Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while

simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon
which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resource are
use to continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable
development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations.
While the modern concept of sustainable development is derived mostly from the 1987 Brundtland Report, it is also
rooted in earlier ideas about sustainable forest management and twentieth century environmental concerns. As the
concept developed, it has shifted to focus more on economic development, social development and environmental
protection for future generations. It has been suggested that "the term 'sustainability' should be viewed as
humanity's target goal of human-ecosystem equilibrium (homeostasis), while 'sustainable development' refers to the
holistic approach and temporal processes that lead us to the end point of sustainability".[1] Modern economies are
endeavouring to reconcile ambitious economic development and obligations of preserving natural
resources and ecosystems, as the two are usually seen as of conflicting nature. Instead of holding climate change
commitments and other sustainability measures as a drug[vague] to economic development, turning and leveraging
them into market opportunities will do greater good.[unbalanced opinion?] The economic development brought by such
organized principles and practices in an economy is called Managed Sustainable Development (MSD).[attribution needed]
The concept of sustainable development has been,and still is,subject to criticism, including the question of what is to
be sustained in sustainable development. It has been argued that there is no such thing as a sustainable use of
a non-renewable resource, since any positive rate of exploitation will eventually lead to the exhaustion of earth's
finite stock;[2]:13this perspective renders the Industrial Revolution as a whole unsustainable.[3]:20f [4]:61–67 [5]:22f It has
also been argued that the meaning of the concept has opportunistically been stretched from 'conservation
management' to 'economic development', and that the Brundtland Report promoted nothing but a business as usual
strategy for world development, with an ambiguous and insubstantial concept attached as a public relations slogan
(see below).[6]:48–54 [7]:94–99

History of sustainability

Sustainability can be defined as the practice of maintaining processes of productivity indefinitely—natural or human
made—by replacing resources used with resources of equal or greater value without degrading or endangering natural
biotic systems.[9] Sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the
social, political, and economic challenges faced by humanity. Sustainability science is the study of the concepts of
sustainable development and environmental science. There is an additional focus on the present generations'
responsibility to regenerate, maintain and improve planetary resources for use by future generations.

Sustainable development has its roots in ideas about sustainable forest management which were developed in Europe
during the 17th and 18th centuries.[11][8]:6-16 In response to a growing awareness of the depletion of timber resources in
England, John Evelyn argued that "sowing and planting of trees had to be regarded as a national duty of every
landowner, in order to stop the destructive over-exploitation of natural resources" in his 1662 essay Sylva. In 1713 Hans
Carl von Carlowitz, a senior mining administrator in the service of Elector Frederick Augustus I of
Saxony published Sylvicultura oeconomica, a 400-page work on forestry. Building upon the ideas of Evelyn and French
minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, von Carlowitz developed the concept of managing forests for sustained yield.[11] His work
influenced others, including Alexander von Humboldt and Georg Ludwig Hartig, eventually leading to the development
of a science of forestry. This in turn influenced people like Gifford Pinchot, first head of the US Forest Service, whose
approach to forest management was driven by the idea of wise use of resources, and Aldo Leopold whose land ethic was
influential in the development of the environmental movement in the 1960s.[11][8]

Following the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962, the developing environmental movement drew
attention to the relationship between economic growth and development and environmental degradation. Kenneth E.
Boulding in his influential 1966 essay The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth identified the need for the economic
system to fit itself to the ecological system with its limited pools of resources.[8] One of the first uses of the term
sustainable in the contemporary sense was by the Club of Rome in 1972 in its classic report on the Limits to Growth,
written by a group of scientists led by Dennis and Donella Meadows of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Describing the desirable "state of global equilibrium", the authors wrote: "We are searching for a model output that
represents a world system that is sustainable without sudden and uncontrolled collapse and capable of satisfying the
basic material requirements of all of its people."[10]

Following the Club of Rome report, an MIT research group prepared ten days of hearings on "Growth and Its Implication
for the Future" (Roundtable Press, 1973)[12] for the US Congress, the first hearings ever held on sustainable
development. William Flynn Martin, David Dodson Gray, and Elizabeth Gray prepared the hearings under the
Chairmanship of Congressman John Dingell.[citation needed]

In 1980 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature published a world conservation strategy that included
one of the first references to sustainable development as a global priority[13] and introduced the term "sustainable
development".[14]:4 Two years later, the United Nations World Charter for Nature raised five principles of conservation by
which human conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged.[15] In 1987 the United Nations World Commission on
Environment and Development released the report Our Common Future, commonly called the Brundtland Report. The
report included what is now one of the most widely recognised definitions of sustainable development.[16][17]

“ Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:
· The concept of 'needs', in particular, the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority
should be given; and
· The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's
ability to meet present and future needs. ”

— World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future (1987)

Since the Brundtland Report, the concept of sustainable development has developed beyond the initial
intergenerational framework to focus more on the goal of "socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic
growth".[14]:5 In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development published the Earth Charter, which outlines
the building of a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. The action plan Agenda 21 for
sustainable development identified information, integration, and participation as key building blocks to help countries
achieve development that recognises these interdependent pillars. It emphasises that in sustainable development
everyone is a user and provider of information. It stresses the need to change from old sector-centered ways of doing
business to new approaches that involve cross-sectoral co-ordination and the integration of environmental and social
concerns into all development processes. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasises that broad public participation in
decision making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.[18]

Under the principles of the United Nations Charter the Millennium Declaration identified principles and treaties on
sustainable development, including economic development, social development and environmental protection. Broadly
defined, sustainable development is a systems approach to growth and development and to manage natural, produced,
and social capital for the welfare of their own and future generations. The term sustainable development as used by the
United Nations incorporates both issues associated with land development and broader issues of human
development such as education, public health, and standard of living.[citation needed]

A 2013 study concluded that sustainability reporting should be reframed through the lens of four interconnected
domains: ecology, economics, politics and culture.[19]

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[edit]

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the "universal, integrated and
transformative" 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The
goals are to be implemented and achieved in every country from the year 2016 to 2030.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)[edit]

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is defined as education that encourages changes in knowledge, skills,
values and attitudes to enable a more sustainable and equitable society. ESD aims to empower and equip current and
future generations to meet their needs using a balanced and integrated approach to
the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.[20]

Concept[edit]

The concept of ESD was born from the need for education to address the growing and changing environmental
challenges facing the planet. In order to do this, education must change to provide the knowledge, skills, values and
attitudes that empower learners to contribute to sustainable development. At the same time, education must be
strengthened in all agendas, programmes, and activities that promote sustainable development. Sustainable
development must be integrated into education and education must be integrated into sustainable development. ESD is
holistic and transformational education and concerns learning content and outcomes, pedagogy and the learning
environment (UNESCO, 2014).[20] With regards to learning content such as curricula, the
complex sustainability challenges facing societies cut across boundaries and multiple thematic areas. Education must
therefore address key issues such as climate change, poverty and sustainable production. ESD promotes the integration
of these critical sustainability issues in local and global contexts into the curriculum to prepare learners to understand
and respond to the changing world. ESD aims to produce learning outcomes that include core competencies such as
critical and systemic thinking, collaborative decision-making, and taking responsibility for the present and future
generations. In order to deliver such diverse and evolving issues, ESD uses innovative pedagogy,
encouraging teaching and learning in an interactive, learner-centered way that enables exploratory, action-oriented
and transformative learning. Learners are enabled to think critically and systematically develop values and attitudes for
a sustainable future. Since traditional single-directional delivery of knowledge is not sufficient to inspire learners to take
action as responsible citizens, ESD entails rethinking the learning environment, physical and virtual. ESD applies to all
levels of formal, non-formal and informal education as an integral part of lifelong learning. The learning environment
itself must adapt and apply a whole-institution approach to embed the philosophy of sustainable development. Building
the capacity of educators and policy support at international, regional, national and local levels helps drive changes
in learning institutions. Empowered youth and local communities interacting with education institutions become key
actors in advancing sustainable development.[20]

UN Decade for Sustainable Development[edit]

The launch of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) started a global movement to
reorient education to address the challenges of sustainable development. Building on the achievement of the Decade,
stated in the Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on ESD, UNESCO endorsed the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) in the
37th session of its General Conference. Acknowledged by UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/211 and launched
at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in 2014, the GAP aims to scale-up actions and good practices. UNESCO has a
major role, along with its partners, in bringing about key achievements to ensure the principles of ESD are promoted
through formal, non-formal and informal education.[21]

International recognition of ESD as the key enabler for sustainable development is growing steadily. The role of ESD was
recognized in three major UN summits on sustainable development: the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in
Johannesburg, South Africa; and the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro. Other
key global agreements such as the Paris Agreement(Article 12) also recognize the importance of ESD. Today, ESD is
arguably at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)
(United Nations, 2015). The SDGs recognize that all countries must stimulate action in the following key areas -
people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership - in order to tackle the global challenges that are crucial for the
survival of humanity. ESD is explicitly mentioned in Target 4.7 of SDG4, which aims to ensure that all learners acquire the
knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development and is understood as an important means to achieve
all the other 16 SDGs (UNESCO, 2017).[20]

=sub groups[edit]

See also: Planetary boundaries and Triple bottom line

Scheme of sustainable development:

at the confluence of three constituent parts. (2006)

