Last month, Mel and I attended #ccbbq2012 – The Creating Cambridge Big Summer BBQ, an event founded with the aim of bringing together the many different networking groups in Cambridge for more cross-pollination (and guess what, it rained!). Mel and I usually find that if you get us together in a space where there is also ginger beer or cider, we end up talking about changing the world. And this night was no exception.

It’s funny how an event with so many people wearing name badges taking over a beer garden can change the feel of the space, and what we found was that it actually made it easier to start conversations with complete strangers. And this is how we started a conversation with two people who weren’t even wearing name badges, and were just there for a leisurely Friday evening pint.

We joined a table with Dai and Mike, two researchers who are interested in sustainability. Since the beginning of You Can, we have talked about ideas of making sure that we are sustainable, and tried to explore what this means:

– projects that start with us but also build to have a sense of momentum that gives them a life beyond You Can

– working patterns that mean we have time for self care; pacing ourselves

– being aware of the potential impact of our work and trying to promote others’ awareness of their impact on their environment

To be honest it was pretty hard to find a way to put this into words. That’s where Dai and Mike come in. As soon as we started chatting with them, it turned that they are researching sustainability – not in the conventional environmental sense, but in three areas:

• Economic
• Environmental
• Social

Economic sustainability – Most people can get their head around this, given the amount of time in the media dedicated to banking decisions and so on…Making sure that we’re finding a way to make money that is sustainable in the long term… trying to avoid things like the recent economic crisis.

Environmental sustainability – what most people think of as sustainability. Reducing our use of environmental resources, reducing our impact, carbon quotas and footprints, solar power and composting toilets.

Social sustainability – heard this term before? I didn’t think so.

We’re only just trying to get our heads around this. But how I understand it is this:

There are an awful lot of people in this country, in the world. And a lot of them are doing a job where they’re told what to do. There are people who have paid work. And there are people who are “living off the state” – receiving support in their income because they’re not able to do paid work. What if all of these people were actually motivated by doing what they wanted to do? What if they were all able to pace themselves in their work, so that they reduced the risk of burnout and were able to manage their own stress? What if they really understand their strengths and skills and could adapt their offer to bring value – economically, environmentally, and socially?

Then I saw this video from Chris Guillebeau, and I think the actions in it speak to all of these issues:

Thirteen minutes of your time – but well spent! This video speaks to the three types of sustainability as follows:

• Economic – a “real” (hard cash) investment in the people who came to the conference.
• Environmental – encouragement to those people to think about the impact of the investment made by each of them (although I’m not sure how all the plane fares to the conference factor in here!)
• Social – not just a hard cash investment, but a “belief” element – investing in the people that came and encouraging them to “pass it on”

I’m still working on a definition of social sustainability. But for me, it’s about knowing myself, knowing my skills, and working out how to bring them to the world in ways that are both paid and unpaid, and in a way that promotes a connection between me and others. Creating social value.

What about you?

Have a go at cycling with your friends

What better way to get some quality time with your friends than jumping on a bike together.    As you might already know, it is possible to hire our bikes from Milton Country Park most days. (Just make sure you book ahead by calling 01223 420 060) But what about those people that are new to cycling or who may need an extra hand getting started? From September we will have times on many Tuesdays where there are instructors on hand for help and support. So come along and give these amazing bikes a try with a friend!

Be Inspired – Enjoy Cycling Together

Have all of these Olympics and now Paralympics given you the cycling fever? The catch phrase of these events were ‘Inspire a Generation’, so we want to do our part. From now until the end of December on the last Sunday of every month we will have instructors available to introduce you and your families to our adaptive bikes of all sizes and shapes. Then, you can have a go at cycling together. What better way to spend a Sunday morning together with your family?