WHAT IS
SUSTAINABILITY?
“
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
”
The Bruntland Commission, Our Common Future, 1987 Choosing sustainable development is a
ѥ
HOW?
VALUE STATEMENT
by not systematically degrading the social system
by not systematically degrading the ecological system
Once we decide we want to become sustainable, then we use
ѥSCIENCE to tell us what that means
HOW?
...by chemical means
...by physical means
...by abusing political power and responsibility
...by abusing economic power and responsibility
e.g. overharvesting
from activities within the biosphere
e.g. leaking substances from technical loops
Sustainability Principle #2
e.g. through mining
e.g. strip mining where land is not restored
e.g. discrimination
e.g. non-livable wages
e.g. large-scale production of persistent chemicals
from imports into the biosphere from the lithosphere
e.g. through oil & gas drilling
e.g. g corruption e.g. unsafe work place
To eliminate our contribution to the systematic increase in concentrations of substances produced by society
Sustainability Principle #3 To eliminate our contribution to systematic degradation by physical means
Sustainability Principle #4 To eliminate our contribution to the systematic undermining of people’s capacity to meet their needs
Sustainability Principle #1 To eliminate our contribution to the systematic increase in concentrations of materials from the Earth’s crust
Holmberg, John, Karl-Henrik Robèrt, and Karl-Erik Eriksson. 1996. Socio-ecological principles for sustainability. In Getting Down To Earth - Practical Applications of Ecological Economics, International Society of Ecological Economics, edited by R. Costanza et al. Washington DC, USA. Ny, Henrik, Jamie MacDonald, Göran Broman, Ryoichi Yamamoto, and Karl-Henrik Robèrt. 2006. Sustainability constraints as system boundaries: an approach to making life-cycle management strategic. Journal of Industrial Ecology 10(1). Poster design by Fiona Wright © Blekinge Institute of Technology
Selecting and prioritizing actions which are in accordance with these 4 sustainability principles helps organizations make meaningful progress towards sustainability.
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