Sustainable development, or sustainability, has been described in terms of three spheres, dimensions, domains or
pillars, i.e. the environment, the economy and society. The three-sphere framework was initially proposed by the
economist René Passet in 1979.[22] It has also been worded as "economic, environmental and social" or "ecology,
economy and equity".[23] This has been expanded by some authors to include a fourth pillar of culture, institutions or
governance,[23] or alternatively reconfigured as four domains of the social - ecology, economics, politics and
culture,[24] thus bringing economics back inside the social, and treating ecology as the intersection of the social and the
natural.[25]

Environmental (or ecological)[edit]

See also: Ecological engineering

Relationship between ecological footprint and Human Development Index (HDI)

The ecological stability of human settlements is part of the relationship between humans and their natural, social
and built environments.[26] Also termed human ecology, this broadens the focus of sustainable development to include
the domain of human health. Fundamental human needs such as the availability and quality of air, water, food and
shelter are also the ecological foundations for sustainable development;[27] addressing public health risk through
investments in ecosystem services can be a powerful and transformative force for sustainable development which, in
this sense, extends to all species.[28]
Environmental sustainability concerns the natural environment and how it endures and remains diverse and productive.
Since natural resources are derived from the environment, the state of air, water, and the climate are of particular
concern. The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report outlines current knowledge about scientific, technical and socio-economic
information concerning climate change, and lists options for adaptation and mitigation.[29] Environmental sustainability
requires society to design activities to meet human needs while preserving the life support systems of the planet. This,
for example, entails using water sustainably, utilizing renewable energy, and sustainable material supplies (e.g.
harvesting wood from forests at a rate that maintains the biomass and biodiversity).[citation needed]

An unsustainable situation occurs when natural capital (the sum total of nature's resources) is used up faster than it can
be replenished. Sustainability requires that human activity only uses nature's resources at a rate at which they can be
replenished naturally. Inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwined with the concept of carrying
capacity. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation is the inability to sustain human life. Such
degradation on a global scale should imply an increase in human death rate until population falls to what the degraded
environment can support.[citation needed] If the degradation continues beyond a certain tipping point or critical threshold it
would lead to eventual extinction for humanity.[citation needed]

Consumption of natural resources State of environment Sustainability

More than nature's ability to replenish Environmental degradation Not sustainable

Equal to nature's ability to replenish Environmental equilibrium Steady state economy

Less than nature's ability to replenish Environmental renewal Environmentally sustainable

Integral elements for a sustainable development are research and innovation activities. A telling example is
the European environmental research and innovation policy, which aims at defining and implementing a transformative
agenda to greening the economy and the society as a whole so to achieve a truly sustainable development. Research
and innovation in Europe is financially supported by the programme Horizon 2020, which is also open to participation
worldwide.[30] A promising direction towards sustainable development is to design systems that are flexible and
reversible.[31][32]

Pollution of the public resources is really not a different action, it just is a reverse tragedy of the commons, in that
instead of taking something out, something is put into the commons. When the costs of polluting the commons are not
calculated into the cost of the items consumed, then it becomes only natural to pollute, as the cost of pollution is
external to the cost of the goods produced and the cost of cleaning the waste before it is discharged exceeds the cost of
releasing the waste directly into the commons. So, the only way to solve this problem is by protecting the ecology of the
commons by making it, through taxes or fines, more costly to release the waste directly into the commons than would
be the cost of cleaning the waste before discharge.[33]

So, one can try to appeal to the ethics of the situation by doing the right thing as an individual, but in the absence of any
direct consequences, the individual will tend to do what is best for the person and not what is best for the common
good of the public. Once again, this issue needs to be addressed. Because, left unaddressed, the development of the
commonly owned property will become impossible to achieve in a sustainable way. So, this topic is central to the
understanding of creating a sustainable situation from the management of the public resources that are used for
personal use.

Agriculture[edit]

See also: Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture consists of environment friendly methods of farming that allow the production of crops or
livestock without damage to human or natural systems. It involves preventing adverse effects to soil, water, biodiversity,
surrounding or downstream resources—as well as to those working or living on the farm or in neighboring areas. The
concept of sustainable agriculture extends intergenerationally, passing on a conserved or improved natural resource,
biotic, and economic base rather than one which has been depleted or polluted.[34] Elements of sustainable agriculture
include permaculture, agroforestry, mixed farming, multiple cropping, and crop rotation.[35] It involves agricultural
methods that do not undermine the environment, smart farming technologies that enhance a quality environment for
humans to thrive and reclaiming and transforming deserts into farmlands(Herman Daly, 2017).[citation needed]

Numerous sustainability standards and certification systems exist, including organic certification, Rainforest
Alliance, Fair Trade, UTZ Certified, Bird Friendly, and the Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C).[36][37]

Economics[edit]

Part of a series on

Ecological economics

Man's economic system viewed as a

subsystem of the global environment

Concepts[hide]

 Carrying capacity

 Ecological market failure

 Ecological model of competition

 Ecosystem services

 Embodied energy

 Energy accounting

 Entropy pessimism

 Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare

 Natural capital

 Spaceship Earth

 Steady-state economy

 Sustainability, 'weak' vs 'strong'

 Uneconomic growth

People[show]
 Works[show]

Related topics[show]

 v

 t

 e

A sewage treatment plant that uses solar energy, located at Santuari de Llucmonastery, Majorca.

See also: Ecological economics

It has been suggested that because of rural poverty and overexploitation, environmental resources should be treated as
important economic assets, called natural capital.[38] Economic development has traditionally required a growth in
the gross domestic product. This model of unlimited personal and GDP growth may be over.[39] Sustainable development
may involve improvements in the quality of life for many but may necessitate a decrease in resource
consumption.[40] According to ecological economist Malte Faber, ecological economics is defined by its focus on nature,
justice, and time. Issues of intergenerational equity, irreversibility of environmental change, uncertainty of long-term
outcomes, and sustainable development guide ecological economic analysis and valuation.[41]

As early as the 1970s, the concept of sustainability was used to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic
ecological support systems".[42] Scientists in many fields have highlighted The Limits to Growth,[43][44] and economists
have presented alternatives, for example a 'steady-state economy', to address concerns over the impacts of expanding
human development on the planet.[5] In 1987 the economist Edward Barbier published the study The Concept of
Sustainable Economic Development, where he recognised that goals of environmental conservation and economic
development are not conflicting and can be reinforcing each other.[45]

A World Bank study from 1999 concluded that based on the theory of genuine savings, policymakers have many possible
interventions to increase sustainability, in macroeconomics or purely environmental.[46] Several studies have noted that
efficient policies for renewable energy and pollution are compatible with increasing human welfare, eventually reaching
a golden-rule steady state.[47][48][49][50]

The study, Interpreting Sustainability in Economic Terms, found three pillars of sustainable development,
interlinkage, intergenerational equity, and dynamic efficiency.[51]

But Gilbert Rist points out that the World Bank has twisted the notion of sustainable development to prove that
economic development need not be deterred in the interest of preserving the ecosystem. He writes: "From this angle,
'sustainable development' looks like a cover-up operation. ... The thing that is meant to be sustained is really
'development', not the tolerance capacity of the ecosystem or of human societies."[52]
The World Bank, a leading producer of environmental knowledge, continues to advocate the win-win prospects for
economic growth and ecological stability even as its economists express their doubts.[53] Herman Daly, an economist for
the Bank from 1988 to 1994, writes:

When authors of WDR '92 [the highly influential 1992 World Development Report that featured the environment] were
drafting the report, they called me asking for examples of "win-win" strategies in my work. What could I say? None
exists in that pure form; there are trade-offs, not "win-wins." But they want to see a world of "win-wins" based on
articles of faith, not fact. I wanted to contribute because WDRs are important in the Bank, [because] task managers read
[them] to find philosophical justification for their latest round of projects. But they did not want to hear about how
things really are, or what I find in my work..."[54]

A meta review in 2002 looked at environmental and economic valuations and found a lack of "sustainability
policies".[55] A study in 2004 asked if we consume too much.[56] A study concluded in 2007 that knowledge, manufactured
and human capital (health and education) has not compensated for the degradation of natural capital in many parts of
the world.[57] It has been suggested that intergenerational equity can be incorporated into a sustainable development
and decision making, as has become common in economic valuations of climate economics.[58] A meta review in 2009
identified conditions for a strong case to act on climate change, and called for more work to fully account of the relevant
economics and how it affects human welfare.[59] According to free-market environmentalist John Baden "the
improvement of environment quality depends on the market economy and the existence of legitimate and
protected property rights". They enable the effective practice of personal responsibility and the development of
mechanisms to protect the environment. The State can in this context "create conditions which encourage the people to
save the environment".[60]

Misum, Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets, based at Stockholm School of Economics, aims to provide policy research
and advice to Swedish and international actors on Sustainable Markets. Misum is a cross-disciplinary and multi-
stakeholder knowledge center dedicated to sustainability and sustainable markets and contains three research
platforms: Sustainability in Financial Markets (Mistra Financial Systems), Sustainability in Production and Consumption
and Sustainable Socio-Economic Development.[61]

Environmental economics[edit]

Main article: Environmental economics

The total environment includes not just the biosphere of earth, air, and water, but also human interactions with these
things, with nature, and what humans have created as their surroundings.[62]

