Sustainable Development & Sustainability

References:Unit textbook – DesJardins, Chapter 1UNCED (1992) ‘Agenda 21’Worldwatch Institute ‘State of the World 2003’ - prefacewww.sd-commission.org.ukJ. Porritt (2001) ‘The only game in town’ Green Futures magazine

Overview of session

History of the concepts Concepts:

– sustainable development & sustainability

– 3 pillars of sustainability/ triple bottom line

– Natural capital– Corporate sustainability

Critiques of the concept

History / development of the concept

1980 World Conservation Strategy 1987 Our Common Future (Brundtland) 1992 Rio Earth Summit

– Agenda 21: global, national, local

1996 Sustainability indicators 1999 UK Strategy; updated 2005 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development

Definitions:* “......development that meets the needs of

the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” WCED, 1987 (Brundtland)

* “.....improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems”

Munro & Holdgate,1991

Sustainable Development - made up of 3 closely related issues: Environment: must be valued; not treated

as a free good. Minimal use of non-renewable resources; protect ecosystems

Equity: for developing countries; key issue of poverty has to be addressed

Futurity: society, businesses and individuals must operate on a different timescale than currently operates - so that long-term, inter-generational considerations can be tackled.

Welford 1996

Sustainability

Definition:Sustainability involves: only using resources at a

rate which allows them to be replenished to ensure their long-term survival, and

not exceeding the environment’s ability to absorb pollution.

Peattie, 1992

Sustainable Yield Threshold

Analogy ( from Economics) - distinction between consuming interest and spending capital.

When the sustainable yield threshold is crossed, it signals a fundamental change between the consumer and what is being consumed.

The demands of our generation now exceed the income, the sustainable yield, of the earth’s ecological endowment.

Brown 1996

Sustainability - 3 pillars

Sustainability - 3 pillars

3 E’s - Economics, Ecology & Ethics (DesJardins, 2007)

3 P’s - Profits, People and Planet (Shell reports)

Triple Bottom Line (Elkington, 1997) ie. the simultaneous pursuit of :

– economic prosperity– environmental quality– social equity

‘One Planet Economy’

UK government’s vision and challenge: from a three-planet economy to one A successful economy that grows within

the capacity of the planet’s resources Sustainable consumption and

production (HM Government (2005) ‘Securing the Future’)

Concept of Natural Capital (Hawken, Lovins & Lovins, 1999)Natural Capital is made up of:- Resources – water, minerals, oil,

trees, fish, soil, air, etc Living Systems – grasslands,

savannas, oceans, rainforests, etc Ecosystem Services – exchange

of carbon dioxide & oxygen, water storage, flood management, waste processing, regeneration of the atmosphere, etc

Weak vs Strong Sustainability

Weak sustainability view: no inherent difference between natural capital and other forms of capital

Strong sustainability view: man-made or human capital cannot substitute for all environmental resources of all of the ecological services provided by nature …so

these resources and services should be protected and not depleted

The Precautionary Principle

Definition: where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation (Rio Declaration, 1992)

Defining Corporate Sustainability …..

…meeting the needs of a firm’s direct and indirect stakeholders without compromising its ability to meet the needs of future stakeholders as well Dyllick T & Hockerts K (2002) ‘Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability’ in the journal Business Strategy and the Environment , Issue 11

Critiques of the concept

(Porritt, 2001)

utopian - idealistic? Illusive concept, confusing no consensus problematic to operationalise meaningless? easier to recognise what is

unsustainable