Center For Sustainable Development LLC

GOALS AND PURPOSES

The primary purpose of the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) is to assist in the creation of environmentally and economically sustainable land and natural resource development.

Sustainable developments must be good for the environment as well as economically sound. A delicate balance is required to achieve both environmental and economic sustainability.

CSD is a voice and a resource for projects that are good for both our economy and our environment.

CSD believes that the best environmental solutions are also the best economic solutions. To achieve the “win-win” of both environmental and economic sustainability, a comprehensive understanding of cost trades and decision consequences is required.

The Center for Sustainable Development has been created to assist you in achieving your project goal to maximize your environmental sustainability and maintain an economically sound and viable project.

By way of examples of what our role can be:

--making sure that any environmental review process is based on the best scientific information available. For example, in the event it is claimed that a project would somehow negatively impact an endangered species, CSD would participate in the agency environmental review process to provide the reviewing agency with the best scientific evidence so that unsupported claims about negative environmental impacts are not the basis for agency decisions.

--participating in the public education process to assure that public awareness of a project’s environmental impact is accurately understood by the general public and policy-makers at the local, state and federal levels. CSD functions as a “truth squad” to make sure the public has accurate information to work with.

--serving as a “go to” resource for project managers to assist them in identifying the best package of sustainable solutions to achieve sound environmental management goals. For example, CSD would identify acceptable solutions to environmental issues that have been successfully implemented and accepted by regulatory agencies.

ACTIVITIES

To expand the role of relevant and reliable science in the decision-making process
To maximize consideration of economic and environmental benefits in the decision-making process
To assure that deceptive and/or unsupported claims are not given weight in the decision-making processes
To participate directly in federal and state environmental regulatory review processes
To provide a resource base for project managers to address legitimate environmental concerns about various land uses
To provide public information and education about both the environmental and economic issues associated with projects and developments involving land uses
To provide a credible voice in the decision-making process at both administrative and legislative levels in support of land uses that are both environmentally and economically sustainable