible experience, ensuring you don't just hear, but feel the impact.
-
-
A Positive Impact
- By Rafael on 10-29-23
-
Fossil Future
- Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas—Not Less
- By: Alex Epstein
- Narrated by: Alex Epstein
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For over a decade, philosopher and energy expert Alex Epstein has predicted that any negative impacts of fossil fuel use on our climate will be outweighed by the unique benefits of fossil fuels to human flourishing--including their unrivaled ability to provide low-cost, reliable energy to billions of people around the world, especially the world’s poorest people. And contrary to what we hear from media “experts” about today’s “renewable revolution” and “climate emergency,” reality has proven Epstein right.
-
-
Strongly Recommend
- By Kevin on 06-14-22
By: Alex Epstein
-
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
- By: Klaus Schwab
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolution, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work.
-
-
Friendly reminding : On August 15th, 1971, the dec
- By steve white on 03-24-21
By: Klaus Schwab
-
The Power of Creative Destruction
- Economic Upheaval and the Wealth of Nations
- By: Philippe Aghion, Céline Antonin, Simon Bunel, and others
- Narrated by: Rich Miller
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crisis seems to follow crisis. Inequality is rising, growth is stagnant, the environment is suffering, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed every crack in the system. We hear more calls for radical change, even the overthrow of capitalism. But the answer to our problems is not revolution. The answer is to create a better capitalism by understanding and harnessing the power of creative destruction - innovation that disrupts, but that over the past 200 years has also lifted societies to previously unimagined prosperity.
-
-
Great job!
- By Sam W on 03-21-22
By: Philippe Aghion, and others
-
Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal
- The Political Economy of Saving the Planet
- By: Noam Chomsky, Robert Pollin, C.J. Polychroniou - Introduction
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The environmental crisis under way is unique in human history. It is a true existential crisis. Those alive today will decide the fate of humanity. Meanwhile, the leaders of the most powerful state in human history are dedicating themselves with passion to destroying the prospects for organized human life. At the same time, there is a solution at hand, which is the Green New Deal.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Jan D. Leslie on 03-16-21
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
-
Creating a Learning Society
- A New Approach to Growth, Development, and Social Progress
- By: Joseph E. Stiglitz
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It has long been recognized that most standard of living increases are associated with advances in technology, not the accumulation of capital. Yet it has also become clear that what truly separates developed from less developed countries is not just a gap in resources or output but a gap in knowledge. In fact the pace at which developing countries grow is largely determined by the pace at which they close that gap. Therefore, how countries learn and become more productive is key to understanding how they grow and develop, especially over the long term.
-
-
tecnico pero vale la pena
- By Anonymous User on 01-27-19
-
The Climate Casino
- Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World
- By: William D. Nordhaus
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 2018 Nobel laureate for economics analyzes the politics and economics of the central environmental issue of today and points the way to real solutions.
-
-
Great book
- By Antonio L. Quintanilla on 04-08-19
-
Development as Freedom
- By: Amartya Sen
- Narrated by: Byron Wagner
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Economics, an essential and paradigm-altering framework for understanding economic development - for both rich and poor - in the 21st century. Freedom, Sen argues, is both the end and most efficient means of sustaining economic life and the key to securing the general welfare of the world's entire population. Releasing the idea of individual freedom from association with any particular historical, intellectual, political, or religious tradition, Sen clearly demonstrates its current applicability and possibilities.
-
-
The book that launched a field
- By Bryan on 06-07-12
By: Amartya Sen
-
Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
- By: Klaus Schwab, Satya Nadella - foreword, Nicholas Davis
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One need not look hard to see how the incredible advances in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, biotechnologies, and the Internet of things are transforming society in unprecedented ways. But the fourth industrial revolution is just beginning, says Schwab. And at a time of such tremendous uncertainty and such rapid change, he argues it's our actions as individuals and leaders that will determine the trajectory our future will take.
-
-
Key in to chapters of interest to you
- By A.S. Hall on 08-26-20
By: Klaus Schwab, and others
-
Getting to Green
- Saving Nature: A Bipartisan Solution
- By: Frederic C. Rich
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Getting to Green, Frederic C. Rich argues that meaningful progress on urgent environmental issues can be made only on a bipartisan basis. Rich reminds us of American conservation's conservative roots and of the bipartisan political consensus that had Republican congressmen voting for, and Richard Nixon signing, the most important environmental legislation of the 1970s.
-
-
Every single environmentalist needs to read this eye-opener book.
- By Amir on 02-04-17
By: Frederic C. Rich
-
Short Circuiting Policy
- Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States
- By: Leah Cardamore Stokes
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1999, Texas passed a landmark clean energy law, beginning a groundswell of new policies that promised to make the US a world leader in renewable energy. As Leah Stokes shows in Short Circuiting Policy, however, that policy did not lead to momentum in Texas, which failed to implement its solar laws or clean up its electricity system. Examining clean energy laws in Texas, Kansas, Arizona, and Ohio over 30 years Stokes argues that organized combat between advocate and opponent interest groups is central to explaining why states are not on track to address the climate crisis.
-
-
Realpolitik
- By Catherine on 12-30-20
What listeners say about Sustainability
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chauncey P. Wenner
- 07-16-23
Informative and well-organized
informative and well-organized. The "performance" was a struggle to listen to. The reader's voice just droned with complete emotional detachment. Had to turn off periodically just to relieve the stress of listening to the drone. But again, informative and well organized.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marcus
- 02-08-23
Pretty good overview of sustainability
Clear reading, a good way to get a feel for the topic being fairly new to it. Also gives an understanding for the challenges and some of the reasons behind these. Also good to get knowledge on the various sustainability tracks.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!