As countries around the world continue to advance economically, they put a strain on the ability of the natural
environment to absorb the high level of pollutants that are created as a part of this economic growth. Therefore,
solutions need to be found so that the economies of the world can continue to grow, but not at the expense of the
public good. In the world of economics the amount of environmental quality must be considered as limited in supply and
therefore is treated as a scarce resource. This is a resource to be protected. One common way to analyze possible
outcomes of policy decisions on the scarce resource is to do a cost-benefit analysis. This type of analysis contrasts
different options of resource allocation and, based on an evaluation of the expected courses of action and the
consequences of these actions, the optimal way to do so in the light of different policy goals can be elicited.[63]

Benefit-cost analysis basically can look at several ways of solving a problem and then assigning the best route for a
solution, based on the set of consequences that would result from the further development of the individual courses of
action, and then choosing the course of action that results in the least amount of damage to the expected outcome for
the environmental quality that remains after that development or process takes place. Further complicating this analysis
are the interrelationships of the various parts of the environment that might be impacted by the chosen course of
action. Sometimes it is almost impossible to predict the various outcomes of a course of action, due to the unexpected
consequences and the amount of unknowns that are not accounted for in the benefit-cost analysis.[citation needed]
Energy[edit]

Main articles: Smart grid and Sustainable energy

Sustainable energy is clean and can be used over a long period of time. Unlike fossil fuels and biofuels that provide the
bulk of the worlds energy, renewable energy sources like hydroelectric, solar and wind energy produce far less
pollution.[64][65] Solar energy is commonly used on public parking meters, street lights and the roof of buildings.[66] Wind
powerhas expanded quickly, its share of worldwide electricity usage at the end of 2014 was 3.1%.[67] Most of California's
fossil fuel infrastructures are sited in or near low-income communities, and have traditionally suffered the most from
California's fossil fuel energy system. These communities are historically left out during the decision-making process, and
often end up with dirty power plants and other dirty energy projects that poison the air and harm the area. These
toxicants are major contributors to health problems in the communities. As renewable energy becomes more common,
fossil fuel infrastructures are replaced by renewables, providing better social equity to these communities.[68] Overall,
and in the long run, sustainable development in the field of energy is also deemed to contribute to economic
sustainability and national security of communities, thus being increasingly encouraged through investment policies.[69]

Manufacturing[edit]

Main article: Green manufacturing and Distributed manufacturing

Technology[edit]

See also: Appropriate technology, Environmental engineering, and Environmental technology

One of the core concepts in sustainable development is that technology can be used to assist people to meet their
developmental needs. Technology to meet these sustainable development needs is often referred to as appropriate
technology, which is an ideological movement (and its manifestations) originally articulated as intermediate
technology by the economist E. F. Schumacher in his influential work, Small is Beautiful. And now covers a wide range of
technologies.[70] Both Schumacher and many modern-day proponents of appropriate technology also emphasise the
technology as people-centered.[71] Today appropriate technology is often developed using open source principles, which
have led to Open-Source Appropriate Technology (OSAT) and thus many of the plans of the technology can be freely
found on the Internet.[72] OSAT has been proposed as a new model of enabling innovation for sustainable
development.[73][74]

Transport[edit]

See also: Sustainable transport

Transportation is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It is said that one-third of all gases produced are due
to transportation.[75] Motorized transport also releases exhaust fumes that contain particulate matter which is
hazardous to human health and a contributor to climate change.[76]

Sustainable transport has many social and economic benefits that can accelerate local sustainable development.
According to a series of reports by the Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP), sustainable
transport can help create jobs,[77] improve commuter safety through investment in bicycle lanes and pedestrian
pathways,[78]make access to employment and social opportunities more affordable and efficient. It also offers a practical
opportunity to save people's time and household income as well as government budgets,[79] making investment in
sustainable transport a 'win-win' opportunity.

Some Western countries are making transportation more sustainable in both long-term and short-term
implementations.[80] An example is the modification in available transportation in Freiburg, Germany. The city has
implemented extensive methods of public transportation, cycling, and walking, along with large areas where cars are not
allowed.[75]
Since many Western countries are highly automobile-oriented, the main transit that people use is personal vehicles.
About 80% of their travel involves cars.[75] Therefore, California, is one of the highest greenhouse gases emitters in the
United States. The federal government has to come up with some plans to reduce the total number of vehicle trips in
order to lower greenhouse gases emission. Such as:

 Improve public transit through the provision of larger coverage area in order to provide more mobility and
accessibility, new technology to provide a more reliable and responsive public transportation network.[81]

 Encourage walking and biking through the provision of wider pedestrian pathway, bike share stations in
downtowns, locate parking lots far from the shopping center, limit on street parking, slower traffic lane in
downtown area.

 Increase the cost of car ownership and gas taxes through increased parking fees and tolls, encouraging people to
drive more fuel efficient vehicles. This can produce a social equity problem, since lower income people usually
drive older vehicles with lower fuel efficiency. Government can use the extra revenue collected from taxes and
tolls to improve public transportation and benefit poor communities.[82]

Other states and nations have built efforts to translate knowledge in behavioral economics into evidence-
based sustainable transportation policies.[citation needed]

Business[edit]

See also: Corporate sustainability

The most broadly accepted criterion for corporate sustainability constitutes a firm's efficient use of natural capital.
This eco-efficiency is usually calculated as the economic value added by a firm in relation to its aggregated ecological
impact.[83] This idea has been popularised by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) under
the following definition: "Eco-efficiency is achieved by the delivery of competitively priced goods and services that
satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource
intensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at least in line with the earth's carrying capacity" (DeSimone and Popoff,
1997: 47).[84]

Similar to the eco-efficiency concept but so far less explored is the second criterion for corporate sustainability. Socio-
efficiency[85] describes the relation between a firm's value added and its social impact. Whereas, it can be assumed that
most corporate impacts on the environment are negative (apart from rare exceptions such as the planting of trees) this
is not true for social impacts. These can be either positive (e.g. corporate giving, creation of employment) or negative
(e.g. work accidents, mobbing of employees, human rights abuses). Depending on the type of impact socio-efficiency
thus either tries to minimise negative social impacts (i.e. accidents per value added) or maximise positive social impacts
(i.e. donations per value added) in relation to the value added.[citation needed]

Both eco-efficiency and socio-efficiency are concerned primarily with increasing economic sustainability. In this process
they instrumentalise both natural and social capital aiming to benefit from win-win situations. However, as Dyllick and
Hockerts[85] point out the business case alone will not be sufficient to realise sustainable development. They point
towards eco-effectiveness, socio-effectiveness, sufficiency, and eco-equity as four criteria that need to be met if
sustainable development is to be reached.[citation needed]

CASI Global, New York "CSR & Sustainability together lead to sustainable development. CSR as in corporate social
responsibility is not what you do with your profits, but is the way you make profits. This means CSR is a part of every
department of the company value chain and not a part of HR / independent department. Sustainability as in effects
towards Human resources, Environment and Ecology has to be measured within each department of the
company." http://casiglobal.us/

Income[edit]
At the present time, sustainable development can reduce poverty. Sustainable development reduces poverty through
financial (among other things, a balanced budget), environmental (living conditions), and social (including equality of
income) means.[86]

Architecture[edit]

See also: Sustainable architecture

In sustainable architecture the recent movements of New Urbanism and New Classical architecture promote a
sustainable approach towards construction, that appreciates and develops smart growth, architectural
tradition and classical design.[87][88] This in contrast to modernist and International Style architecture, as well as opposing
to solitary housing estates and suburban sprawl, with long commuting distances and large ecological footprints.[89] Both
trends started in the 1980s. (Sustainable architecture is predominantly relevant to the economics domain while
architectural landscaping pertains more to the ecological domain.)[citation needed]

Politics[edit]

See also: Environmental politics, Environmental governance, and Sustainability metrics and indices

A study concluded that social indicators and, therefore, sustainable development indicators, are scientific constructs
whose principal objective is to inform public policy-making.[90]The International Institute for Sustainable
Development has similarly developed a political policy framework, linked to a sustainability index for establishing
measurable entities and metrics. The framework consists of six core areas, international trade and investment,
economic policy, climate change and energy, measurement and assessment, natural resource management, and the role
of communication technologies in sustainable development.

The United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme has defined sustainable political development in a way that
broadens the usual definition beyond states and governance. The political is defined as the domain of practices and
meanings associated with basic issues of social power as they pertain to the organisation, authorisation, legitimation
and regulation of a social life held in common. This definition is in accord with the view that political change is important
for responding to economic, ecological and cultural challenges. It also means that the politics of economic change can be
addressed. They have listed seven subdomains of the domain of politics:[91]

1. Organization and governance

2. Law and justice

3. Communication and critique

4. Representation and negotiation

5. Security and accord

6. Dialogue and reconciliation

7. Ethics and accountability

This accords with the Brundtland Commission emphasis on development that is guided by human rights principles (see
above).

Culture[edit]
Framing of sustainable development progress according to the Circles of Sustainability, used by the United Nations.

