View source for Earth:Sustainability

{{Short description|Goal of people safely co-existing on Earth}}
[[File:11625 2018 627 Fig1 HTML.webp|thumb|Several visual representations of sustainability and its three dimensions: the left image shows sustainability as three intersecting circles. In the top right it is a nested approach. In the bottom right it is three pillars.<ref name="Purvis" /> The schematic with the nested ellipses emphasizes a hierarchy of the dimensions, putting ''environment'' as the foundation for the other two.|290x290px]]

'''Sustainability''' is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long time. Specific definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time.<ref name="Ramsey-2015">{{Cite journal |last=Ramsey |first=Jeffry L. |date=2015 |title=On Not Defining Sustainability |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10806-015-9578-3 |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics |language=en |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=1075–1087 |doi=10.1007/s10806-015-9578-3 |issn=1187-7863 |s2cid=146790960}}</ref><ref name="Purvis" /> Experts often describe sustainability as having three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social,<ref name="Purvis" /> and many publications emphasize the environmental dimension.<ref name="Kotze-2022">{{Citation |last1=Kotzé |first1=Louis J. |date=2022 |work=The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals: Transforming Governance Through Global Goals? |pages=140–171 |editor-last=Sénit |editor-first=Carole-Anne |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009082945.007 |isbn=978-1-316-51429-0 |last2=Kim |first2=Rakhyun E. |last3=Burdon |first3=Peter |last4=du Toit |first4=Louise |last5=Glass |first5=Lisa-Maria |last6=Kashwan |first6=Prakash |last7=Liverman |first7=Diana |last8=Montesano |first8=Francesco S. |last9=Rantala |first9=Salla |title=Planetary Integrity |editor2-last=Biermann |editor2-first=Frank |editor3-last=Hickmann |editor3-first=Thomas |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Bosselmann-2010" /> In everyday use,{{Specify|date=July 2023}} ''sustainability'' often focuses on countering major environmental problems, including [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]], [[Biology:Biodiversity loss|loss of biodiversity]], loss of [[Biology:Ecosystem service|ecosystem service]]s, [[Earth:Land degradation|land degradation]], and air and water pollution. The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable living).<ref name="Berg-2020" /> A related concept is [[Sustainable development|sustainable development]], and the terms are often used to mean the same thing.<ref name="EB-2022">{{Cite news |title=Sustainability |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/sustainability |access-date=31 March 2022 |newspaper=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] distinguishes the two like this: "''Sustainability'' is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while ''sustainable development'' refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it."<ref name="UNESCO-2015">{{Cite web |date=2015-08-03 |title=Sustainable Development |url=https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-sustainable-development/what-is-esd/sd |access-date=20 January 2022 |website=UNESCO |language=en}}</ref>

The economic dimension of sustainability is controversial.<ref name="Purvis" /> Scholars have discussed this under the concept of "[[Finance:Weak and strong sustainability|weak and strong sustainability]]"; for example, there will always be tension between the ideas of "welfare and prosperity for all" and environmental conservation,<ref name="Kuhlman-2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Kuhlman |first1=Tom |last2=Farrington |first2=John |date=2010 |title=What is Sustainability? |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=2 |issue=11 |pages=3436–3448 |doi=10.3390/su2113436 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Purvis" /> so [[Trade-off|trade-off]]s are necessary. Approaches that decouple economic growth from environmental deterioration would be desirable. But they are difficult to carry out.<ref name="Vaden-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Vadén |first1=T. |last2=Lähde |first2=V. |last3=Majava |first3=A. |last4=Järvensivu |first4=P. |last5=Toivanen |first5=T. |last6=Hakala |first6=E. |last7=Eronen |first7=J.T. |date=2020 |title=Decoupling for ecological sustainability: A categorisation and review of research literature |journal=Environmental Science & Policy |language=en |volume=112 |pages=236–244 |doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2020.06.016 |pmc=7330600 |pmid=32834777}}</ref><ref name="Parrique T-2019" />

Measuring sustainability is difficult.<ref name="Steffen-2015" /> Indicators consider environmental, social and economic domains. The metrics are evolving. Currently, they include certification systems, types of corporate accounting, and types of index. 

It is necessary to address many barriers to sustainability to make a sustainability transition possible.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|34}}<ref name="Howes-2017" /> Some barriers arise from nature and its complexity. Other barriers are ''extrinsic'' to the concept of sustainability. For example they can result from the dominant institutional frameworks in countries.

There are many approaches people can take to transition to environmental sustainability. These include maintaining ecosystem services, reducing food waste, and promoting dietary shifts towards plant-based foods. Another is reducing population growth by cutting fertility rates. Others are promoting new green technologies, and adopting [[Engineering:Renewable energy|renewable energy]] sources while phasing out subsidies to fossil fuels.<ref name="Ripple-2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Ripple |first1=William J. |last2=Wolf |first2=Christopher |last3=Newsome |first3=Thomas M. |last4=Galetti |first4=Mauro |last5=Alamgir |first5=Mohammed |last6=Crist |first6=Eileen |last7=Mahmoud |first7=Mahmoud I. |last8=Laurance |first8=William F. |last9=15,364 scientist signatories from 184 countries |date=2017 |title=World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice |url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/67/12/1026/4605229 |journal=BioScience |language=en |volume=67 |issue=12 |pages=1026–1028 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix125 |issn=0006-3568|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/71342 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The United Nations agreed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015.<ref name=":1b" /> These set a global agenda for sustainable development, with a deadline of 2030.

