2014 Trans-Atlantic research and development interchange on sustainability (TARDIS 2014): summary of discussions

The Trans-Atlantic research and development interchange on sustainability (TARDIS) has been bringing together a select group of scientists and engineers for in-depth discussions on sustainability on a bi-annual basis since 2004. TARDIS 2014 included 28 individuals from across the globe discussing issues related to progress toward sustainability. The discussion included policies, technologies, societal structure and norms, business practices and culture, and time-frames. As discussed later, the focus was on four questions: (1) what progress has been accomplished in sustainability? (2) Why has there not been more progress in moving societies toward sustainability? (3) What are the road-blocks to progress toward sustainability? (4) What are the policies, technologies, and other changes that are needed to make further progress toward sustainability? One salient conclusion from TARDIS 2014 is that while sustainability has entered mainstream thinking, significant social, economic, technological, and business barriers remain to further progress toward a sustainable path as discussed throughout this report.