Bringing Sustainability to the Ground Level

CHAPTER 2

Economic Well-Being in the Yellowstone River Valley

Introduction

We operate in a capitalistic society; thus, the economic well-being of the Yellowstone River Valley is defined by the long-term profitability of existing and future industries, services, and other income-generating activities. In general, people do not engage in economic activities that are not profitable because they cannot afford to do so. Put simply by Beattie (2019), “To be sustainable, a business must be profitable” (3).

Over the past 20 years, concerted efforts have gone toward incorporating sustainability goals into business strategies (Dyllick and Hockerts 2002), especially in the context of international supply chains (Mani and Delgado 2019). While it is not surprising ...