By Sydney Cohen
The concept of sustainable development is the idea that all economic activities should be carried out in a way that they do not undermine our natural environment, enabling future generations to meet their needs in a sustainable manner. This includes ensuring social equity, such as access to clean water and food security, and promoting cultural diversity. It also means preserving the earth’s natural resources in the present without compromising them for future generations, by reducing pollution and waste and eliminating toxins from production processes.
The term “sustainable development” was coined in 1987 when it was included in the Brundtland Report, which “recognized that human resource development in the form of poverty reduction, gender equity, and wealth redistribution was crucial to formulating strategies for environmental conservation, and it also recognized that environmental limits to economic growth in industrialized and industrializing societies existed.”
Sustainable Development Changed The World’s Trajectory
Sustainable development as a term, concept, and movement was meant to stop the exploitation of natural resources. Governments and nations must make a conscious effort to understand sustainable development and be willing to implement regulations and practices that enforce it.
Sustainable development is a way of organizing society so it can exist in the present without compromising future generations’ ability to meet the goal of becoming even more sustainable. It takes into account both the imperatives in the present and future. Sustainable development also takes into account the preservation of the environment, natural resources, and social equity, particularly for the common future.
The Brundtland Report, published in 1987, prompted a change in the world’s trajectory in sustainable development for the first time. The study was authorized by the European Commission in 1986 which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and Norway.
Sustainable Development
The industrial revolution prompted the first step towards the idea of sustainable development. The industrial revolution and the rise of ecological and social crises took place in the 20th century. Some of the crises resulting from the pollution that the industrial revolution caused, raised awareness that a more sustainable model was needed in our rapidly developing world.
It is important to find sustainable fixes for the environmental needs of the present without compromising the economic prospect of the future that industrialization and globalization have brought to our world and continue to bring. This is why we must find a method of sustainable development that meets the needs of economic, social, and environmental aspects of our life on this planet.
Sustainability is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. It is a state of society where living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. The concept of sustainable development has been subject to criticism, including the question of what resources should be sustained in sustainable development.
The economic development brought by such organized principles and practices in an economy is called Managed Sustainable Development (MSD). It has also been argued that the meaning of the concept has opportunistically been stretched from ‘conservation management’ to ‘economic development.’ Achieving sustainable development through practical methods will take time, but it is crucially important in order to sustain our quality of life, the economic and social needs around the world, and make the most out of our natural resources.
Achieving sustainability hinges on a number of principles, including conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, human resource management, and population control. Population control and population management are essential to achieving sustainable development. People meet their own needs by utilizing resources on the earth, but due to population growth, human needs cannot always be met through the sustainable use of the resources we have available. The over-exploitation of resources has negative effects on the environment. Sustainable resource use is a key component of sustainable development.
Sustainability Versus Sustainable Development
Considering sustainability vs. sustainable development is essential for understanding these two crucial concepts. Sustainability and sustainable development play a central role in business. In fact, a brand’s sustainability is a deciding factor for 70% of U.S. consumers.
Sustainability is thought of as a long-term goal around the world, whereas sustainable development is the many processes needed for the ability to meet sustainability. Examples of sustainable development processes that work toward the goal of a sustainable world include sustainable agricultural methods such as organic farming and restricting the use of pesticides, sustainable use of resources in production and consumption, governmental regulations on industrial factories, and education.
The Ability of Future Generations to Meet Their Needs
The ability of future generations to meet responsibilities and benefit from the natural resources that we have now has been an increasingly important subject for discussion. We can’t keep consuming at the rate we are without depleting all our resources in a matter of years!
The Pillars of Sustainable Development
The concept of sustainability appears poised to continue to influence future discourse regarding development science. This implies that the best choices are likely to remain those that meet the needs of society and are both environmentally and economically viable.
This leads to three interconnected domains of sustainability that describe relationships among the environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainable development. As a forward-looking development paradigm, sustainable development emphasizes a positive transformation trajectory anchored on social, economic, and environmental factors. Based on this, it can be argued that the concept of sustainable development rests, fundamentally, on three conceptual pillars.
These pillars are ‘economic sustainability,’ ‘social sustainability,’ and ‘environmental sustainability.’ These three pillars are often visualized as a Venn diagram. Sustainability professionals can apply this understanding of these pillars to specific social, environmental, and economic issues in our world.
They can also help organizations align themselves with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are 17 interconnected goals focused on creating a more sustainable future for all.
Sustainability Without Compromising the Ability of Economic Success
In the future, our work will be about how we can maintain an economy that is sustainable. Sustainable development has been a goal in many countries for decades now, but only recently have people started to take this idea seriously.
The Sustainable Development Goals
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to protect the world’s environment and human life. These goals work to end poverty and guarantee the well-being of all people, particularly in developing countries, fostering economic growth and social inclusion while protecting the environment.
The 17 SDGs mainly seek to achieve the following summarized objectives:
1) Eradicate poverty and hunger,
2) universalize access to basic services such as water and sanitation,
3) foster innovation and resilient infrastructure, creating communities and cities able to produce and consume sustainably,
4) reduce inequality in the world, especially that concerning gender equality,
5) care for environmental integrity through combating climate change and protecting our ecosystems.
Sustainable development is a vital concept to ensuring the success of our environment, economy, and society. We can work together and share in the ability of future generations to work to save our planet from climate change through sustainable development processes, working to make our world a more sustainable place.
Religion and Sustainable Development
The Dhammapada declares that “contentment is the greatest wealth.” Religions address the root of unsustainable development by cultivating contentment with what we have. Satisfied with what we have, we can enjoy our planet without squandering her resources.
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