One of many ways to overcome barriers to sustainable development is to decouple economic growth from environmental conservation.<ref name="Vaden-2020" /> This means using fewer resources per unit of output even while growing the economy.<ref name="UNEP2011" /> This reduces the environmental impact of economic growth such as pollution. Doing this is difficult. Some experts say there is no evidence that it is happening at the required scale. Global issues are difficult to tackle as they need global solutions. Existing global organizations such as the {{wipe|United Nations}} and [[Organization:World Trade Organization|WTO]] are inefficient in enforcing current global regulations. One reason for this is the lack of suitable [[Finance:International sanctions|sanctioning mechanisms]].<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|135–145}} Governments are not the only sources of action for sustainability. Business groups have tried to integrate ecological concerns with economic activity.<ref name="Kinsley-1997" /><ref name="Callenbach-2011" /> Religious leaders have stressed the need for caring for nature and environmental stability. Individuals can also live in a more sustainable way.<ref name="Berg-2020" />

The concept of sustainability has faced various criticisms. One is that the concept is vague and only a buzzword.<ref name="Purvis" /> Another is that sustainability might be an impossible goal.<ref name="Melinda Harm">{{Cite journal |last1=Benson |first1=Melinda Harm |last2=Craig |first2=Robin Kundis |date=2014 |title=End of Sustainability |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08941920.2014.901467 |journal=Society & Natural Resources |language=en |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=777–782 |doi=10.1080/08941920.2014.901467 |bibcode=2014SNatR..27..777B |issn=0894-1920 |s2cid=67783261}}</ref> Some experts have pointed out that "no country is delivering what its citizens need without transgressing the biophysical planetary boundaries".<ref name="Stockholm+50-2022">{{Cite report |date=2022-05-18 |title=Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/stockholm50-unlocking-better-future |work=Stockholm Environment Institute |doi=10.51414/sei2022.011 |s2cid=248881465|doi-access=free }}</ref>{{rp||page=11}}


== History ==

== Definitions ==
=== Current usage ===
Sustainability is regarded as a "[[Philosophy:Normativity|normative concept]]".<ref name="Berg-2020" /><ref name="Scoones-2016">{{Cite journal |last=Scoones |first=Ian |date=2016 |title=The Politics of Sustainability and Development |journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources |language=en |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=293–319 |doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-090039 |issn=1543-5938 |s2cid=156534921|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Harrington-2016">{{Cite journal |last=Harrington |first=Lisa M. Butler |date=2016 |title=Sustainability Theory and Conceptual Considerations: A Review of Key Ideas for Sustainability, and the Rural Context |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309619897 |journal=Papers in Applied Geography |language=en |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=365–382 |doi=10.1080/23754931.2016.1239222 |bibcode=2016PAGeo...2..365H |issn=2375-4931 |s2cid=132458202}}</ref><ref name="Ramsey-2015" /> This means it is based on what people value or find desirable: "The quest for sustainability involves connecting what is known through scientific study to applications in pursuit of what people want for the future."<ref name="Harrington-2016" />

The 1983 UN Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) had a big influence on how we use the term ''sustainability'' today. The commission's 1987 Brundtland Report provided a definition of [[Sustainable development|sustainable development]]. The report, ''Our Common Future'', defines it as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".<ref name="UNGA-1987">United Nations General Assembly (1987) [https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf ''Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future'']. Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation: Environment.</ref><ref name="UNGA-1987a">{{Cite web |last=United Nations General Assembly |date=20 March 1987 |title=''Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future''; Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation: Environment; Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development; Paragraph 1 |url=http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm |access-date=1 March 2010 |publisher=United Nations General Assembly}}</ref> The report helped bring ''sustainability'' into the mainstream of policy discussions. It also popularized the concept of ''sustainable development''.<ref name="Purvis">{{Cite journal |last1=Purvis |first1=Ben |last2=Mao |first2=Yong |last3=Robinson |first3=Darren |date=2019 |title=Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins |journal=Sustainability Science |language=en |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=681–695 |doi=10.1007/s11625-018-0627-5 |bibcode=2019SuSc...14..681P |issn=1862-4065 |doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]</ref>

Some other key concepts to illustrate the meaning of sustainability include:<ref name="Harrington-2016" /> 
* It may be a [[Fuzzy concept|fuzzy concept]] but in a positive sense: the goals are more important than the approaches or means applied;
* It connects with other essential concepts such as resilience, [[Social:Adaptive capacity|adaptive capacity]], and vulnerability.
* Choices matter: "it is not possible to sustain everything, everywhere, forever";
* Scale matters in both space and time, and place matters;
* Limits exist (see [[Earth:Planetary boundaries|planetary boundaries]]).

