Premium Essay

Sustainable Development

In: Social Issues

Submitted By LBehr
Words 10207
Pages 41
Sustainable development (SD) is a pattern of economic growth in which resource use aims to meet human needs while preserving theenvironment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come (sometimes taught as ELF-Environment, Local people, Future[citation needed]). The term 'sustainable development' was used by the Brundtland Commission which coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."[1][2] Alternatively, sustainability educator Michael Thomas Needham referred to 'Sustainable Development' "as the ability to meet the needs of the present while contributing to the future generations’ needs."[3] There is an additional focus on the present generations responsibility to improve the future generations life by restoring the previous ecosystem damage and resisting to contribute to further ecosystem damage.

Sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social challenges faced by humanity. As early as the 1970s, "sustainability" was employed to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic ecological support systems."[4]Ecologists have pointed to The Limits to Growth,[5] and presented the alternative of a "steady state economy"[6] in order to address environmental concerns.

The concept of sustainable development is often broken out into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic

Definition of sustainable development

| |
| |

In 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland Report, which included what is now one of the most widely recognised definitions: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Sustainable Development

...values and community identity, while still participating in the global economy. In New Zealand the importance of sustainability issues has been recognised by central and local government policies, environmental and economic development agencies, and business leaders. Two of the active business groups focusing on these issues are the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD) and the Sustainable Business Network (SBN). Waikato Management School is working in partnership with both of these key business groups on sustainability projects and events. The aim of these initiatives is to develop and share insights on sustainable economic development and sustainable enterprise success. The Waikato Management School is distinctive in its commitment ‘to inspire the world with fresh understandings of sustainable success’. These fresh understandings will be achieved through our high quality research that can influence policy makers, excellent teaching, through the knowledge and values our graduates take into the workforce, through our continued consulting with business and the outstanding experiences offered to everyone who connects with the School. We see education and research as key factors in enabling New Zealand to be a sustainable nation and sustainability as central to the future of business. Waikato Management School’s Research Programme The School’s research generates world-leading theory and practice-relevant research. The overall aim of the School’s...

Words: 35722 - Pages: 143

Premium Essay

Sustainable Development

...SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Student Name: Student Number: Instructor: Class: Date: The concept of Sustainable development has in the recent past, raised concerns in all aspects of day to day living. Consequently, over the years a number of definitions and connotations have been associated with this concept, so as to apply it in different professional settings. Particularly, different professions have adopted various codes of ethical; conduct centered on sustainable development. Accordingly individuals working in various sectors constantly seek to adhere to these codes of conduct within their mandates. The engineering sector is one such area where the concept of sustainable development is regarded as a key tenet guiding ethical conduct among engineers. This paper traces the history of the concept of sustainable development and how it is practically incorporated into the engineering profession. Further, this paper examines the current Engineers’ Code of Ethics and how it addresses the issue of sustainable development. There have been various definitions regarding the concept of sustainable development. However, all these definitions revolve around the concept of need and limitation. The all time famous definition was one brought forward by the world Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 that termed sustainable development as, ”development that satisfies present needs without undermining the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs.”. This definition...

Words: 1734 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Sustainable Development

...What is Sustainable Development? The concept of Sustainable Development has been staged globally as a political and ethical guideline for dealing with the world’s environmental and social crisis in the last two decades. Its growth is often associated with the numerous environmental movements, more popularly by the World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission in 1987. But some studies have found out that its history can be further traced back as early as the European Enlightenment when German Kameralists began to be concerned about handing down “undiminished” dynasties to future generations. In the 1987 Brundtland Report dubbed as Our Common Future, 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. For the business enterprise, sustainable development means adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future. Just like a system, the world we live in connects us in space and time. America’s decisions a long time ago, for instance, will not just affect its present and future generations but also even people outside of its continent. Hence, most definitions of sustainable development emphasize the need to recognize how our decisions and actions affect...

Words: 521 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Sustainable Development

...example is what the electric and water for a residential home looks like: first 1000 gallons at a cost of .018160 is $18.16, over 1000 gallons at a cost of .020600 and the customer used 4,280 gallons is $88.17. Then here comes the Resident LEAC at a cost of .015740 for a total of 5,280 gallons used the total is $83.11. The total monthly bill is $189.44. Now here is an example for the residential electric bill: household uses 532.00 kwh in electricity, the monthly at a charge of .083255 totaling $44.29 and the LEAC charge is .347618 per kwh totaling $184.93. Now, there are other charges totaling $7.07 making the bill to be $236.29. A business’ WAPA bill tends to be triple the amount of a residential bill. There have been sustainable developments to help reduce the cost of the WAPA bills. For instance, the Department of Energy gave rebates to residence family that purchased energy saving appliances. They also provided loans to family and business owners so they could purchase solar panels and solar water heaters to help reduce electricity. They also educate the community on ways to help them save energy and reduce the electric bills. In conclusion, the Department of Energy, along with the...

