Sustainability: The definition

What is sustainability or sustainable development?

(Please note that the difference in their meaning is a source of debate, but here they would be lumped together.)

The term sustainable development (SD) first attracted global attention when the Brundtland Commission called for integrating environmental conservation with social and economic development. The commission defined SD as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs…’ (WCED, 1987)

Although this is the most popular definition, a number of others seem to emphasise the elements of sustainability more fully:

§  Sustainability strives to achieve reconciliation between society’s development goals and the planet’s environmental limits (Yarime et al 2012)

§  SD is about ‘harmonious development of the social, economic and environmental domains of society in the short and long term’ (Zilahy et al 2009)
§  Sustainability aims to ‘create an ecologically and socially just world within the means of nature without compromising future generations’ (Moore 2005 in Minguet et al 2011)

These definitions and other interpretations indicate that sustainability:

§  Is complex and comprises interconnected issues
§  Has a broad scope, is multi-dimensional and cuts across systems and time spans
§  Is mainly dependent on the interaction between natural and social systems, and consists of four key intertwined elements (i.e. ecology, economy, society and culture)
§  Involves values
§  Should be addressed at a range of levels, from the local to the global

Therefore, it seems that sustainability is not only a knowledge challenge but also a challenge that demands collaborative input from diverse disciplines.

What is the role of education in sustainability? That is next….

Photograph by Asitha Jayawardena

 

Resources on the definition of sustainability

2012
Sustainability (Wikipedia)             
Sustainable development (Wikipedia)
What is Sustainable Development? (International Institute for Sustainable Development)
Whatis Sustainability and Why Consider It?

2011

Sustainable development (defra)

2009

Whatis sustainability? (Humanities Education Centre)

Undated

United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (UN)
What is Sustainability? (UN)
What is sustainability? (US Environmental Protection Agency)
Sustainable development (Europa: Summaries of EU Legislation)
TheDefinition of Sustainability (Sustainability Store)
Five types of sustainable capital (Forum for the Future)

 

References & Bibliography

Bartelmus, P. (2010) Use and usefulness of sustainability economics. Ecological Economics, 69, pp. 2053–2055.

Lukman, R., Krajnc, D. and Glavic, P. (2009) Fostering collaboration between universities regarding regional sustainability initiatives – the University of Maribor. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17, pp. 1143-1153.

Minguet, P.A., Martinez-Agut, M.P., Palacios, B., Pinero, A. and Ull, M.A. (2011) Introducing sustainability into university curricula: an indicator and baselines survey of the views of university teachers at the University of Valencia. Environmental Education Research, 17(2), pp. 145-166.

Moore, J. (2005) Is higher education ready for transformative learning? A question explored in the study of sustainability. Journal of Transformative Education, 3(1), pp. 76-91.

Parker, J. (2010) Competencies for interdisciplinarity in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 11(4), pp.325-338.

Selby, D., Jones, P. and Kagawa, F. (2009) Sustainability promotion and branding: messaging challenges and possibilities for higher education institutions. Sustainability, 1, pp. 537-555.

WCED (1987) Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [World Commission on Environment and Development].

Yarime, M., Trencher, G, Mino, T., Scholz, R.W., Olsson, L., Ness, B., Frantzeskaki, N. and Rotmans, J. (2012) Establishing sustainability science in higher education institutions: towards an integration of academic development, institutionalization, and stakeholder collaborations. Sustainability Science, 7 (Supplement 1), pp. 101-113.

Zilahy. G., Huisingh, D. Melanen, M., Phillips, V.D. and Sheffy, J. (2009) Roles of academia in regional sustainability initiatives: outreach for a more sustainable future. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17, pp. 1053–1056.

Photograph by Asitha Jayawardena

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