In everyday usage, ''sustainability'' often focuses on the environmental dimension.

==== Specific definitions ====
Scholars say that a single specific definition of sustainability may never be possible. But the concept is still useful.<ref name="Ramsey-2015" /><ref name="Harrington-2016" /> There have been attempts to define it, for example:
* "Sustainability can be defined as the capacity to maintain or improve the state and availability of desirable materials or conditions over the long term."<ref name="Harrington-2016" />
* "Sustainability [is] the long-term viability of a community, set of social institutions, or societal practice. In general, sustainability is understood as a form of intergenerational ethics in which the environmental and economic actions taken by present persons do not diminish the opportunities of future persons to enjoy similar levels of wealth, utility, or welfare."<ref name="EB-2022" />
* "Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In addition to natural resources, we also need social and economic resources. Sustainability is not just environmentalism. Embedded in most definitions of sustainability we also find concerns for social equity and economic development."<ref name="McGill-2022">{{Cite web |title=University of Alberta: What is sustainability? |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/sustainability/files/sustainability/what-is-sustainability.pdf |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=mcgill.ca}}</ref>

Some definitions focus on the environmental dimension. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines sustainability as: "the property of being environmentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding the long-term depletion of natural resources".<ref name="Halliday-2016">{{Cite web |last=Halliday |first=Mike |date=2016-11-21 |title=How sustainable is sustainability? |url=https://www.oxfordcollegeofprocurementandsupply.com/how-sustainable-is-sustainability/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Oxford College of Procurement and Supply |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Historical usage ===
The term sustainability is derived from the [[Social:Latin|Latin]] word ''sustinere''. "To sustain" can mean to maintain, support, uphold, or endure.<ref>{{OEtymD|sustain}}</ref><ref>Onions, Charles, T. (ed) (1964). ''The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 2095.</ref> So sustainability is the ability to continue over a long period of time.

In the past, sustainability referred to environmental sustainability. It meant using [[Social:Natural resource|natural resource]]s so that people in the future could continue to rely on them in the long term.<ref name="WOR-2019">{{Cite web |title=Sustainability Theories |url=https://worldoceanreview.com/en/wor-4/concepts-for-a-better-world/what-is-sustainability/ |access-date=20 June 2019 |publisher=World Ocean Review}}</ref><ref name="OED-1835">Compare: {{oed|sustainability}} The English-language word had a legal technical sense from 1835 and a resource-management connotation from 1953.</ref> The concept of sustainability, or ''Nachhaltigkeit'' in German, goes back to Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714), and applied to forestry. We would now call this [[Biology:Sustainable forest management|sustainable forest management]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hans Carl von Carlowitz and Sustainability |url=http://www.environmentandsociety.org/tools/keywords/hans-carl-von-carlowitz-and-sustainability |access-date=20 June 2019 |website=Environment and Society Portal}}</ref> He used this term to mean the long-term responsible use of a natural resource. In his 1713 work ''Silvicultura oeconomica,''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dresden |first=SLUB |title=Sylvicultura Oeconomica, Oder Haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung Zur Wilden Baum-Zucht |url=http://digital.slub-dresden.de/id380451980/127 |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=digital.slub-dresden.de |language=de-DE}}</ref> he wrote that "the highest art/science/industriousness [...] will consist in such a conservation and replanting of timber that there can be a continuous, ongoing and sustainable use".<ref>Von Carlowitz, H.C. & Rohr, V. (1732) Sylvicultura Oeconomica, oder Haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung zur Wilden Baum Zucht, Leipzig; translated from German as cited in {{Cite journal |last1=Friederich |first1=Simon |last2=Symons |first2=Jonathan |date=2022-11-15 |title=Operationalising sustainability? Why sustainability fails as an investment criterion for safeguarding the future |journal=Global Policy |volume=14 |language=en |pages=1758–5899.13160 |doi=10.1111/1758-5899.13160 |issn=1758-5880 |s2cid=253560289|doi-access=free }}</ref> The shift in use of “sustainability” from preservation of forests (for future wood production) to broader preservation of environmental resources (to sustain the world for future generations) traces to a 1972 book by Ernst Basler, based on a series of lectures at M.I.T.<ref name="Basler-1972">{{cite book |last=Basler |first=Ernst |title= Strategy of Progress: Environmental Pollution, Habitat Scarcity and Future Research (originally, Strategie des Fortschritts: Umweltbelastung Lebensraumverknappung and Zukunftsforshung) |date=1972 |publisher= BLV Publishing Company}}</ref> 

The idea itself goes back a very long time: Communities have always worried about the capacity of their environment to sustain them in the long term. Many ancient cultures, [[Social:Traditional society|traditional societies]], and indigenous peoples have restricted the use of natural resources.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gadgil |first1=M. |last2=Berkes |first2=F. |date=1991 |title=Traditional Resource Management Systems |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248146028 |journal=Resource Management and Optimization |volume=8 |pages=127–141}}</ref>

=== Comparison to sustainable development ===
{{Further|Sustainable development}}

The terms sustainability and [[Sustainable development|sustainable development]] are closely related. In fact, they are often used to mean the same thing.<ref name="EB-2022" /> Both terms are linked with the "three dimensions of sustainability" concept.<ref name="Purvis" /> One distinction is that sustainability is a general concept, while sustainable development can be a policy or organizing principle. Scholars say sustainability is a broader concept because sustainable development focuses mainly on human well-being.<ref name="Harrington-2016" />

Sustainable development has two linked goals. It aims to meet human development goals. It also aims to enable natural systems to provide the [[Social:Natural resource|natural resource]]s and [[Biology:Ecosystem services|ecosystem services]] needed for economies and society. The concept of sustainable development has come to focus on [[Finance:Economic development|economic development]], social development and environmental protection for future generations.