Working with a different emphasis, some researchers and institutions have pointed out that a fourth dimension should
be added to the dimensions of sustainable development, since the triple-bottom-line dimensions of economic,
environmental and social do not seem to be enough to reflect the complexity of contemporary society. In this context,
the Agenda 21 for culture and the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Executive Bureau lead the preparation of
the policy statement "Culture: Fourth Pillar of Sustainable Development", passed on 17 November 2010, in the
framework of the World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders – 3rd World Congress of UCLG, held in Mexico City. This
document inaugurates a new perspective and points to the relation between culture and sustainable development
through a dual approach: developing a solid cultural policy and advocating a cultural dimension in all public policies.
The Circles of Sustainability approach distinguishes the four domains of economic, ecological, political and cultural
sustainability.[92][93][94]

Other organizations have also supported the idea of a fourth domain of sustainable development. The Network of
Excellence "Sustainable Development in a Diverse World",[95] sponsored by the European Union, integrates
multidisciplinary capacities and interprets cultural diversity as a key element of a new strategy for sustainable
development. The Fourth Pillar of Sustainable Development Theory has been referenced by executive director of IMI
Institute at UNESCO Vito Di Bari[96] in his manifesto of art and architectural movement Neo-Futurism, whose name was
inspired by the 1987 United Nations’ report Our Common Future. The Circles of Sustainability approach used by
Metropolis defines the (fourth) cultural domain as practices, discourses, and material expressions, which, over time,
express continuities and discontinuities of social meaning.[91]

Cultural Elements in Sustainable Development Frameworks[edit]

Recently, human-centered design and cultural collaboration have been popular frameworks for sustainable
development in marginalized communities.[97][98][99][100]These frameworks involve open dialogue which entails sharing,
debating, and discussing, as well as holistic evaluation of the site of development.[97][98][99][100]Especially when working on
sustainable development in marginalized communities, cultural emphasis is a crucial factor in project decisions, since it
largely affects aspects of their lives and traditions.[97]Collaborators utilize articulation theory in co-designing. This allows
for them to understand each other's thought process and their comprehension of the sustainable projects.[97]By using
the method of co-design, the beneficiaries' holistic needs are being considered.[97][99]Final decisions and implementations
are made with respect to sociocultural and ecological factors.[100][99][98][97]

Human Centered Design[edit]

The user-oriented framework relies heavily on user participation and user feedback in the planning process.[101]Users are
able to provide new perspective and ideas, which can be considered in a new round of improvements and changes.[101]It
is said that increased user participation in the design process can garner a more comprehensive understanding of the
design issues, due to more contextual and emotional transparency between researcher and participant.[101]A key
element of human centered design is applied ethnography, which was a research method adopted from cultural
anthropology.[101]This research method requires researchers to be fully immersed in the observation so that implicit
details are also recorded.[101]

Life Cycle Analysis[edit]

Many communities express environmental concerns, so life cycle analysis is often conducted when assessing the
sustainability of a product or prototype.[102][99][97]The assessment is done in stages with meticulous cycles of planning,
design, implementation, and evaluation.[103]The decision to choose materials is heavily weighted on its longevity,
renewability, and efficiency. These factors ensure that researchers are conscious of community values that align with
positive environmental, social, and economic impacts.[102]

Themes[edit]

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Progress[edit]

See also: Sustainable development goals

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD; also known as Rio 2012) was the third
international conference on sustainable development, which aimed at reconciling the economic and environmental
goals of the global community. An outcome of this conference was the development of the Sustainable Development
Goals that aim to promote sustainable progress and eliminate inequalities around the world. However, few nations met
the World Wide Fund for Nature's definition of sustainable development criteria established in 2006.[104] Although some
nations are more developed than others, all nations are constantly developing because each nation struggles with
perpetuating disparities, inequalities and unequal access to fundamental rights and freedoms.[105]

Measurement[edit]

Main articles: Ecological footprint and Sustainability measurement

Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest are a concern because of increased human
encroachment upon wilderness areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.

In 2007 a report for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated: "While much discussion and effort has gone into
sustainability indicators, none of the resulting systems clearly tells us whether our society is sustainable. At best, they
can tell us that we are heading in the wrong direction, or that our current activities are not sustainable. More often, they
simply draw our attention to the existence of problems, doing little to tell us the origin of those problems and nothing to
tell us how to solve them."[106] Nevertheless, a majority of authors assume that a set of well defined and harmonised
indicators is the only way to make sustainability tangible. Those indicators are expected to be identified and adjusted
through empirical observations (trial and error).[107]

The most common critiques are related to issues like data quality, comparability, objective function and the necessary
resources.[108]However a more general criticism is coming from the project management community: How can a
sustainable development be achieved at global level if we cannot monitor it in any single project?[109][110]

The Cuban-born researcher and entrepreneur Sonia Bueno suggests an alternative approach that is based upon the
integral, long-term cost-benefit relationship as a measure and monitoring tool for the sustainability of every project,
activity or enterprise.[111][112]Furthermore, this concept aims to be a practical guideline towards sustainable development
following the principle of conservation and increment of value rather than restricting the consumption of
resources.[citation needed]

Reasonable qualifications of sustainability are seen U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED). This design incorporates some ecological, economic, and social elements. The goals
presented by LEED design goals are sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmospheric emission reduction,
material and resources efficiency, and indoor environmental quality. Although amount of structures for sustainability
development is many, these qualification has become a standard for sustainable building.[citation needed]

Recent research efforts created also the SDEWES Index to benchmark the performance of cities across aspects that are
related to energy, water and environment systems. The SDEWES Index consists of 7 dimensions, 35 indicators, and close
to 20 sub-indicators. It is currently applied to 58 cities.[113]

Natural capital[edit]

Deforestation of native rain forest in Rio de Janeiro City for extraction of clay for civil engineering(2009 picture).

The sustainable development debate is based on the assumption that societies need to manage three types of capital
(economic, social, and natural), which may be non-substitutable and whose consumption might be
irreversible.[85] Leading ecological economist and steady-state theorist Herman Daly,[5] for example, points to the fact
that natural capital can not necessarily be substituted by economic capital. While it is possible that we can find ways to
replace some natural resources, it is much more unlikely that they will ever be able to replace eco-system services, such
as the protection provided by the ozone layer, or the climate stabilizing function of the Amazonian forest. In fact natural
capital, social capital and economic capital are often complementarities. A further obstacle to substitutability lies also in
the multi-functionality of many natural resources. Forests, for example, not only provide the raw material for paper
(which can be substituted quite easily), but they also maintain biodiversity, regulate water flow, and absorb CO2.[citation
needed]

Another problem of natural and social capital deterioration lies in their partial irreversibility. The loss of biodiversity, for
example, is often definitive. The same can be true for cultural diversity. For example, with globalisation advancing
quickly the number of indigenous languages is dropping at alarming rates. Moreover, the depletion of natural and social
capital may have non-linear consequences. Consumption of natural and social capital may have no observable impact
until a certain threshold is reached. A lake can, for example, absorb nutrients for a long time while actually increasing its
productivity. However, once a certain level of algae is reached lack of oxygen causes the lake's ecosystem to break down
suddenly.[citation needed]

Business-as-usual[edit]

Before flue-gas desulfurization was installed, the air-polluting emissions from this power plant in New Mexico contained
excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide.

If the degradation of natural and social capital has such important consequence the question arises why action is not
taken more systematically to alleviate it. Cohen and Winn[114] point to four types of market failure as possible
explanations: First, while the benefits of natural or social capital depletion can usually be privatised, the costs are often
externalised (i.e. they are borne not by the party responsible but by society in general). Second, natural capital is often
undervalued by society since we are not fully aware of the real cost of the depletion of natural capital. Information
asymmetry is a third reason—often the link between cause and effect is obscured, making it difficult for actors to make
informed choices. Cohen and Winn close with the realization that contrary to economic theory many firms are not
perfect optimisers. They postulate that firms often do not optimise resource allocation because they are caught in a
"business as usual" mentality.[citation needed]

Education[edit]

Main page: Education for sustainable development

Education must be revisited in light of a renewed vision of sustainable human and social development that is both
equitable and viable. This vision of sustainability must take into consideration the social, environmental and economic
dimensions of human development and the various ways in which these relate to education: ‘An empowering education
is one that builds the human resources we need to be productive, to continue to learn, to solve problems, to be creative,
and to live together and with nature in peace and harmony. When nations ensure that such an education is accessible to
all throughout their lives, a quiet revolution is set in motion: education becomes the engine of sustainable development
and the key to a better world.’[115][116]

Higher education in sustainability across education streams including engineering, finance, supply chain and operations
is gaining weight-age. Multiple institutes including Wharton, Columbia, CASI Global New York offer certifications in
Sustainability. Corporate's prefer employees certified in sustainability.
Reference https://www.wharton.upenn.edu/http://www.columbia.edu/ http://casiglobal.us/

Insubstantial stretching of the term[edit]

It has been argued that since the 1960s, the concept of sustainable development has changed from "conservation
management" to "economic development", whereby the original meaning of the concept has been stretched
somewhat.[6]:48–54

In the 1960s, the international community realised that many African countries needed national plans to safeguard
wildlife habitats, and that rural areas had to confront the limits imposed by soil, climate and water availability. This was
a strategy of conservation management. In the 1970s, however, the focus shifted to the broader issues of the
provisioning of basic human needs, community participation as well as appropriate technology use throughout the
developing countries (and not just in Africa). This was a strategy of economic development, and the strategy was carried
even further by the Brundtland Commission's report on Our Common Future when the issues went from regional to
international in scope and application.[6]:48–54 In effect, the conservationists were crowded out and superseded by the
developers.

