--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The path to relative economic, social and…" description: "\"The path to relative economic, social and ecological sustainability is guaranteed to be littered with failures of every nature and scale. If we recogni..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-elkington-35510_blame_the-path-to-relative-economic-social-and_2365163.jpg" --- # The path to relative economic, social and ecological… ![“The path to relative economic, social and ecological sustainability is guaranteed to be littered with failures of every nature and scale. If we recognize them and learn from them, the transition will proceed faster and in more resource-efficient ways. If, on the other hand, we prefer the…” quote by John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-elkington-35510_blame_the-path-to-relative-economic-social-and_2365163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-elkington-35510_blame_the-path-to-relative-economic-social-and_2365163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-elkington-35510_blame_the-path-to-relative-economic-social-and_2365163.jpg) > “The path to relative economic, social and ecological sustainability is guaranteed to be littered with failures of every nature and scale. If we recognize them and learn from them, the transition will proceed faster and in more resource-efficient ways. If, on the other hand, we prefer the short-term comfort of burying our failures, or of blaming scapegoats, the transition will be significantly slowed, or could even be derailed completely.” [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sustainability progress will encounter many failures; learning from them accelerates transition, while denial or blame hampers it. **In simple terms:** Learn from failures to speed sustainable change; denial slows it. Key Takeaway Embrace failure as a learning tool for sustainability. Themes sustainability failure learning policy innovation Mood critical optimistic Type strategic inspirational When to use this quote - project post‑mortems - policy reviews - community workshops - R&D cycles Key Concepts systems thinking resilience resource efficiency social equity Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations create a culture that values learning from failure? - What mechanisms ensure failures are documented and shared? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on failures can cause paralysis or fear of innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame/) [Burying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burying/) [Burying Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burying-failures-5805445/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Ecological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecological/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Efficient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efficient/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failures Blaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures-blaming-2778187/) [Failures Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures-nature-5805444/) [Faster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Relative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relative/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) [Scapegoat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scapegoat/) [Scapegoats Transition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scapegoats-transition-5805443/) [Short term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-term/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Ecological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-ecological-1867356/) [Sustainability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sustainability/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Transition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transition/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Part of being a man is learning to take responsibility for your successes and for your failures. You can't go blaming others or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bacon/part-of-being-a-man-is-learning-to-take-responsibility-for-your/) [Kevin Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bacon/) > [Technology cannot be an end in itself but must aim at solving long term social and ecological problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rogers/technology-cannot-be-an-end-in-itself-but-must-aim-at-solving-long/) [Richard Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rogers/) > [Food consists not just in piles of chemicals; it also comprises a set of social and ecological relationships, reaching back to the land and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/food-consists-not-just-in-piles-of-chemicals-it-also-comprises-a-set/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Many of us have unconsciously erected barriers to protect ourselves from failing or succeeding. 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And they recognize what bailing out every failing business in America means - We're burying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/you-know-hoosiers-recognize-pork-when-we-see-it-and-they-recognize/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [“One man after burying another has been laid out dead, and another buries him; and all this in a short time. To conclude, always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/one-man-after-burying-another-has-been-laid-out-dead-and-another/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [I buried how much I missed you. burried to the very bottom of my heart and its still there digging the way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-buried-how-much-i-missed-you-burried-to-the-very-bottom-of-my-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One thing I think you have to do here at Wisconsin is maximize your personnel. From the standpoint of getting our best players out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-bielema/one-thing-i-think-you-have-to-do-here-at-wisconsin-is-maximize-your/) [Bret Bielema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-bielema/) > [I started composting in 1970 by taking my food scraps out behind where I lived and burying them in a hole next to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/i-started-composting-in-1970-by-taking-my-food-scraps-out-behind/) [Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/) > [“No better way to avoid making a decision than burying yourself in a big fat book.” (p. 105).