== Dimensions ==
=== Development of three dimensions ===
[[File:Sustainability venn diagram.svg|thumb|Sustainability [[Venn diagram|Venn diagram]], where sustainability is thought of as the area where the three dimensions overlap]]
Scholars usually distinguish three different areas of sustainability. These are the environmental, the social, and the economic. Several terms are in use for this concept. Authors may speak of three pillars, dimensions, components, aspects,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 16 September 2005, 60/1. 2005 World Summit Outcome |url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_60_1.pdf |access-date=17 January 2022 |publisher=United Nations General Assembly}}</ref> perspectives, factors, or goals. All mean the same thing in this context.<ref name="Purvis" /> The three dimensions paradigm has few theoretical foundations. It emerged without a single point of origin.<ref name="Purvis" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-11-13 |title=Nachhaltigkeit Definition |url=https://www.nachhaltigkeit.info/artikel/definitionen_1382.htm |access-date=2022-01-19 |website=Lexikon der Nachhaltigkeit |language=de}}</ref> Scholars rarely question the distinction itself. The idea of sustainability with three dimensions is a dominant interpretation in the literature.<ref name="Purvis" />

In the Brundtland Report, the environment and development are inseparable and go together in the search for sustainability. It described sustainable development as a global concept linking environmental and social issues. It added sustainable development is important for both [[Finance:Developing country|developing countries]] and [[Finance:Developed country|industrialized countries]]:

<noinclude>{{Blockquote
| text      =The 'environment' is where we all live; and 'development' is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode. The two are inseparable. [...] We came to see that a new development path was required, one that sustained human progress not just in a few pieces for a few years, but for the entire planet into the distant future. Thus 'sustainable development' becomes a goal not just for the 'developing' nations, but for industrial ones as well.
| author    =''Our Common Future'' (also known as the Brundtland Report)
| title     =
| source    =<ref name="UNGA-1987" />{{rp|Foreword and Section I.1.10}}
| character =
| multiline =
| class     =
| style     =
}}</noinclude>

The Rio Declaration from 1992 is seen as "the foundational instrument in the move towards sustainability".<ref name="Bosselmann-2022">Bosselmann, K. (2022) [https://www.elgaronline.com/display/book/9781839108327/book-part-9781839108327-7.xml Chapter 2: A normative approach to environmental governance: sustainability at the apex of environmental law], Research Handbook on Fundamental Concepts of Environmental Law, edited by Douglas Fisher</ref>{{rp|29}} It includes specific references to ecosystem integrity.<ref name="Bosselmann-2022" />{{rp|31}} The plan associated with carrying out the Rio Declaration also discusses sustainability in this way. The plan, [[Organization:Agenda 21|Agenda 21]], talks about economic, social, and environmental dimensions:<ref name="agenda 1">{{Cite web |date=1992 |title=Agenda 21 |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf |access-date=17 January 2022 |publisher=United Nations Conference on Environment & Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992}}</ref>{{rp|8.6}}

{{Blockquote
| text      =Countries could develop systems for monitoring and evaluation of progress towards achieving sustainable development by adopting indicators that measure changes across economic, social and environmental dimensions.
| author    = United Nations Conference on Environment & Development – Earth Summit (1992)
| title     =
| source    =<ref name="agenda 1" />{{rp|8.6}}
| character =
| multiline =
| class     =
| style     =
}}

Agenda 2030 from 2015 also viewed sustainability in this way. It sees the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their 169 targets as balancing "the three dimensions of sustainable development, the economic, social and environmental".<ref name=":1b">United Nations (2015) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, [[:File:N1529189.pdf|Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] ([https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ A/RES/70/1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128002202/https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/|date=28 November 2020}})</ref>