But shifting the focus of sustainable development from conservation to development has had the imperceptible effect of
stretching the original forest management term of sustainable yield from the use of renewable resources only (like
forestry), to now also accounting for the use of non-renewable resources (like minerals).[2]:13 This stretching of the term
has been questioned. Thus, environmental economist Kerry Turner has argued that literally, there can be no such thing
as overall "sustainable development" in an industrialised world economy that remains heavily dependent on the
extraction of earth's finite stock of exhaustible mineral resources: "It makes no sense to talk about the sustainable use of
a non-renewable resource (even with substantial recycling effort and use rates). Any positive rate of exploitation will
eventually lead to exhaustion of the finite stock."[2]:13

In effect, it has been argued that the industrial revolution as a whole is unsustainable.[3]:20f [4]:61–67 [5]:22f [117]:52

One critic has argued that the Brundtland Commission promoted nothing but a business as usual strategy for world
development, with the ambiguous and insubstantial concept of "sustainable development" attached as a public relations
slogan:[7]:94–99 The report on Our Common Future was largely the result of a political bargaining process involving many
special interest groups, all put together to create a common appeal of political acceptability across borders. After World
War II, the notion of "development" had been established in the West to imply the projection of the American model of
society onto the rest of the world. In the 1970s and 1980s, this notion was broadened somewhat to also imply human
rights, basic human needs and finally, ecological issues. The emphasis of the report was on helping poor nations out of
poverty and meeting the basic needs of their growing populations—as usual. This issue demanded more economic
growth, also in the rich countries, who would then import more goods from the poor countries to help them out—as
usual. When the discussion switched to global ecological limits to growth, the obvious dilemma was left aside by calling
for economic growth with improved resource efficiency, or what was termed "a change in the quality of growth".
However, most countries in the West had experienced such improved resource efficiency since the early-20th century
already and as usual; only, this improvement had been more than offset by continuing industrial expansion, to the effect
that world resource consumption was now higher than ever before—and these two historical trends were completely
ignored in the report. Taken together, the policy of perpetual economic growth for the entire planet remained virtually
intact. Since the publication of the report, the ambiguous and insubstantial slogan of "sustainable development" has
marched on worldwide.[7]:94–99

Sources[edit]

This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 License
statement: Rethinking Education: Towards a global common good?, 32-33, UNESCO. UNESCO. To learn how to add open
license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please
see the terms of use.

This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA License statement: Issues and trends
in education for sustainable development, 276, UNESCO. UNESDOC. To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia
articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.

Sustainable Development
Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most frequently quoted
definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report:
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
Sustainability is the foundation for today’s leading global framework for international cooperation – the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Each of the 17 SDGs has specific targets to be achieved by 2030. The goals and targets are universal, meaning
they apply to all countries around the world, not just poor countries. Reaching the goals requires action on all
fronts – governments, businesses, civil society and people everywhere all have a role to play.

Discover how IISD's work relates to the Sustainable Development Goals using our interactive tool. Or explore
our SDG Knowledge Hub, an online resource center for the latest news, original commentary from our experts,
guest articles from key actors in SDG implementation, and a calendar of upcoming events related to the 2030
Agenda.

Sustainable development is in the news every day as the world copes with climate change, biodiversity loss,
conflict and resource scarcity. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and subscribe to our biweekly e-
newsletter to stay connected to the global conversation.

Overseeing Agenda 2030—How to Avoid a

Repeat of the Commission on Sustainable
Development

When the idea of a Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was first

floated in the lead-up to the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the proposal was to
create a powerful body—on a par with the UN Security Council—that would
defuse threats to sustainable development the way the Security Council tries
to with threats to peace.

In the end, no consensus supported that level of ambition, and the CSD was
placed solidly under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the central
UN platform for addressing the world's economic and social issues. This was a
downgrading that virtually guaranteed its lack of effectiveness. After all, if
ECOSOC did its job properly, there would be no need for CSD.

CSD nevertheless tried bravely to confront the tide, inviting ministers of finance,
environment and development to seek consensus around a set of issues and, in
the first years, made some progress. However, it slowly lost its wider audience,
becoming essentially a meeting of environmental officials, worryingly similar to
the UN Environment Programme's Governing Council. In the last years, it limped
along, a general embarrassment to the sustainable development community,
displaying few vital signs and certainly failing to advance anything material on
the environment, much less on the sustainable development agenda. In 2012,
Rio+20 finally put CSD out of its misery and created, in its stead, the High-Level
Political Forum (HLPF), tasked to track and facilitate the implementation of
Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals. It will meet annually at the
ministerial level and every four years at the level of heads of state or government.

The HLPF sounds eerily similar to the CSD—all hope that it might serve as an
independent new body responding to the initial hopes of the Earth Summit were
dashed early on. It is now rare to find mention of the HLPF in any official
document that does not immediately add "under the auspices of
ECOSOC." Certainly, the politics around the New York missions to the UN will
not allow HLPF to escape the cold clutches of ECOSOC, which begs the dual
questions: Isn’t ECOSOC's job now primarily to oversee the universal agenda
adopted by member states for the coming 15 years? And if we need HLPF to take
the lead because ECOSOC is incapable of doing so, isn't placing the HLPF solidly
under ECOSOC's auspices a kiss of death?

Hard-nosed New York veterans and the master gamesmen and women in the UN
missions will wryly observe that it is politically unacceptable to undermine
ECOSOC by placing HLPF outside it, much less above it. Realism dictates that we
must make do with the instruments that we have and not dream idly of creating
new ones, especially ones that would require a change in the UN charter. How,
then can we offer HLPF a chance of playing a positive role?

The answer must be to circumscribe the scope of issues it should be debating and
to prepare those debates meticulously. The risk is that the flow of reporting will
combine into a mighty river that will culminate in a massive flood of undigested
information surging towards New York. There is a very real risk that this flood
will overwhelm HLPF and ensure that its debates are confined to generalities.

Two related issues must be addressed in order to counter that risk. First, the
member states have adopted a bottom-up system for reporting on the
implementation of Agenda 2030. It will be essential that countries report in a
format and on a schedule that allows for analysis and comparison. This will also
help make it possible to aggregate the information at the regional level and to
identify the key areas of progress, as well as the major lessons learned and the
obstacles to progress that most urgently need lifting. If the national and regional
reporting processes function properly, then what is sent to HLPF for discussion
can be focused, practical and manageable.
Second, however, even if this happens, there are other streams of reporting,
including UN entities that are meant to report on their implementation efforts,
and various non-UN intergovernmental bodies, such as the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank or the World Trade
Organization. Then there is the thematic reporting, which may or may not be the
same as the reports backing HLPF's discussion of the themes of their choice. Nor
is it clear what role is to be played by the proposed Global Sustainable
Development Report. Is it a synthesis of all reporting streams? Or only of the UN
part? Or will it adopt a thematic approach?

The confusion around reporting and follow-up is, to some extent, normal. The
challenges presented by the complex, comprehensive and universally applicable
Agenda 2030 are enormous and it is still early days. But unless it can be sorted
soon and with a view to ensuring that HLPF can genuinely serve as a forum for
discussing the removal of obstacles to full implementation, all the elements are
present to shove HLPF down the CSD path towards irrelevance and oblivion.

HLPF can only be as good as the process that feeds it. Top priority should be
given to ensuring that this is robust, effective and as untainted by New York
politics as possible.

Sustainability and Second Life: The case for

cobalt and lithium recycling

Adopting recycling in the mining sector and in supply chains is essential to

ensure the transition to a low-carbon economy is responsible and sustainable
for the longer term.

Key Messages

 Interest in renewable technologies (such as electric vehicles, solar panels

and wind turbines) has increased demand for cobalt and lithium. However,
global supplies of both minerals are not projected to meet demand, with
research forecasting shortfalls in the coming decade.
 Extracting cobalt and lithium from old products and infrastructure is
essential to heading off predicted metal shortfalls, empowering clean energy
transitions and reducing risk of human exploitation.
Interest in renewable technologies (such as electric vehicles, solar panels and
wind turbines) has increased demand for cobalt and lithium.

However, global supplies of both minerals are not projected to meet demand,
with research forecasting shortfalls in the coming decade.

Lithium and cobalt recycling, conducted in a responsible and transparent way,

could help head off metal shortfalls while reducing pressure on mining
communities vulnerable to exploitation. However, recycling rates remain low due
to a lack of transparency in recycling supply chains; manufacturers purchasing
substitute minerals due to high prices for raw cobalt and lithium; and inefficient
collection of cobalt and lithium from existing infrastructure, to name a few.

Sustainability and Second Life: The Case for Cobalt and Lithium Recycling’s
recommendations include:

 Increased transparency and responsible sourcing along primary and

recycling supply chains
 Enhancing the eco-design of products containing lithium and cobalt
 Raising consumer awareness regarding current collection and recycling
schemes
 New or revised investments to improve collection infrastructure, technology
development and knowledge creation
 Clearly designating the actors responsible and liable for recycling materials

Why it's important

What is Sustainable Development?
The goal of sustainable development is to meet the needs of today, without compromising the needs of tomorrow.

This means we cannot continue using current levels of resources as this will not leave enough for future
generations.

Stabilising and reducing carbon emissions is key to living within environmental limits. The SDU believes that
operating within the right economic, social AND environmental boundaries will create a truly sustainable health
system, one that is fit for the future.

Sustainable development is often partnered with good corporate citizenship. This means that organisations in the
health system can use their corporate powers and resources in ways that benefit rather than damage the economic,
social and physical environment in which we live.
Why is Sustainable Development important for the health
system?
Healthcare staff are among the most trusted people in the country. The impact that climate change has on
the health of the people we serve makes standing and saying we are part of the fight against climate change
a key component of the day job.

