Social equity key to sustainability.

Byline: Bob Bussel and Claire Syrett For The Register-Guard

Sustainable development is a big buzzword in Eugene, but what exactly does it mean for working people in our community? How do we make sure that the benefits of sustainable development extend to overall community well-being and the promotion of social equity?

In the context of sustainability, social equity means that businesses take into account the well-being of the people and the communities in which they operate. A socially equitable sustainable business is one that offers long-term opportunities for workers and enhances the quality of life in the local community.

At a minimum, a truly sustainable business is one that provides a safe and nondiscriminatory working environment, living wages and health care benefits for its workers. A sustainable business also would seek to offer flexible scheduling and family-friendly policies when possible, and give back to the community by supporting schools, the arts and other community organizations.

Working people in Eugene identified these social equity characteristics of sustainable development during a recent study by the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center and the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network/Jobs with Justice. LERC and ESSN held a series of focus groups with workers from a variety of employment settings and also talked with managers and owners who recognize the value of sustainable business practices. The results of that research have been published in a report titled `The Social Equity Factor,' available on LERC's Web site at www.uoregon.edu/~lerc/research/socialEquity.htm.

Workers identified living wages as a top priority for sustainable businesses. As defined by one participant: A living wage means that people "should be able to pay their rent and their utilities, buy groceries and have some sort of health care accessible to them. To me, those are just basic, bottom-line things that everybody across the board should be able to have without wringing their hands every month about whether they're going to be able to make their rent or their utilities. Nobody's lights or water should ever get turned off for lack of income.'

Some may ask how living wages connect to sustainability for the community. The answer is captured in a comment by another study participant: `If companies don't pay a living wage, then we end up paying - for social services that people will need because they don't earn a living wage.'

Eugene's Sustainable Business Initiative has a goal of promoting the `triple bottom line' of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. Workers in our community generally support the goals of sustainable development, yet this support is tempered by the concern that without benchmarks or well-defined standards, businesses will be insufficiently committed to the long-term pursuit of truly sustainable practices.

Unfortunately, many sustainability efforts fall short because `social equity' serves merely as window dressing, and no effort is made to give it equal footing with business' economic success and environmental protection.

So how do we ensure that social equity concerns and the interests of workers are recognized in Eugene?

For one thing, Eugene's Sustainable Business Initiative Task Force has recommended the formation of new research groups to develop social equity criteria and a community task force `among business owners and organizations, workers and their representatives, nonprofits, local governments and others to discuss ways to enhance social equity among area workers.'

To make these efforts meaningful, workers must be given more than a place at the table. Critical issues such as living wages, health care and job quality must be tackled.

Especially when public dollars are spent on promoting economic development of any kind, the return to the community should be clearly spelled out in more than a generalized claim of `more good jobs.'

Over the past few years, nearly 100 cities and counties across the United States have passed living wage laws - Eugene is overdue for action on this issue, as well as on universal health care access and equitable paid sick and vacation leave policies.

Eugene has already shown leadership in this area by establishing wage and benefit standards for the West Eugene Enterprise Zone, and the Sustainable Business Initiative should similarly reflect these community values.

Our civic and business leaders must address workers' needs regarding sustainable jobs and social equity. Only then will we have a truly sustainable community where the needs of workers, the environment and business are balanced for long-term community health and prosperity.