=== Hierarchy ===
[[File:Nested sustainability-v2.svg|thumb|The diagram with three nested ellipses indicates a hierarchy between the three dimensions of sustainability: both [[Finance:World economy|economy]] and society are constrained by environmental limits<ref>Scott Cato, M. (2009). ''Green Economics''. London: Earthscan, pp. 36–37. {{ISBN|978-1-84407-571-3}}.</ref> ]]thumb|The ''wedding cake model'' for the [[Sustainable Development Goals|sustainable development goals is similar to the nested ellipses diagram, where the environmental dimension or system is the basis for the other two dimensions.<ref name="Obrecht-2021">{{Cite periodical |last1=Obrecht |first1=Andreas |last2=Pham-Truffert |first2=Myriam |last3=Spehn |first3=Eva |last4=Payne |first4=Davnah |last5=Altermatt |first5=Florian |last6=Fischer |first6=Manuel |last7=Passarello |first7=Cristian |last8=Moersberger |first8=Hannah |last9=Schelske |first9=Oliver |last10=Guntern |first10=Jodok |last11=Prescott |first11=Graham |date=2021-02-05 |title=Achieving the SDGs with Biodiversity |periodical=Swiss Academies Factsheet |volume=16 |issue=1 |language=en |doi=10.5281/zenodo.4457298 |doi-access=free}}</ref>]]
Scholars have discussed how to rank the three dimensions of sustainability. Many publications state that the environmental dimension is the most important.<ref name="Kotze-2022" /><ref name="Bosselmann-2010">{{Cite journal |last=Bosselmann |first=Klaus |date=2010 |title=Losing the Forest for the Trees: Environmental Reductionism in the Law |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=2 |issue=8 |pages=2424–2448 |doi=10.3390/su2082424 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free|hdl=10535/6499 |hdl-access=free }} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International License]</ref> (Planetary integrity or ecological integrity are other terms for the environmental dimension.) 

Protecting ecological integrity is the core of sustainability according to many experts.<ref name="Bosselmann-2010" /> If this is the case then its environmental dimension sets limits to economic and social development.<ref name="Bosselmann-2010" /> 

The diagram with three nested ellipses is one way of showing the three dimensions of sustainability together with a hierarchy: It gives the environmental dimension a special status. In this diagram, the environment includes society, and society includes economic conditions. Thus it stresses a hierarchy. 

Another model shows the three dimensions in a similar way: In this ''SDG wedding cake model'', the economy is a smaller subset of the societal system. And the societal system in turn is a smaller subset of the [[Biology:Biosphere|biosphere]] system.<ref name="Obrecht-2021" />

In 2022 an assessment examined the political impacts of the Sustainable Development Goals. The assessment found that the "integrity of the earth's life-support systems" was essential for sustainability.<ref name="Kotze-2022" />{{rp|140}} The authors said that "the SDGs fail to recognize that planetary, people and prosperity concerns are all part of one earth system, and that the protection of planetary integrity should not be a means to an end, but an end in itself".<ref name="Kotze-2022" />{{rp|147}} The aspect of environmental protection is not an explicit priority for the SDGs. This causes problems as it could encourage countries to give the environment less weight in their developmental plans.<ref name="Kotze-2022" />{{rp|144}} The authors state that "sustainability on a planetary scale is only achievable under an overarching Planetary Integrity Goal that recognizes the biophysical limits of the planet".<ref name="Kotze-2022" />{{rp|161}}

Other frameworks bypass the compartmentalization of sustainability into separate dimensions completely.<ref name="Purvis" />

=== Environmental sustainability ===
The environmental dimension is central to the overall concept of sustainability. People became more and more aware of environmental pollution in the 1960s and 1970s. This led to discussions of sustainability and sustainable development. This process began in the 1970s with concern for environmental issues. These included natural [[Earth:Ecosystem|ecosystem]]s or natural resources and the human environment. It later extended to all systems that support life on Earth, including human society.<ref name="Swart, R.-2002">{{Cite book |author=Raskin, P. |author2=Banuri, T. |author3=Gallopín, G. |author4=Gutman, P. |author5=Hammond, A. |author6=Kates, R. |author7=Swart, R. |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/great-transition-promise-lure-times-ahead/ |title=Great transition: the promise and lure of the times ahead |date=2002 |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |isbn=0-9712418-1-3 |location=Boston |oclc=49987854}}</ref>{{rp|31}} Reducing these negative impacts on the environment would improve environmental sustainability.<ref name="Swart, R.-2002" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ekins |first1=Paul |last2=Zenghelis |first2=Dimitri |title=The costs and benefits of environmental sustainability |journal=Sustainability Science |date=2021 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=949–965 |doi=10.1007/s11625-021-00910-5 |pmid=33747239 |pmc=7960882 |bibcode=2021SuSc...16..949E |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Environmental pollution is not a new phenomenon. But it has been only a ''local'' or regional concern for most of human history. Awareness of ''global'' environmental issues increased in the 20th century.<ref name="Swart, R.-2002" />{{rp|5}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Man's role in changing the face of the earth. |date=1956 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |editor=William L. Thomas |isbn=0-226-79604-3 |location=Chicago |oclc=276231}}</ref> The harmful effects and global spread of pesticides like [[Chemistry:DDT|DDT]] came under scrutiny in the 1960s.<ref name="silentspring">{{Cite book |last=Carson, Rachel |url=https://archive.org/details/silentspring00cars_1 |title=Silent Spring |publisher=Mariner Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-618-24906-0 |orig-date=1st. Pub. Houghton Mifflin, 1962}}</ref> In the 1970s it emerged that [[Earth:Chlorofluorocarbon|chlorofluorocarbon]]s (CFCs) were depleting the [[Physics:Ozone layer|ozone layer]]. This led to the de facto ban of CFCs with the Montreal Protocol in 1987.<ref name="Berg-2020">{{Cite book |last=Berg |first=Christian |title=Sustainable action: overcoming the barriers |date=2020 |isbn=978-0-429-57873-1 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |oclc=1124780147}}</ref>{{rp|146}}

