“Sustainability” is stamped on so many products these days—having become corporate America’s go-to buzzword throughout the 2010s—that it’s effectively meaningless at this point. Indeed, because of this, the word is even on The Slowdown’s “banned words” list (though for this particular piece, given the context, we’re making an exception). At its most basic, “sustainability” is simply meant to refer to operating in a way that is compatible with the natural world, and that could continue to operate without depleting the planet’s resources. Global supply chains in 2021 are so complex, though, that it can be hard to know if describing certain businesses as “sustainable” can ever truly be done. Just ask Austin Whitman, founder and CEO of the climate certification nonprofit Climate Neutral, with whom we spoke earlier this year on Ep. 103 of our At a Distance podcast; he’s trying to tackle this issue head-on through data and analytics.