Words: 360 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Sustainable Development

...What is Sustainable Development? The concept of Sustainable Development has been staged globally as a political and ethical guideline for dealing with the world’s environmental and social crisis in the last two decades. Its growth is often associated with the numerous environmental movements, more popularly by the World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission in 1987. But some studies have found out that its history can be further traced back as early as the European Enlightenment when German Kameralists began to be concerned about handing down “undiminished” dynasties to future generations. In the 1987 Brundtland Report dubbed as Our Common Future, 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. For the business enterprise, sustainable development means adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future. Just like a system, the world we live in connects us in space and time. America’s decisions a long time ago, for instance, will not just affect its present and future generations but also even people outside of its continent. Hence, most definitions of sustainable development emphasize the need to recognize how our decisions and actions affect...

Words: 521 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Sustainable Development

...WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT? The question is: what kind of development would be sustainable? What would be the main characteristics of sustainable development? Lots of people everywhere are searching for solutions. These are people who are concerned, who care and who are brave enough to ask serious questions, brave enough to challenge the big and powerful, the greedy and ruthless. Isn't it incredible that the so-called educated, scientific, modern, rich people are leading the world to disaster and it is the poor, the so-called uneducated people who are shouting "Stop this madness". A Latin American activist/thinker said recently "My people do not want development. They only want to live." One wonders who is more "advanced", those who are totally divorced from nature and who are destroying the planet with their unsustainable life style or those who are still trying to live in harmony with nature? Who are global citizens? The jet set types zipping across the world or those who consume little and do not contribute to ecological disaster? Who should be the experts now, the scientist, economist and politicians who have brought the world to the brink of disaster or those women and men whose knowledge, wisdom, life styles were declared "backward"? What do we have to do so that everyone can live? Some things are already quite clear. They will get clearer as we move forward on the path of sustain- able development. Oiu" concern is not just for the present generation should hand...

Words: 2356 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Sustainable Development In Malaysia

...3.1 Sustainable Development in Malaysia Malaysia such as many other developing countries faces conflict between economic growth and conservation of environment [8]. However, it has recognized the concept of sustainable development and has embedded this concept in its policies, vision, mission, and plans [9]. Malaysia is also very active in international sustainability activities, which have been reflected by its participation in the 13th session of the commission on sustainable development in New York in 2005 [9]. Malaysia has also incorporated the principal of Agenda 21 as one of the important sustainable development documents in its planning process [8]. The following sections will explore some of the initiatives of sustainable development...

Words: 3722 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

What Is Sustainable Development?

...Sustainable development is a pattern of economic growth in which resource use aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come (sometimes taught as ELF-Environment, Local people, Future. Sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social challenges faced by humanity. As early as the 1970s, "sustainability" was employed to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic ecological support systems."[4] Ecologists have pointed to The Limits to Growth. The concept of sustainable development is often broken out into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability. History of the concept The concept of sustainable development was originally synonymous with that of sustainability and is often still used in that way. Both terms derive from the older forestry term "sustained yield", which in turn is a translation of the German term "nachhaltiger Ertrag" dating from 1713. According to different sources, the concept of sustainability in the sense of a balance between resource consumption and reproduction was however applied to forestry already in the 12th to 16th century.[21] ‘Sustainability’ is a semantic modification, extension and transfer of the term ‘sustained yield’. This had been the doctrine and, indeed, the ‘holy grail’ of foresters all over the world for more...

Words: 502 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Sustainable Development of Globalization

...Sustainable development of globalization The positive view of the effects of globalization is surrounding the world, because it raised the awareness between cultures. Globalization is partly a result of the huge advances in technology, which linked all parts of the world and helped to expand the capitalist of productions. It shows the world is much smaller place, so there must be a positive impact in people aspects of the effects of globalization. In contrast, Cultures and environment represent the negative side of globalization, because it affects the pollution in water, land and air. Also it consumes metals such as iron, petrol, gas etc. Generally, the problem of globalization is using resources and environmental systems fast, which makes worry about the future life. Because we are living in environmental limits in the world, we will face some challenges to provide sustainable developments to protect local cultures and environment in globalization. Sustainable development is a process to provide people needs, while keep preventing the sources for future generations, although globalization lead for utilizing all kinds of resources to burden the planet of earth. Therefore, all government are working to get sustainable development to let the world getting all best interest in long-term, because the goal of sustainable development is to enable all people in the world to satisfy and enjoy their basic needs with good quality, excluding the life quality of future generations...

Words: 922 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Education for Sustainable Development and National Sustainable Development Strategies

...developing and implementing National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS). Sustainable Development competes with many deeply entrenched values and therefore progress has been slow. Tensions between long term and short term thinking, and between economic growth and social and environmental sustainability, are not easy to resolve. The NSDS process has gained impetus following the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, where it was agreed that countries need to take immediate steps to elaborate and formulate NSDS systems that can continuously improve. The UN Guidance Document describes an NSDS as a comprehensive, adaptable, continuous and long term undertaking that helps a country to achieve economic prosperity and higher levels of social welfare, while at the same time preserving the environment. An NSDS is not just something that can be put together in a document and be promulgated. Development of an NSDS requires multi-stakeholder participation, partnerships, country ownership, shared vision with a commitment to continuous improvement, capacity development and the ability to build on existing knowledge and processes and a clear focus on outcomes. Education is a central dimension of achieving sustainable development, and needs to be incorporated into the NSDS process. Learning is central to the process of NSDS development and implementation. Education for Sustainable Development and National Sustainable Development Strategies Education has been identified...