In the early 20th century, [[Biography:Svante Arrhenius|Arrhenius]] discussed the effect of [[Chemistry:Greenhouse gas|greenhouse gas]]es on the climate (see also: [[Earth:History of climate change science|history of climate change science]]).<ref name="arrhenius">{{Cite journal |last=Arrhenius |first=Svante |date=1896 |title=XXXI. On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14786449608620846 |journal=The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science |language=en |volume=41 |issue=251 |pages=237–276 |doi=10.1080/14786449608620846 |issn=1941-5982}}</ref> Climate change due to human activity became an academic and political topic several decades later. This led to the establishment of the [[Organization:Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] in 1988 and the UNFCCC in 1992.

In 1972, the UN Conference on the Human Environment took place. It was the first UN conference on environmental issues. It stated it was important to protect and improve the human environment.<ref name="UN1973">UN (1973) [https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/523249?ln=en Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment], A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1, Stockholm, 5–16 June 1972</ref>{{rp|3}}It emphasized the need to protect wildlife and natural habitats:<ref name="UN1973" />{{rp|4}}
{{Blockquote
| text      =The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and [...] natural [[Earth:Ecosystem|ecosystem]]s must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate.
| author    =UN Conference on the Human Environment
| title     =
| source    =<ref name="UN1973" />{{rp|p.4., Principle 2}}
| character =
| multiline =
| class     =
| style     =
}}

In 2000, the UN launched eight Millennium Development Goals. The aim was for the global community to achieve them by 2015. Goal 7 was to "ensure environmental sustainability". But this goal did not mention the concepts of social or economic sustainability.<ref name="Purvis" />

Specific problems often dominate public discussion of the environmental dimension of sustainability: In the 21st century these problems have included [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]], [[Biology:Biodiversity loss|biodiversity]] and pollution. Other global problems are loss of [[Biology:Ecosystem service|ecosystem service]]s, [[Earth:Land degradation|land degradation]], environmental impacts of animal agriculture and [[Earth:Air pollution|air]] and [[Earth:Water pollution|water pollution]], including [[Earth:Marine plastic pollution|marine plastic pollution]] and [[Biology:Ocean acidification|ocean acidification]].<ref name="UNEP-2021">{{Cite web |last=UNEP |date=2021 |title=Making Peace With Nature |url=http://www.unep.org/resources/making-peace-nature |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=UNEP – UN Environment Programme |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Ripple-2017" /> Many people worry about human impacts on the environment. These include impacts on the atmosphere, land, and [[Earth:Water resources|water resources]].<ref name="Swart, R.-2002" />{{rp|21}}

Human activities now have an impact on Earth's [[Earth:Geology|geology]] and [[Earth:Ecosystem|ecosystem]]s. This led [[Biography:Paul J. Crutzen|Paul Crutzen]] to call the current geological epoch the Anthropocene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crutzen |first=Paul J. |date=2002 |title=Geology of mankind |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=415 |issue=6867 |pages=23 |bibcode=2002Natur.415...23C |doi=10.1038/415023a |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=11780095 |s2cid=9743349|doi-access=free }}</ref> For example, the impact of human activity on ecosystems can reach [[Earth:Tipping points in the climate system|tipping points in the climate system]].

=== Economic sustainability ===
[[File:Linia kontraŭ Cirkulero.svg|thumb|A circular economy can improve aspects of economic sustainability (left: the 'take, make, waste' linear approach; right: the circular economy approach).]]
The economic dimension of sustainability is controversial.<ref name="Purvis" /> This is because the term ''development'' within ''sustainable development'' can be interpreted in different ways. Some may take it to mean only [[Finance:Economic development|economic development]] and [[Finance:Economic growth|growth]]. This can promote an economic system that is bad for the environment.<ref name="Wilhelm-2000">{{Cite book |title=Zukunftsstreit |publisher=Velbrück Wissenschaft |editor=Wilhelm Krull |year=2000 |isbn=3-934730-17-5 |location=Weilerwist |language=de |oclc=52639118}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Redclift |first=Michael |date=2005 |title=Sustainable development (1987-2005): an oxymoron comes of age |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sd.281 |journal=Sustainable Development |language=en |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=212–227 |doi=10.1002/sd.281 |issn=0968-0802}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Daly |first=Herman E. |url=http://pinguet.free.fr/daly1996.pdf |title=Beyond growth: the economics of sustainable development |date=1996 |publisher=Beacon Press |isbn=0-8070-4708-2 |location=Boston |oclc=33946953}}</ref> Others focus more on the trade-offs between environmental conservation and achieving welfare goals for [[Social:Basic needs|basic needs]] (food, water, health, and shelter).<ref name="Kuhlman-2010" />

