By Xu Cuimei

On July 17th, Kevin Nowlin, a member of the visiting American delegation, gave a lecture entitled Sustainability in American Business and Culture in Gongcheng 1105.

As Mr. Kevin Nowlin pointed out that sustainability originated around a growing awareness in the 1980s that businesses had to find ways to grow their economies without destroying the environment or sacrificing the well-being of future generations. Sustainability could be defined as ‘meeting the current generations’ needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.’ Since 1980s, sustainability has become a ‘buzzword’ for an array of social and environmental causes, and in the business world it denotes a powerful and defining idea: a sustainable corporation is one that creates profit for its shareholders while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those with whom it interacts. Mr. Kevin Nowlin recommended three ways to enhance economy: protecting the business and reducing the risk; running the business and cutting the cost; and innovating the business and being productive.

Mr. Kevin Nowlin finally quoted a line from The Lorax, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It''''s not."