Today the concept of sustainability is being used to evaluate everything from restaurant menus to public policies to how companies demonstrate their performance to stockholders. Increasingly, the California Almond community is being asked questions about its sustainability. A close look at the content of the 2009 Almond Industry Conference in December makes it clear that ABC-supported research programs, as determined by the Production Research and the Environmental committees, are focused on the core components of what sustainability is all about.
All definitions of sustainability require that any activity meet the following three criteria:
It must be economically sustainable in that there must be a financial reward for the activity;
It must be environmentally sustainable, that is, it must ensure the long-term health of the environment; and
It must provide social equity by taking care of the people affected by the activity or using the product.
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