Sustainability has assumed a more visceral meaning.  For many in manufacturing, just holding on and keeping production facilities afloat has become the singular focus.  Economic upheaval in 2009 has altered the market’s appreciation for Sustainability’s ideals.  Gone – seemingly out of a sense of necessity – were long-term strategies for continuous process improvement and plant optimization.  Inserted overnight were the short-term tactics for simply staying in business.  Lost was the understanding that Sustainability is an answer, not simply an ideal.  Sustainability presents a rational and profitable solution for manufacturers both for the short- and the long-term.