SUSTAINABILITY DEFINITION

What Is Sustainability?

Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: economic, environmental, and social—also known informally as profits, planet, and people.

KEY points

• Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
• Investors can be wary of companies that commit to sustainability. Although the optics can be beneficial to share price, investors worry about companies being transparent with their earnings results.
• Big brands often make pledges to sustainability, but it often takes a long time to achieve sustainability goals.

OR,

Sustainability means that a process or state can be maintained at a certain level for as long as is wanted.The Commission defined sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The Three Pillars of Sustainability

In 2005, the World Summit on Social Development identified three core areas that contribute to the philosophy and social science of sustainable development. These “pillars” in many national standards and certification schemes, form the backbone of tackling the core areas that the world now faces. The Brundtland Commission described it as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" . We must consider the future then, in making our decisions about the present.

Economic Development

This is the issue that proves the most problematic as most people disagree on political ideology what is and is not economically sound, and how it will affect businesses and by extension, jobs and employability . It is also about providing incentives for businesses and other organisations to adhere to sustainability guidelines beyond their normal legislative requirements. Also, to encourage and foster incentives for the average person to do their bit where and when they can; one person can rarely achieve much, but taken as a group, effects in some areas are cumulative. The supply and demand market is consumerist in nature and modern life requires a lot of resources every single day  for the sake of the environment, getting what we consume under control is the paramount issue. Economic development is about giving people what they want without compromising quality of life, especially in the developing world, and reducing the financial burden and “red tape” of doing the right thing.

Social Development

There are many facets to this pillar. Most importantly is awareness of and legislation protection of the health of people from pollution and other harmful activities of business and other organisations . In North America, Europe and the rest of the developed world, there are strong checks and programmes of legislation in place to ensure that people's health and wellness is strongly protected. It is also about maintaining access to basic resources without compromising the quality of life. The biggest hot topic for many people right now is sustainable housing and how we can better build the homes we live in from sustainable material. The final element is education - encouraging people to participate in environmental sustainability and teaching them about the effects of environmental protection as well as warning of the dangers if we cannot achieve our goals .

Environmental Protection

We all know what we need to do to protect the environment, whether that is recycling, reducing our power consumption by switching electronic devices off rather than using standby, by walking short journeys instead of taking the bus. Businesses are regulated to prevent pollution and to keep their own carbon emissions low. There are incentives to installing renewable power sources in our homes and businesses. Environmental protection is the third pillar and to many, the primary concern of the future of humanity. It defines how we should study and protect ecosystems, air quality integrity and sustainability of our resources and focusing on the elements that place stress on the environment . It also concerns how technology will drive our greener future; the EPA recognized that developing technology and biotechnology is key to this sustainability, and protecting the environment of the future from potential damage that technological advances could potentially bring .

Primary Goals of Sustainability

The sustainable development professional network thinks, acts and works globally. In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development met to discuss and develop a set of goals to work towards; they grew out of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) that claimed success in reducing global poverty while acknowledging there was still much more to do. The SDG eventually came up with a list of 17 items  which included amongst other things:

• The end of poverty and hunger
• Better standards of education and healthcare - particularly as it pertains to water quality and better sanitation
• To achieve gender equality
• Sustainable economic growth while promoting jobs and stronger economies
• All of the above and more while tackling the effects of climate change pollution and other environmental factors that can harm and do harm people's health, livelihoods and lives.
• Sustainability to include health of the land, air and sea

Finally, it acknowledged the concept of nature having certain rights - that people have stewardship of the world and the importance of putting people at the forefront of solving the above global issues  through management of the environment and of consumption (for example, reducing packaging and discouraging food waste as well as promoting the use of recyclable materials).

sustainable forestry
 sustainable forestry is about caring for and managing forests to provide the natural resources, such as wood and clean water, we need now and in the future. It also means sustaining.....read more(click)

Sustainable Development (FOR DETAIL)CLICK

Sustainable Development-- A type of agriculture that focuses on producing long-term crops & livestock while having minimal effects on the environment.

•  It focus on maintaining economic stability of farms & helping farmers improve their techniques & quality of life.

• It provides a variety of organisms with healthy & natural environments to live in.

•  It conserves energy & reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

➧ Advantages of Sustainable Agriculture:-

•  It protect soil nature & renews soil fertility.

•  It conserves natural resources.

•  It minimise the use of non renewable resources.

•  It prevent degradation of our environment.

•  It ensure paste control by natural or biological method.

•  It increases agricultural yield and increases income from farm produce.

➧ Methods of Sustainable Agriculture:-

•  Rotating crops & embracing diversity.

•  Planting cover crops.

•  Reducing or eliminating tillage.

•  Applying integrated pest management.

•  Integrating livestock & crops.

•  Adopting agroforestry practices.