Here are some definitions of sustainability and
sustainable development from prominent groups and experts:
Sustainable development is a journey rather
than a destination.
Growth in harmony with our environment,
preserving our resource base for our economic well-being,
and planning for our children's future.
Development without destruction.
Sustainable development is the achievement of
continued economic and social development without
detriment to the environment and natural resources.
The quality of future human activity and development
is increasingly seen as being dependent on maintaining
this balance.
Sustainability means resolving the conflict between two competing goals:
the sustenance of human life and the integrity of nature.
Why two competing goals? Living beyond our ecological
means will lead to the destruction of humanity's only home.
Having insufficient natural resources, and living in
unsatisfactory and inequitable ways will cause
destructive conflict and degrade our social fabric.
In a sense, we putting a new spin on the old nature
vs. nurture question. How can we get nurture without
destroying its ultimate source, nature?
Sustainable development involves the simultaneous
pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental
quality and social equity. Companies aiming for
sustainability need to perform not against a
single, financial bottom line but against this
triple bottom line.
Improving the quality of life while living within
the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.
Each generation is entitled to the interest on
the natural capital, but the principal should
be handed on unimpaired.
Sustainable development means implementing a process that integrates
environmental, economic and social considerations into
decision making. This reinforces the World
Commission on Environment and Development's
conclusion that development should be sustainable
for the benefit of current and future generations.
Living on the earth's income rather than eroding its capital.
It means keeping the consumption of renewable natural
resources within the limits of their replenishment.
It means handing down to successive generations not
only man-made wealth, but also natural wealth,
such as clean and adequate water supplies, good
arable land, a wealth of wildlife, and ample forests.
EXPERTS
David Buzzelli, former member of Canada's
National Round Table on Environment and Economy, and former president of Dow Chemical Canada Inc.
Gary Filmon, former Premier of Manitoba and Chair
of the Manitoba Round Table on Environment and Economy
Maurice Strong, Secretary-General of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
ORGANIZATIONS & GROUPS
Earth Council
(an agency of the European Commission)
Redefining Progress
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development
World Conservation Union
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS & AGENCIES
Canada's Commission on Conservation (in 1915)
Environment Canada
Canada's National Task Force on Environment and Economy
The United Kingdom's Sustainable Development Strategy
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