Science and Technology of New York City

Pittman, James, and Kevin Wilhelm. “New Economic And Financial Indicators Of Sustainability.” New Directions For Institutional Research 2007.134 (2007): 55-69. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

The authors are James Pittman and Kevin Wilhelm. Pittman is a consulting ecological economist for Earth Economics and teaches sustainability science at Brainbridge Graduate Institute and Prescott College. Wilhelm is president of Innovative Strategies and teaches sustainability finance at Antioch University Seattle as an adjunct faculty. The authors argue for the development of a more accurate and efficient financial accounting method, specifically in relation to the cost-effectiveness of sustainability efforts. They call for “applied institutional research, comparable data sharing, and new accounting standards.” This is an ideal strategy, however, it does not take into account the vastly varying results in different school environments. The authors note examples of where in the budget an institution can find funds for social responsibility investment. They also emphasize long-term investments as opposed to short-term costs. However, determining the monetary value of social and environmental impacts is difficult.

This article really focuses on the economic issue of being sustainable. It addresses ways to change institutions’ investment and budget systems to better accommodate sustainability investments. However, they do not have that many case studies to support their proposal. This article is targeted at higher education institutions. Brooklyn College is also very likely to be confronted by these very issues of funding sustainability on the campus.