Economic development can indeed reduce [[Philosophy:Hunger|hunger]] or energy poverty. This is especially the case in the [[Finance:Least developed countries|least developed countries]]. That is why [[Finance:Sustainable Development Goal 8|Sustainable Development Goal 8]] calls for economic growth to drive social progress and well-being. Its first target is for: "at least 7 per cent [[Finance:Gross domestic product|GDP]] growth per annum in the least developed countries".<ref name="UN-2017">United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, [[:File:A RES 71 313 E.pdf|Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] ([https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 A/RES/71/313])</ref> However, the challenge is to expand economic activities while reducing their environmental impact.<ref name="UNEP2011">UNEP (2011) [https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/decoupling-natural-resource-use-and-environmental-impacts-economic-growth Decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth, A Report of the Working Group on Decoupling to the International Resource Panel]. Fischer-Kowalski, M., Swilling, M., von Weizsäcker, E.U., Ren, Y., Moriguchi, Y., Crane, W., Krausmann, F., Eisenmenger, N., Giljum, S., Hennicke, P., Romero Lankao, P., Siriban Manalang, A., Sewerin, S.</ref>{{rp|8}} In other words, humanity will have to find ways how societal progress (potentially by economic development) can be reached without excess strain on the environment. 

The Brundtland report says poverty ''causes'' environmental problems. Poverty also ''results'' from them. So addressing environmental problems requires understanding the factors behind world poverty and inequality.<ref name="UNGA-1987" />{{rp|Section I.1.8}} The report demands a new development path for sustained human progress. It highlights that this is a goal for both developing and industrialized nations.<ref name="UNGA-1987" />{{rp|Section I.1.10}}

UNEP and [[Organization:United Nations Development Programme|UNDP]] launched the Poverty-Environment Initiative in 2005 which has three goals. These are reducing extreme poverty, greenhouse gas emissions, and net natural asset loss. This guide to structural reform will enable countries to achieve the SDGs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UN Environment {{!}} UNDP-UN Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative |url=https://www.unpei.org/ |access-date=2022-01-24 |website=UN Environment {{!}} UNDP-UN Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative |language=en}}</ref><ref>PEP (2016) [https://www.cbd.int/financial/doc/pep-zero2016.pdf Poverty-Environment Partnership Joint Paper | June 2016 Getting to Zero – A Poverty, Environment and Climate Call to Action for the Sustainable Development Goals]</ref>{{rp|11}} It should also show how to address the trade-offs between [[Earth:Ecological footprint|ecological footprint]] and economic development.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|82}}

=== Social sustainability ===
[[File:Washington Gladden Social Justice Park 21.jpg|thumb|[[Social:Social justice|Social justice]] is just one part of social sustainability.]]
The social dimension of sustainability is not well defined.<ref name="Peterson">{{Cite journal |last1=Boyer |first1=Robert H. W. |last2=Peterson |first2=Nicole D. |last3=Arora |first3=Poonam |last4=Caldwell |first4=Kevin |date=2016 |title=Five Approaches to Social Sustainability and an Integrated Way Forward |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=8 |issue=9 |pages=878 |doi=10.3390/su8090878 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Dogu-2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Doğu |first1=Feriha Urfalı |last2=Aras |first2=Lerzan |date=2019 |title=Measuring Social Sustainability with the Developed MCSA Model: Güzelyurt Case |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=11 |issue=9 |pages=2503 |doi=10.3390/su11092503 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Davidson |first=Mark |date=2010 |title=Social Sustainability and the City: Social sustainability and city |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2010.00339.x |journal=Geography Compass |language=en |volume=4 |issue=7 |pages=872–880 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-8198.2010.00339.x}}</ref> One definition states that a society is sustainable in social terms if people do not face structural obstacles in key areas. These key areas are health, influence, competence, [[Philosophy:Impartiality|impartiality]] and meaning-making.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Missimer |first1=Merlina |last2=Robèrt |first2=Karl-Henrik |last3=Broman |first3=Göran |date=2017 |title=A strategic approach to social sustainability – Part 2: a principle-based definition |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0959652616303274 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |language=en |volume=140 |pages=42–52 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.059}}</ref>

Some scholars place social issues at the very center of discussions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boyer |first1=Robert |last2=Peterson |first2=Nicole |last3=Arora |first3=Poonam |last4=Caldwell |first4=Kevin |date=2016 |title=Five Approaches to Social Sustainability and an Integrated Way Forward |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=8 |issue=9 |pages=878 |doi=10.3390/su8090878 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free}}</ref> They suggest that all the domains of sustainability are social. These include ecological, economic, political, and cultural sustainability. These domains all depend on the relationship between the social and the natural. The ecological domain is defined as human embeddedness in the environment. From this perspective, social sustainability encompasses all human activities.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=James |first1=Paul |url=https://www.academia.edu/9294719 |title=Urban Sustainability in Theory and Practice: Circles of Sustainability |last2=with Magee |first2=Liam |last3=Scerri |first3=Andy |last4=Steger |first4=Manfred B. |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |year=2015 |isbn=9781315765747 |location=London |author1-link=Paul James (academic)}}</ref> It goes beyond the intersection of economics, the environment, and the social.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liam Magee |last2=Andy Scerri |last3=Paul James |last4=James A. Thom |last5=Lin Padgham |last6=Sarah Hickmott |last7=Hepu Deng |last8=Felicity Cahill |year=2013 |title=Reframing social sustainability reporting: Towards an engaged approach |url=https://www.academia.edu/4362669 |journal=Environment, Development and Sustainability |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=225–243 |doi=10.1007/s10668-012-9384-2 |bibcode=2013EDSus..15..225M |s2cid=153452740}}</ref>

