Eco-Catalyst: Drive to Survive, Strive to Thrive

I'm somewhat of a newcomer to the term thrivability, but I understand it is beginning to replace sustainability in some circles. I heard it at a recent meet-up event focused on social responsibility, so I decided to give it some thought. It appears to be a question of degrees and/or extent of progress.

Sustainability is about survival. It’s about equalizing what is now very clearly an off-balance relationship between availability of resources and their rate of consumption. To reach sustainability, we must reduce consumption and waste while increasing the rate of renewal to the point where they are equal.

Thrivability goes beyond that to create a world where the scale is tilted in the opposite direction and we are renewing more than we are consuming. In a thriving society, there is no such thing as waste. Not only will the act of consumption always produce new resources, but we will also have offset the damage of our previous consumption habits.

As I see it, if we can't at least reach sustainability, then thrivability will also be out of reach. So, taking the approach of setting repeatable and attainable goals of sustainability - Drive to Survive - while still pursuing the aspiration of thrivability - Strive to Thrive - seems to be a good course of action.

These concepts aren’t new, but they are emerging in new ways and on new frontiers. Perhaps if we use the Stockdale Paradox as quoted in Good to Great as our guide, we will achieve sustainability and evolve into a thrivable society.

- Tanya Lehmann, The Eco-Catalyst