The health system in England is a huge employer with over 1.3 million people working in the NHS
alone. Consequently the health system has a very large carbon footprint. It is a major buyer of goods and
services from local, national and international economies and is often the biggest single employer in each
of the English regions. It is always a significant component of the regional economy. Every person and
organisation has an obligation to mitigate the effects of climate change, arguably the largest health threat
that faces us this century. This means the health system has a duty to become a highly effective public
sector exemplar in sustainable development and carbon reduction.

To do this the health system needs to operate economically and ethically. It needs to be conscious of
delivering safe and cost effective healthcare while recognising the negative impact it has on the
environment. The SDU is supporting the system become a good corporate citizen by helping it find the right
mix between financial, social and environmental sustainability. This will help save money, improve quality
and build a healthcare service resilient for the future.

The NHS is the largest public sector contributor to climate change in Europe. Each year it emits 21 million
tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2e.

SDG Integration means finding holistic, sustainable solutions to complex

development problems, together.

We help countries connect the dots on these complex issues.

The Sustainable Development Goals are designed to be integrated. Sustainable development

recognizes that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, combating inequality within
and among countries, preserving the planet, creating sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth and fostering social inclusion are linked to each other and are
interdependent - this is agreed by Member States. If these challenges are interlinked and
interdependent, then the way we work and the solutions we develop must be integrated.

The Secretary General has drawn attention to the growing num ber of complex issues that
cannot be dealt with in isolation, from forced migration, civil wars and climate change, to the
future of work and persistent inequalities. UNDP has a unique mix of resources and
experience in supporting the policies and capacities of countries to tackle these issues
through integrated approaches, from addressing multi-dimensional poverty, helping build
accountable and effective institutions, and working in strong partnership with governments.

Protecting Development Gains

The 2030 Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to
strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. It recognizes that eradicating poverty in all its
forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global chal lenge and an
indispensable requirement for sustainable development. All countries and all stakeholders,
acting in collaborative partnership, are implementing this Agenda.
The interlinkages and integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a re of
crucial importance in ensuring that the purpose of the 2030 Agenda is realized. If we do so,
the lives of all will be profoundly improved and our world will be transformed for the better.

The SDGs and their targets stimulate action in areas of critical importance for humanity and
the planet and as a support platform of the UN development system and the Resident
Coordinators, UNDP helps countries accelerate progress through our SDG integration
function. Here is how:

Sustainable Development in the 21st century (SD21)

Objectives and Goals
The overarching objective of the project is to construct a coherent vision of sustainable development in the 21st century,
which will contribute to the success of the Rio+20 conference. The project, funded by the European Commission -
Directorate-General for Environment, aims to provide a high quality analytical input to the Rio+20 conference.

The specific objectives of the project are the following:

 Prepare a substantive contribution to the debate in the UNCSD in 2012, which takes stock of the changes having
occurred since the Earth Summit in 1992 and provide a clear vision and way forward for the international
community, national governments, partnerships and other stakeholders in implementing the sustainable
development agenda in an integrated manner.
 Construct a coherent vision on sustainable development in the 21st century and analyse feasible pathways to
sustainability.
 Synthesize analytical and applied policy work regarding menus of policy options for a more sustainable, green
growth that consider the specific economic, social, environmental and institutional context of countries in different
stages of economic development.

Background

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), which will gather UN member states and other
stakeholders in Brazil in 2012, is a key occasion to take stock of 20 years of action at all levels to promote sustainable
development, and to provide a clear vision and way forward for the international community, national governments,
partnerships and other stakeholders in implementing the sustainable development agenda in an integrated manner.

Knowledge must inform action - knowledge of what has and has not worked for sustainable development in the past 20
years, knowledge as well of important changes and new challenges that have emerged in the past generation. Only on
this basis can we develop a clear vision of sustainable development for the 21st century. That vision needs to incorporate
and build upon the rich output of various global assessments - including climate change, water, energy, and ecosystems -
as well as the policy lessons from experience, respond to the evolving nature of the challenges, and draw upon the latest
research on integrating sustainability and development into a common agenda. It also needs to recognize and motivate
the contribution of all inhabitants of planet earth.

The SD21 project is built around a series of studies that will inform a synthesis report, "Sustainable development in the
21st century" (SD21). The SD21 body of studies is expected to become an important analytical and political contribution in
its own right. Studies under the SD21 project will cover the following topics: assessment of progress since the Earth
Summit; emerging issues ; long-term sustainable development scenarios; tools for managing sustainable economies;
national and international institutions for sustainable development; and sector assessments.

Project approach

The approach to SD21 was based on the idea that for sustainable development to progress, its political nature has to be
recognized. SD21 reports expose different views regarding how sustainable development should be pursued and how
specific issues should be addressed. The aim is to forge a better understanding and help overcome the current gridlock
on the most divisive issues. SD21 provides an empirical basis and a frame of analysis to better understand much of
today's work on the key issues of sustainability.

SD21 Summary for policymakers available on top right side.

Sustainable Development
M.M. Shah, in Encyclopedia of Ecology, 2008
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The concept of needs goes beyond simply material
needs and includes values, relationships, freedom to think, act, and participate, all amounting to sustainable
living, morally, and spiritually.
The 30-year journey of four World Summits from Stockholm to Nairobi to Rio and to Johannesburg has put the
world on notice that achieving sustainable development in the twenty-first century is not an option but an
imperative.
The 1972 UN conference in Stockholm highlighted the concerns for preserving and enhancing the environment
and its biodiversity to ensure human rights to a healthy and productive world. The developing countries argued
that their priority was development, whereas the developed countries made a case for environmental
protection and conservation as the prime issue.
The 1982 Nairobi Summit reviewed the progress in the decade since the Stockholm Conference and called upon
national governments to intensify efforts to protect the environment and stressed the need for international
cooperation. However, the tensions between Western Governments and the Soviet Union marred progress and
commitment toward a Nairobi action plan.
In 1983 the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development was created and in 1987, the
Commission issued the Brundtland Report. This report highlighted that equity, growth, and environmental
maintenance are simultaneously possible and that each country is capable of achieving its full economic
potential while at the same time enhancing its resource base. It emphasized three fundamental components to
sustainable development: environmental protection, economic growth, and social equity.
During the period 1972–92, over 200 regional and international agreements and conventions for environmental
protection and conservation were adopted. However, most of these agreements were negotiated individually and
treated as ‘separate entities’, with many lacking systemic integration within the social, economic, and
environmental framework of sustainable development.
In 1992, the Earth Summit brought the world’s governments to deliberate and negotiate an agenda for
environment and development in the twenty-first century. At a parallel Global Forum, nongovernmental
organizations from around the world also discussed and deliberated strategies for sustainable development.
While there was little formal interaction between these two meetings, the world’s civil societies succeeded in
having their voices noticed. It was an important step toward future dialog and active participation of civil
society in sustainable development regimes from local to global levels.
The Earth Summit unanimously adopted the Agenda 21, a comprehensive blue print of actions toward
sustainable development, including detailed work plans, goals, responsibilities, and also estimates for funding.
Other important accomplishments included the Rio Declaration, a statement of broad principles to guide
national conduct on environmental protection and development, and adoption of treaties on climate change and
biodiversity, and forest management principles.
The first principle of the Rio Declaration states “human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable
development.” The declaration also highlighted the ‘polluter-pays-principle’ and the ‘precautionary principle’,
as important considerations for the protection and conservation of nature.
Whether addressing vulnerability to environmental change, responsibility for environmental degradation and
loss of biodiversity, or policy priorities, careful consideration of the particular groups of people involved, and
their social, economic, and environmental conditions, is essential. Focusing on people – their rights,
capabilities, and opportunities – has multiple benefits for individuals, society, and their relationship with the
environment.
Agenda 21 pointed out that different populations had ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ for impacts
on the environment. In Rio, the thinking was dominated by the goal of converging trends in different parts of
the world. There was the clear hope that the developing countries would catch up, while the rich countries
would become increasingly environmentally conscious and curb their excessive consumption and the related
pollution and waste. This has not come to pass.
Consumption per se is not something to be avoided since it is one important aspect of improving human well-
being. Equally important is the recognition that the relationships between well-being, levels of consumption,
and environmental impacts depend on the value systems, the effectiveness of institutions, including forms of
governance, as well as science, technology, and knowledge.
The lack of progress in turning Agenda 21 into actions for sustainable development leads to the 2002
Johannesburg World Summit on sustainable development. Johannesburg put the thrust on public–private
partnerships for sustainable development through an endorsement of some 500 such partnerships but most of
these agreements failed to be implemented.
Prior to the Johannesburg Summit, in September 2000, political leaders from around the world took an
unprecedented step of setting concrete 2015 targets for millennium development goals (MDGs) related to the
priority challenges of sustainable development, namely, poverty, hunger, education, gender,
health, environmental sustainability, and a global partnership for development. All these issues are interrelated;
one cannot be solved without tackling the others. The progress up to 2007 indicates that many of these MDGs
are unlikely to be realized by 2015.
The nations of the world at the Earth Summit failed to mobilize the financial resources for the implementation
of Agenda 21, and the WSSD in Johannesburg failed to turn agenda into actions. The critical issues of education
and human capital were also not on the WSSD agenda. The scientific and technological capacity is essential and
educational and research institutions around the world have a fundamental responsibility to contribute to this.
Education comprises a lifelong learning system to cope with the changing needs and aspirations of society. The
United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, starting in 2005, lays the foundation to
reform and mobilize education at all levels, from schools to universities, in support of sustainable development.
Read full chapter
Sustainable Development
Iyyanki V. Muralikrishna, Valli Manickam, in Environmental Management, 2017
2.2.1 Goals of Sustainability
In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Developmentmet to discuss and develop a set of goals
to work toward; they grew out of the Millennium Development Goals that claimed success in reducing global
poverty while acknowledging there was still much more to do. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
eventually came up with a list of 17 items (8) that included amongst other things:
•the end of poverty and hunger

•better standards of education and healthcare, particularly as it pertains to water quality and better sanitation

•to achieve gender equality

•sustainable economic growth while promoting jobs and stronger economies

•sustainability to include health of the land, air, and sea

Finally, it acknowledged the concept of nature having certain rights, that people have stewardship of the world,
and the importance of putting people at the forefront of solving these global issues.
Thus, sustainable development recognizes that growth must be both inclusive and environmentally sound to
reduce poverty and build shared prosperity for today’s population and to continue to meet the needs of future
generations. It is efficient with resources and carefully planned to deliver both immediate and long-term
benefits for people, the planet, and prosperity. The three pillars of sustainable development–economic growth,
environmental stewardship, and social inclusion (Fig. 2.1)—carry across all sectors of development, from cities
facing rapid urbanization to agriculture, infrastructure, energy development and use, water availability, and
transportation.

