Having watched the final of the Macra na Feirme impromptu debating competition with great interest last month, I was reminded that we should, at times, start a conversation with a definition. This simple act avoids confusion and more often than not, helps us to arrive at a consensus (though not at Macra debating finals).

The word that I would like to start with is ‘sustainable’ – Merriam-Webster tells us that sustainable means capable of being sustained.