Page 39 - Sustainability Communication Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoritical Foundations

22 K. Ott et al.

Fig. 2.1 Theory of funds (Source: von Egan-Krieger 2005)

• Pollutant emissions may not exceed the absorption capacity of environmental
substances and ecosystems, and emissions of non-biodegradable pollutants are
to be minimised, whatever the extent to which unoccupied storage capacity
remains available.
The rule of preservation is to be understood as a prohibition of degradation and
the rule of investment as a mandate for improvement and creative planning.

Conclusion

At first glance, a strategy for defining sustainability that is oriented to the factual
use of words in everyday societal language seems most viable for the task of com-
municating about sustainability. However, as emphasised in the introduction to this
chapter, this approach raises first and foremost the problem of unequal balances of
power as well as the interest-influenced positioning that participants in communi-
cation processes are exposed to. Therefore, common sense and ordinary language
should be taken as a point of departure for communication strategies but not as
their final outcome. Instead, the theoretical concept formation proposed here is
open to discursive intercourse on all levels, i.e. arguments can be examined,
exchanged and improved.
Processes of reciprocal understanding about sustainability objectives and strate-
gies belong to the category of ‘epistemic-moral hybrids’ (Potthast 2005) because
they constitute an interface between science, ethics, economics and politics. An
ethical perspective can provide, among other things, practical knowledge to guide
action and provide some orientation for defining objectives. This knowledge is deci-
sive for participatory decision-making processes. The theory of strong sustainability
offers a feasible alternative to the popular three-pillar model, which has few propo-
nents in academic discourse (Paech 2006). Moreover, the theory of strong sustain-
ability can serve as a critical benchmark for a number of national and international