“
TRUE SUSTAINABILITY INCLUDES FAIRNESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY. COMMUNITIES NEAR EX- TRACTION, DATA CENTRES, OR PROCESSING PLANTS OFTEN FACE THE GREATEST ENVIRONMENTAL HARM WHILE GAINING THE LEAST BENEFIT.”
Every supply chain touches real places and people. Understanding local impacts helps reveal who pays the unseen costs of global consumption.
Example: Fast fashion factories, concen- trated in regions with weak environmental protections, oſten release chemical dyes and microplastics into local waterways. Many benefit from cheap and trendy clothes, yet the local health and ecological costs are in- tentionally veiled. Buying less, choosing ethi- cal fashion and supporting circular design cycles recognizes the people and ecosystems behind every garment.
S: SCALE AND FREQUENCY How big is this impact when multiplied across society? How oſten does it occur?
Some actions matter less individually but add up collectively. Recognizing scale helps identify where systemic change has the great- est effect.
Example: Transportation is one of the larg- est sources of emissions in Canada. While a single long-haul flight emits more carbon per passenger than a year of public transit com- muting, it’s our everyday systems, including millions of solo car trips, which carry the real weight. Building reliable, affordable and fre- quent public transit doesn’t just reduce emis- sions, it improves air quality, creates good jobs and ensures equitable access to mobility.
E: EQUITY Who benefits, who bears the cost, and whose voices are missing?
True sustainability includes fairness and ac- countability. Communities near extraction,
22 ETFO VOICE | WINTER 2025
data centres, or processing plants oſten face the greatest environmental harm while gain- ing the least benefit.
Example: In northern Ontario, the De Beers Victor diamond mine operated for years near
the Cree community of Attawapis-
kat, extracting billions in diamonds while residents lived under long-term boil-water advisories. Diamond mining leaves behind altered waterways, chemical runoff and land that can take generations to recover. A reminder that those most affected by extraction should be engaged in decision- making, benefits and restoration throughout the process. Te Sustainability LENSE isn’t about find-
ing perfect answers, it’s about developing the habit of sustainable thinking. By considering
life cycles, energy, local impacts, scale and equity, we shiſt from reacting to reflecting, making decisions rooted in understanding rather than assumption.
SEVEN GENERATION THINKING
Te Haudenosaunee Confederacy, one of the oldest participatory democracies on Earth, teaches a principle known as Seven Genera- tion Tinking, the idea that the decisions we make today should serve not only ourselves or our families, but also the seven genera- tions to come. At first, seven generations may sound
distant, but it isn’t. If you’ve met your great- grandparents and might one day meet your great-grandchildren,
that’s seven genera- tions in a single lifetime.
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