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Figure 2.1. Pillars of sustainable development.

Many of these objectives may seem to conflict with each other in the short term. For example, industrial growth
might conflict with preserving natural resources. Yet, in the long term, responsible use of natural resources now
will help ensure that there are resources available for sustained industrial growth far into the future.
Economic development is about providing incentives for businesses and other organizations to adhere to
sustainability guidelines beyond their normal legislative requirements. The supply and demand market is
consumerist in nature, and modern life requires a lot of resources every single day; economic development is
about giving people what they want without compromising quality of life, especially in the developing world.
Social development is about awareness of and legislation protection of the health of people from pollution and
other harmful activities of business. It deals with encouraging people to participate in environmental
sustainability and teaching them about the effects of environmental protection as well as warning of the dangers
if we cannot achieve our goals.
Environmental protection is the need to protect the environment, whether the concept of 4 Rs (reduce, recycle,
recover, and reuse) are being achieved or not. Businesses that are able to keep their carbon emissions low is
toward environmental development. Environmental protection is the third pillar and, to many, the primary
concern of the future of humanity.
It defines how to protect ecosystems, air quality, integrity, and sustainability of our resources and focuses on the
elements that place stress on the environment. It also concerns how technology will drive our greener future;
and that developing technology is key to this sustainability and protecting the environment of the future from
potential damage that technological advances could potentially bring.
The process of describing indicators helps diverse members of a community reach consensus on what
sustainability means. Indicators help put sustainability in concrete terms that demonstrate a new way to measure
progress. Concepts like a person’s ecological footprinthelp people understand how their everyday actions relate
to issues that seem beyond the reach of a single individual and explain sustainability.
Read full chapter
Marine Geological Hazard Prevention and Social Economic Sustainable
Development
Ye Yincan et al, in Marine Geo-Hazards in China, 2017
3.1 Influence of Marine Geological Hazard on Social and Economic Sustainable Development
The sustainable development mode is a development mode proposed when humans face the environmental
pressures and hazard risks from all aspects with the purpose for the harmonious development and environmental
safety. This development mode was once proposed in the 1970s, and it has become an important topic drawing
attention worldwide. The science fields connect the sustainable development science on which sustainable
development mode depends with the global change science, namely the global change scientific research results
are the basis for the sustainable development science; sustainable development science explores the scientific
problems faced by humans for the sustainable development decisions from the application point of view.
Sustainable development must solve the direct and indirect influences of natural hazard risks and environment
pollution, namely it must accept the health and development risks caused by the hazard factors, and explore the
sustainable development mode under the conditions of existing hazard resistance ability of human.
Hazard is one of the main barriers of achieving sustainable development. Hazard is the product of the
interaction of society and nature; it must influence the regional sustainable development process. Based on the
aforementioned, according to the marine geological hazard characteristics and regional sustainable development
evaluation requirements, construct the marine geological hazard index system, and propose the scientific
evaluation method; for the in-depth analysis of the marine geological hazard, it is very necessary to fully
understand the regional sustainable development ability. The influence of marine geological hazard on the
regional sustainable development shows in direct damage and deep damage—the direct damage mainly includes
the damage on human life and health, engineering facilities, materials, items and all kinds of properties, and the
damage on agriculture, industry, traffic, and other industrial activities; the deep damage mainly includes the
damage on land, water, biology, and other resources and ecological environment. The damage on these two
aspects not only put the regional practical social and economic development at risk but also weaken the basic
ability of the regional sustainable development at the deep level. Ma et al. (1999) proposed the evaluation basic
method for the influence of geological hazard on the regional sustainable development; this method is also
applicable to the marine geological hazard. This method is completed based on the marine geological hazard
risk analysis, evaluation area social and economic vulnerabilityanalysis, and hazard alleviation ability analysis,
for the condition and ability of the regional sustainable development through the comprehensive evaluation
of marine geological hazard real damage degree and long-term risk degree (Fig. 16.8). Its basic steps are:

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Figure 16.8. Influence degree evaluation index system and level structure map of geological hazards on regional sustainable development
(Ma et al., 1999).
①

Investigate the marine geological hazard type, distribution, damage mode, loss degree, formation
condition; investigate the social and economic condition, affected object quantity, distribution and the
resistance and resume ability for all possible kinds of marine geological hazards; investigate the hazard
alleviation ability.
②
 Analyze the marine geological hazard risk mode, risk strength, and based on this, establish the index
system and evaluation model corresponding to the evaluation area characteristics.
③

Classify the evaluation units, collect the basic index one by one and analyze layer by layer, obtain the
required layer classification index and target layer index.
④

With this as the basis, use the classification or zoning to comprehensively analyze the influence degree
and influence mode of marine geological hazard on the regional sustainable development.
Read full chapter
Future Role of Bioenergy
Nicolae Scarlat, Jean-Francois Dallemand, in The Role of Bioenergy in the Bioeconomy, 2019
10.2.5.1 Bioenergy and UN sustainable development goals
Sustainable development is a concept defined as the development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by the World Commission on
Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission). Sustainable development has become a
fundamental, overarching objective of EU policies especially since 1997. The EU has taken the initiative to
build a sustainable low-carbon and low-input economy, to increase resource efficiency, to decrease energy
consumption, to reverse the loss of biodiversity and natural resources, and to limit climate change. The United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012 led to the
development of a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs), built upon the Millennium Development Goals.
The United Nations General Assembly formally adopted in September 2015 the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and the set of 17 SDGs with 169 associated targets (UN, 2018).
Sustainable energy is a key enabler for sustainable development. The new SDGs include a specific goal on
energy to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. This goal includes three
targets and indicators for 2030: (1) ensuring universal access to modern energy services; (2) doubling the share
of renewable energy in the global energy mix; and (3) doubling the global rate of improvement in energy
efficiency. Although SDGs make no reference to the contribution of biomass for the food, feed, fiber, materials,
and energy production, biomass can make a significant contribution to the achievement of the SDGs.
Modern bioenergy, as part of the bioeconomy, is expected to increase globally driven by several SDGs and to
play an important role in the future sustainable energy supply, fostering sustainable energy for all and climate
goals (Fritsche et al., 2018).
Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities
for all
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
 Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment, and decent work for all
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster
innovation
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable
development
Goal 15: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage
forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16: Achieve peaceful and inclusive societies, rule of law, effective and capable institutions
Goal 17: Strengthen means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable
development
Read full chapter
Hazardous Wastes
C.T. De Rosa, ... B.L. Johnson, in International Encyclopedia of Public Health, 2008
Regulatory Intervention and Sustainable Waste Management Strategies
Sustainable development in terms of hazardous waste is defined as “development that meets the needs of their
countries without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Mohan et al., 2006).
Equity and justice are key parts of sustainable development. Globally, disadvantaged populations may be
impacted the most. In general, disadvantaged populations have an even greater burden of hazardous exposures
from the workplace, environmental contamination, regulated disposal in garbage dumps, and lack
of knowledge and self-efficacy to avoid exposure.
A historically effective intervention for protecting the public from environmental dangers is the use of laws and
regulations to govern production, sales, storage, use, and disposal of hazardous substances. Regulation
development should be propagated from a sound scientific foundation. Key to the effectiveness of a regulatory
intervention is, first, that the government entity establishing the regulation must be capable of providing
technical guidance that supports compliance for those activities regulated, and second, the government entity
must have the ability to punitively enforce the regulation if it is not followed.
Read full chapter
Hazardous Wastes
Christopher T. De Rosa, ... Barry L. Johnson, in International Encyclopedia of Public Health (Second Edition),
2017
Regulatory Intervention and Sustainable Waste Management Strategies
Sustainable development in terms of hazardous waste is defined as “development that meets the needs of their
countries without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Mohan et al., 2006).
Equity and justice are key parts of sustainable development. Globally, disadvantaged populations may be
impacted the most. In general, disadvantaged populations have an even greater burden of hazardous exposures
from the workplace, environmental contamination, regulated disposal in garbage dumps, and lack of knowledge
and self-efficacy to avoid exposure.
A historically effective intervention for protecting the public from environmental dangers is the use of laws and
regulations to govern production, sales, storage, use, and disposal of hazardous substances. Regulation
development should be propagated from a sound scientific foundation. Key to the effectiveness of a regulatory
intervention is, first, that the government entity establishing the regulation must be capable of providing
technical guidance that supports compliance for those activities regulated, and second, the government entity
must have the ability to punitively enforce the regulation if it is not followed.
Read full chapter
Conceptual Frames for Risk, Resilience and Sustainable Development
Per Becker, in Sustainability Science, 2014
The Concept of Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is commonly defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987: 43). It is, as presented
in Chapter 3, generally conceived as resting on three pillars: economic development, social
development and environmental protection. Looking more closely into the term “sustainable”, it is defined as
something that is “able to be upheld or defended” (New Oxford American Dictionary, 2005). The first part of
this definition indicates that sustainable development is the development that can be maintained over time,
while the second part indicates that sustainable development is the development that can be safeguarded from
the impact of negative events and processes. These two parts are closely related, as it is not only events and
processes that may impact development, but the means for development may also increase or create new events
and underlying processes that in turn make it difficult to maintain development over time. For instance, our
dependency of fossil fuels for energy has allowed for great developmental leaps of many societies since the
industrial revolution, but is at the same time the main cause of climate change and ocean acidification that are
now threatening the sole existence of all societies.
Regardless of whether they are sudden and dramatic, or gradual and obscure, negative events and their
underlying processes may cause deviations from our preferred expected development scenario (Figure 5.7),
limiting the sustainability of our development. Hence, sustainable development is the development that can be
maintained over time and be safeguarded from the impact of negative events and their underlying processes. It
is important to note that any events or processes resulting in more positive development of the defined set of
variables, than initially preferred and expected, would automatically lead to the preferred expected scenario
being updated from there, and not be considered a deviation.
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FIGURE 5.7. Potential deviation from the preferred expected scenario.