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bard/no-better-way-to-avoid-making-a-decision-than-burying-yourself-in-a/) [Elizabeth Bard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bard/) > [What you try to bury just ends up burying you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/what-you-try-to-bury-just-ends-up-burying-you/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [“...our loves ones truly are ever-present. We may bury their bodies or scatter their ashes, but their spirits are boundless and do not accompany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-slaughter/our-loves-ones-truly-are-ever-present-we-may-bury-their-bodies-or/) [April Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-slaughter/) ## More by John Elkington > [I think that consumerism is intrinsically a pretty flawed social system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/i-think-that-consumerism-is-intrinsically-a-pretty-flawed-social/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [I'm worried about greenwashing. I think we should come down on it very, very hard, whether it's with criminal intent or actively deceptive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/i-m-worried-about-greenwashing-i-think-we-should-come-down-on-it-very/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [I think people often underestimate the power of consumers. But I equally say that consumers are like shock troops: You can't keep them agitated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/i-think-people-often-underestimate-the-power-of-consumers-but-i/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [Any prudent business looks at the reality and how to maximize our investment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/any-prudent-business-looks-at-the-reality-and-how-to-maximize-our/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [I think consumerism breeds dissatisfaction, and I think that the advertisers play to that. So I cannot be comfortable with that. On the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/i-think-consumerism-breeds-dissatisfaction-and-i-think-that-the/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [So, you could call me optimistic and hopeful and probably just a little bit naïve, but I'm coming from the space that the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/so-you-could-call-me-optimistic-and-hopeful-and-probably-just-a/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [I'm part of the consumer culture. I was part of the baby boom generation. I have a car when I shouldn't, a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/i-m-part-of-the-consumer-culture-i-was-part-of-the-baby-boom/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [Behavioral change is more important than individual product choices. They both have a role to play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/behavioral-change-is-more-important-than-individual-product-choices/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [The biggest weakness of the green-consumer movement, always, is that we tend to pick the easy-to-do things because that's where we can most readily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/the-biggest-weakness-of-the-green-consumer-movement-always-is-that-we/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [I became a vegetarian 55 years ago, and I think it's one of the more important behavioral changes I ever took. The more I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/i-became-a-vegetarian-55-years-ago-and-i-think-it-s-one-of-the-more/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [What people say often precedes what they think. Some people sometimes say, "I have to hear myself talk before I know what I think."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/what-people-say-often-precedes-what-they-think-some-people-sometimes/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [Companies watch what consumers are doing like a hawk. Just as one letter to a politician can signal an insipient problem, for companies, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/companies-watch-what-consumers-are-doing-like-a-hawk-just-as-one/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) [Explore all 13 John Elkington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) ## More Blame quotes > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Me mum used to always have the radio on - even now she has it on in every room. Me girlfriend sort of blames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/me-mum-used-to-always-have-the-radio-on-even-now-she-has-it-on-in/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [I like to praise and reward loudly, to blame quietly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-the-great/i-like-to-praise-and-reward-loudly-to-blame-quietly/) [Catherine the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-the-great/) > [Some of the things that I said I hated to say, but blame yourself mother fucker you made it this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jedi-mind-tricks/some-of-the-things-that-i-said-i-hated-to-say-but-blame-yourself/) [Jedi Mind Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jedi-mind-tricks/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“In places where government priorities and market imperatives create a world so capricious that to help a neighbor is to risk your ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/in-places-where-government-priorities-and-market-imperatives-create-a/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Stop Blaming Others For Your Own Actions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-g-roldan/stop-blaming-others-for-your-own-actions/) [Alexis G. Roldan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-g-roldan/) > [We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-know-from-this-book-entitled-what-is-it-surrendered-succumbed-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't blame anyone .. I did this to myself .. It's my fault .. Everything is my FAULT ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nurnizz95/i-don-t-blame-anyone-i-did-this-to-myself-it-s-my-fault-everything-is/) [Nurnizz95](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nurnizz95/) > [“They would congratulate themselves every morning on keeping their integrity, and blame themselves each night for that missed opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/they-would-congratulate-themselves-every-morning-on-keeping-their/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I try to live my life where I end up at a point where I have no regrets. So I try to choose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/i-try-to-live-my-life-where-i-end-up-at-a-point-where-i-have-no/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [How come you don't feel that magic in the air? I guess I knew you'll never be there. I guess I knew you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-come-you-don-t-feel-that-magic-in-the-air-i-guess-i-knew-you-ll/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am down mentally. I can't understand how it happened and who is to blame? I don't know why the ground was rolled before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeasin-khan/i-am-down-mentally-i-can-t-understand-how-it-happened-and-who-is-to/) [Yeasin Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeasin-khan/) > [A refusal to admit one's mistake & not accepting responsibility for that mistake by blaming everyone else, is d beginning of one's decline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-refusal-to-admit-one-s-mistake-not-accepting-responsibility-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Listen, the guy was not created by coverage from MSNBC and CNN. If you want to blame us for making Donald Trump president because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-tur/listen-the-guy-was-not-created-by-coverage-from-msnbc-and-cnn-if-you/) [Katy Tur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-tur/) [Browse all 3,779 Blame quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The path to relative economic, social and ecological sustainability is guaranteed to be littered with failures of every nature and scale. If we recognize them and learn from them, the transition will proceed faster and in more resource-efficient ways. 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