Sustainable Antigonish Framework

Our Work

We are focussing on five global systems which underpin our lives and the prospects for sustainability – food, energy, poverty, finance and ecologial stability. We continue to work on ground-breaking projects in other areas and we have volunteer expertise in area as diverse as youth engagement, ecoliteracy, waste reduction, healthy communities, transport and community leadership.

How We Do It

We set out to understand the dynamics of these critical systems, we bring together individuals, organizations and businesses playing key roles to plan action, and we intervene at points where we can create widespread change. We deliver results using a unique set of methods: action teams, educational streams and consultation groups working with people in all walks of life that are leading the way on sustainability benefiting people within our local communities.

Sustainable Antigonish Action Teams

Food Security Coalition
Poverty Coalition
Healthy Communities
Waste Reduction
Natural Environment
Sustainable Energy – Powering Down
LETS [Local Economic Trading System]

Sustainable Antigonish Education Streams

Centre of Inspiration [Four Pillars Project]
EcoLiteracy Team
Communications and Website
Youth Liaison

Sustainable Antigonish Consultation

Research
Advocacy
ICSP for Town and County Municipal Governments
Economic Innovation and Leadership

What is sustainability? What is the definition of it and what are its effects on our present environment? Sustainability is the ability of an ecosystem to maintain its health and the levels of resources needed to sustain human activities. It is the ability of ecosystems to co-exist with their external environments and provide for the human population. The focus on sustainability has increased over the past 15 years because environmental issues and the concerns of the growing human population have reached critical mass. A sustainable future vision for society hopes to address the environmental, economic, social, and personal challenges we face in the coming years.

A sustainable economy is one that is resilient and offers a high quality of life to everyone. These days the world faces numerous global issues including climate change, environmental degradation, limited natural resources, aging demographics and increasingly changing global economic markets. The need for shifting to a sustainable economy is creating huge risks for companies that don't adapt, and global economic opportunities for completely new solutions. Companies are focusing on sustainability not only as an investment in their business endeavors, but also as an opportunity to demonstrate responsibility and social responsibility through green technology partnerships and public policies.

A Healthy and strong society needs a healthy and strong economy. It is sad to note that the current government in India has failed to realize this fact and instead has only focused on revenue generation through inefficient development projects that are bound to fail in the long run. There is a dire need to improve the overall infrastructure of the country and this in turn requires funds from the International Financial Institutions who have large investments in India. If the Indian states were to get their share of the pie provided by these international organizations, the overall economic development would be much better in the long run. Many newspaper editors have also taken a positive approach to tackle this problem by drafting editorials which not only criticize the government policy towards development but also encourage the readers to write in support of the Indian state to make its life easier.