As the future is uncertain (Japp & Kusche, 2008: 80) and human beings are fundamentally incapable of
predicting it (Simon, 1990: 7–8; Taleb, 2008), there is not only one but a multitude of possible scenarios that
deviate to various degrees from our preferred expected scenario (Figure 5.8). Human beings have the ability to
design their future by structuring these uncertain scenarios and use them as mental tools to anticipate
consequences of different courses of action and then select activities that appear to lead to our desired state or
goal (Renn, 2008: 1; Simon, 1990: 11). It is in this context that sustainable development can be viewed as
requiring the ability to manage risk (ISDR, 2004: 18–30; UNDP, 2004: 9–27).
Read full chapter
The Sustainable Development Goals
Massimo Gigliotti, ... Simone Bastianoni, in Encyclopedia of Ecology (Second Edition), 2019
SDG17: Revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Some sustainable development challenges can be addressed thorough efforts of individual nations. Others will
require concerted international action. Some solutions start bottom-up, from individual behavior, while others
must be managed by policy makers at various levels (from local to international). To achieve sustainable
development, every part of society must be involved: governments, the private sector, and civil society.
International mobilization is necessary if industrialized countries are to help poorer nations fight extreme
poverty and prevent them from repeating today‫׳‬s models of resource depletion. Long-term investments are
needed in the fields of sustainable energy, infrastructure, transport and ICT. In 2014, official development
aid reached 135 billion dollars, the highest ever recorded. Together it is possible to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals through greater investments and policy coordination centered on the 2030 Agenda.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were approved in September 2015 by the 193
UN Member States and are also known as Agenda 2030. The framework consists of 17
goals for environmental sustainability, social inclusion, economic development, peace,
justice, good governance and partnership, the main issues for the world population in the
21st century. Each goal has several targets that better define its aims. The total number of
targets is 169.
The SDGs replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which expired in 2015 and
were implemented over 15 years. The MDG experience underscored the importance of
updated datasets for achieving the goals. Indicators are the backbone for monitoring
progress towards the SDGs at local, national, regional, and global levels. Sound indicators
can make the SDGs and their targets an instrument that helps countries highlight their
strengths and weaknesses and monitor their progress after implementation of policies.
Goals and targets are interdependent and must be pursued together as far as possible.

Law of the Sea*

P. Hoagland, ... M.E. Schumacher, in Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Second Edition), 2001
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is another principle that emerged after the development of UNCLOS. It was
articulated most clearly in the Rio Declaration, and it appears (referred to as sustainable use) in the 1992
Convention on Biological Diversity. As a general guiding principle, it implies economic or resource
development in a way and at a rate such that the needs of both present and future generations can be met. Early
conceptions of this principle appeared in UNCLOS, particularly with respect to the sustainable yield
in fisheries, and it can be seen as closely related to the principles of environmental conservation and
precautionary action.
Read full chapter
Introducing the Book
Per Becker, in Sustainability Science, 2014
Demarcation of the Book
Sustainable development is both conceptually and practically a broad and multifaceted issue (Kates et al.,
2001; WCED, 1987). It is an issue of paramount importance for the continued existence of the world, as we
know it. At its core lies the idea that in planning for the future, we must think about what to do and not to do
today, in order to bring about that future (Simon, 1990: 11). The main part of sustainability must in other words
be forward-looking, although we must also learn from our past and recognize our present challenges.
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word sustainable as “able to be upheld or defended” (New Oxford American
Dictionary, 2011). This indicates a somewhat double meaning, which not only provides a linguistic link
between safety and sustainability, but also indicates two requisite parts for sustainable development. Safety,
“the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury” (New Oxford American
Dictionary, 2011), is in other words closely related to the notion of being “able to be defended”. Though, safety
often connotes immediate or short time spans, while sustainability normally connotes gazing further into the
future. That said, both entail acting now and Sustainability Science asserts the necessity to be able to integrate
such range of temporal scales (Kates et al., 2001: 641). Safety is, in other words, a part of sustainability if
looking beyond the immediate. If focusing on the potential of future destructive courses of events, at least partly
resulting from or related to human activity, we typically assert that such activity or development is not
sustainable. While the same situation, but with an immediate focus, would instead evoke notions of an unsafe
condition or practice.
The other requisite part of sustainable development, related to the notion of being “able to be upheld”, is equally
important and brings into focus the importance of how we exploit our resources to maintain or develop some
aspect of society over time. Regardless of how closely related these two parts are, this book will focus mainly
on the notion of sustainability in the sense of protecting what human beings value, now and in the future, and
not to the same extent on the notion of sustainability in the sense of management of our vital resources.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

Sustainability is development that satisfies the needs of the present without compromising
the capacity of future generations, guaranteeing the balance between economic growth, care
for the environment and social well-being.

Sustainable development is a concept that appeared for the first time in 1987 with the publication of
the Brundtland Report, warning of the negative environmental consequences of economic growth and
globalization, which tried to find possible solutions to the problems caused by industrialization and population
growth.

LEARN ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY IN THIS SHORT VIDEO:

 W ATC H V I DEO
 
WH AT IS S UST AINAB IL I T Y? | ACC IO NA

HOW TO ACHIEVE SUSTA INABLE DEVELOPMENT?

Many of the challenges facing humankind, such as climate change, water scarcity, inequality and hunger, can
only be resolved at a global level and by promoting sustainable development: a commitment to social
progress, environmental balance and economic growth.
As a part of a new sustainable development roadmap, the United Nations approved the 2030 Agenda, which
contains the Sustainable Development Goals, a call to action to protect the planet and guarantee the global
well-being of people. These common goals require the active involvement of individuals, businesses,
administrations and countries around the world.

WHAT ARE THE SUSTAIN ABLE DEVELOPMENT GOA LS?

The Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, are a call from the
United Nations to all countries around the world to address the great challenges that
humanity faces and to ensure that all people have the same opportunities to live a better life
without compromising our planet.
 W AT C H V I D E O

17 GOALS FOR A BETTER WORLD

These 17 objectives are interrelated and often the key to one's success will involve the issues most frequently
linked to another. They can be summarised as follows:
 Eradicate poverty and hunger, guaranteeing a healthy life
 Universalize access to basic services such as water, sanitation and sustainable energy
 Support the generation of development opportunities through inclusive education and decent work
 Foster innovation and resilient infrastructure, creating communities and cities able to produce and consume
sustainably
 Reduce inequality in the world, especially that concerning gender
 Care for the environment combating climate change and protecting the oceans and land ecosystems
 Promote collaboration between different social agents to create an environment of peace and sustainable
development.

WHAT IS ACCIONA DOIN G IN THE AREA OF SUS TAINABILITY?

At ACCIONA we want to contribute to achieving sustainable development by responding to

the planet's great challenges, so that current and future generations may enjoy a better life.
 W AT C H V I D E O

ACCIONA’s commitment to sustainability can be understood as the support for social progress,
environmental balance and economic growth, and is reflected in our contribution to the achievement of
the Sustainable Development Goals thanks to its Sustainability Master Plan (SMP), a roadmap that
integrates all of the Company's sustainability initiatives.

HOW DOES ACCIONA CONTRIBUTE TO THE GLOBAL GOALS?

The company works towards achieving 4 main objectives through its business model. ACCIONA, through its
projects in water, renewable energies and infrastructures, contributes to key goals for the achievement of the
rest.
H O W A CC I O NA C O NT R IB U TES T O T HE SU ST AIN AB L E DE VE L OPM E NT G O A LS

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 S US T AINAB L E CIT IE S

MI TI GATI NG TH E EF F EC TS O F CLI MAT E CHANG E