You often hear companies talking about ‘sustainability’.
Leaders talking about ‘sustainable development’.
What is sustainability all about?
Sustainability is indeed a broad idea that is difficult to pin down in a single definition. But we do have an answer for you! 🙂
An oft-quoted (re-used because it’s really good!) definition comes from the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED).
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Although the definition is focused on development, we could generalise it to the broader picture of sustainability.
A key tenet of sustainability lies close to our fundamental desires. It is our innate wish to lead a fulfilling life, for the future generations to have lives better than ours and enjoy the good experiences we have encountered. For that to happen, each of us needs to lead a sustainable lifestyle!
We need to develop an understanding of what sustainability entails and fortunately, the wide range of areas it covers makes it possible to find an aspect of it that you can relate to!
- Biodiversity and Conservation
- Business Sustainability
- Food
- Smart Technologies
- Sustainable Resources
[still under RevAmpS] Click on the links above to learn more details about each pillar and what you can do to lead a more sustainable lifestyle! 🙂
Though it was conceptualised in 1987, WCED’s definition of sustainability remains relevant today. That’s what you call a sustainable definition! 😉