Words: 1518 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Sustainability For Sustainable Development

...Sustainability Reporting Sustainability means different things to different people; therefore, a universal definition of sustainability is elusive. The most often quoted definition is from the Brundtland Commission (1987), which states that 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, therefore, more of a journey than a destination wherein ideals, values and measurement metrics are in a constant state of evolution. The quest for sustainable development started with environmental concerns, and climate change has now become one of the biggest developmental challenges. As the Brundtland Commission had discovered...

Words: 1135 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Human Capital and Sustainable Development

...Proposal: HUMAN CAPITAL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY. Background of the Study Human Capital has been recognized globally as one major factor that is responsible for the wealth of nations. According to Smith (1776) and Folloni & Vittadini (2010), human capital refers to the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants or members of the society. Without adequate investment in developing the human capital which is the process of increasing knowledge, skills and the capacities of people in the country, the possibility of sustainable development might be minimal. Investment in the human resource determines the type, quality, availability and productivity of the nation’s manpower. It involves the socio-economic development strategies (European Commission, 2007) critically needed to facilitate sustainable development. One major challenge facing Nigeria as a nation within the global community, is how to achieve sustainable development. According to the IMF (2002), sustainable development is made of three pillars. They are economic development, social development and environmental development. The essence of these pillars are to maintain and enhance the capacity and capability of future generations while meeting the needs of the present generation. To accomplish these multi-dimensional tasks, human capital should be strategically cultivated and positioned for the preservation of both the present and the future economic growth and development of a nation. Thus,...

Words: 4067 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Exemplification of Sustainable Development Essay

...Exemplification of Sustainable Development Patricia Mejias Professor’s Name Course Code and Name August 3, 2013 Exemplification of Sustainable Development Sustainable development is a strategy used to promote a sustained quality of existence (Dalal-Clayton & Bass, 2002). The sustained quality of existence can be applied to the general population of a community, to a government, or even to a commercial operation. The goal of this strategy is to ensure that the materials that are needed for survival and for the specified quality of existence will be available for the long-run. This requires extensive planning, strategizing and problem solving. An exemplification of sustainable development is advantageous, therefore, to understand how quality of existence is sustained by this practice. The first example of the application of sustainable development involves the general population. Sustainable development in this case refers to the strategies that are utilized to manage resource acquisitions, utilization and disposal. The quantity of resources consumed by a family, the type of resources consumed by a family and how they dispose of unused and waste products all impact how sustainable the family’s behaviors are. For example, sustainable family behavior includes buying locally produced foods, installing solar energy panels to provide for their energy needs, buying clothing and other items from thrift stores and recycling used materials (Dala-Clayton &...

Words: 676 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

From R.Evolution to Sustainable Development

...FROM “(R)EVOLUTION” TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: CURRENT FEATURES AND PERSPECTIVES ABSTRACT This article aims to address the issue of Sustainable Development (SD) in an evolutionary perspective within its multidisciplinary scope. The complexity of developments for sustainability has frequently proven difficult in its implementation, evaluation and effective communication.It was our intention to provide an outline of the diverse views on the subject, focusing on globalization as a change of attitude towards sustainability.It is a review of terminology associated with the SD and its multiple interpretations.It is referenced the apparent and irrelevant impact of initiatives to solve the economic, social and environmental problem. It emphasizes the influence and importance of strategies and the positioning of SMEs on the way to SD in the policy of act local think global. KEYWORDS Strategy Sustainable development Sustainability, SMEs JERÓNIMO, WINSTON CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal OLIVEIRA, NUNO GASPAR DE CIGEST, Assistente Instituto Superior de Gestão, Portugal 1. INTRODUCTION “(R)Evolution or Death”, adapted from the revolutionary slogan used and popularized by the Cuban regime, serves as motto for the urgent need to transform our production and consumption systems and our standing towards the environment around us....

Words: 9085 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

Sustainable Development

...Sustainable Development Definition Artem Kurganskiy Schiller International University Abstract The paper talks about the ways of reaching sustainability all over the world and not just looking at particular countries but at the whole planes as one system. Also information on the major challenges that sustainable development is faced are discussed. And the last but not least an example of one already existing agreement on sustainability is discussed. “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The idea of sustainable development is to be able to continue developing while keeping in mind the environment. In order to achieve sustainability globally, countries should not look just at their particular country and the ways to develop sustainability there, but rather think of our planet as one system and try to find solutions to develop it all over the world. Because sustainability problems are interrelated among countries, e.g. pollution from the US can affect the environment in Canada, Mexico. Therefore all the countries should be considering switching to being more “green” in order for the future generations to meet their own needs and also to increase their efficiency nowadays. While looking at the ways of achieving sustainability three factors should be considered: economic, environmental and social. All the three factors should be considered at the same time since they all very interrelated...

Words: 768 - Pages: 4