There are many broad strategies for more sustainable social systems. They include improved education and the political [[Social:Women's empowerment|empowerment of women]]. This is especially the case in developing countries. They include greater regard for [[Social:Social justice|social justice]]. This involves equity between rich and poor both within and between countries. And it includes [[Social:Intergenerational equity|intergenerational equity]].<ref name="Cohen2006">{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=J. E. |date=2006 |chapter=Human Population: The Next Half Century. |editor-last=Kennedy |editor-first=D. |title=Science Magazine's State of the Planet 2006-7 |location=London |publisher=Island Press |pages=13–21 |isbn=9781597266246}}</ref> Providing more [[Social:Social safety net|social safety net]]s to [[Social:Vulnerable adult|vulnerable populations]] would contribute to social sustainability.<ref name="Aggarwal-2022" />{{rp|11}}

A society with a high degree of social sustainability would lead to livable communities with a good [[Philosophy:Quality of life|quality of life]] (being fair, diverse, connected and democratic).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012 |title=The Regional Institute – WACOSS Housing and Sustainable Communities Indicators Project |url=http://www.regional.org.au/au/soc/2002/4/barron_gauntlett.htm |access-date=2022-01-26 |website=www.regional.org.au}}</ref>

Indigenous communities might have a focus on particular aspects of sustainability, for example spiritual aspects, community-based governance and an emphasis on place and locality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Virtanen |first1=Pirjo Kristiina |last2=Siragusa |first2=Laura |last3=Guttorm |first3=Hanna |date=2020 |title=Introduction: toward more inclusive definitions of sustainability |journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability |language=en |volume=43 |pages=77–82 |doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2020.04.003|bibcode=2020COES...43...77V |s2cid=219663803 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Proposed additional dimensions ===
Some experts have proposed further dimensions. These could cover institutional, cultural, political, and technical dimensions.<ref name="Purvis" />

==== Cultural sustainability ====

Some scholars have argued for a fourth dimension. They say the traditional three dimensions do not reflect the complexity of contemporary society.<ref name="agenda21culture.net">{{cite web |website=United Cities and Local Governments |url=http://agenda21culture.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131:cultural-policies-and-sustainable-development-&catid=64&Itemid=58&lang=en |title=Culture: Fourth Pillar of Sustainable Development |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003135155/https://agenda21culture.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131:cultural-policies-and-sustainable-development-&catid=64&Itemid=58&lang=en |archive-date=3 October 2013}}</ref> For example, [[Social:Agenda 21 for culture|Agenda 21 for culture]] and the [[Organization:United Cities and Local Governments|United Cities and Local Governments]] argue that sustainable development should include a solid cultural policy. They also advocate for a cultural dimension in all public policies. Another example was the [[Social:Circles of Sustainability|Circles of Sustainability]] approach, which included cultural sustainability.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=James |first1=Paul |title=Domains of Sustainability |date=2016 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2760-1 |encyclopedia=Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance |pages=1–17 |editor-last=Farazmand |editor-first=Ali |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2760-1 |isbn=978-3-319-31816-5 |access-date=2022-03-28 |last2=Magee |first2=Liam}}</ref>

== Interactions between dimensions ==
=== Environmental and economic dimensions ===
{{Further|Finance:Weak and strong sustainability}}

People often debate the relationship between the environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability.<ref name="Ayres-1998" /> In academia, this is discussed under the term [[Finance:Weak and strong sustainability|weak and strong sustainability]]. In that model, the ''weak sustainability concept'' states that capital made by humans could replace most of the [[Finance:Natural capital|natural capital]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pearce |first1=David W. |last2=Atkinson |first2=Giles D. |date=1993 |title=Capital theory and the measurement of sustainable development: an indicator of "weak" sustainability |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0921800993900399 |journal=Ecological Economics |language=en |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=103–108 |doi=10.1016/0921-8009(93)90039-9}}</ref><ref name="Ayres-1998">Robert U. Ayres & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh & John M. Gowdy, 1998. "[https://ideas.repec.org/p/tin/wpaper/19980103.html Viewpoint: Weak versus Strong Sustainability]," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 98-103/3, Tinbergen Institute.</ref> Natural capital is a way of describing environmental resources. People may refer to it as nature. An example for this is the use of environmental technologies to reduce pollution.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ayres |first1=Robert |last2=van den Berrgh |first2=Jeroen |last3=Gowdy |first3=John |date=2001 |title=Strong versus Weak Sustainability |journal=Environmental Ethics |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=155–168 |doi=10.5840/enviroethics200123225 |issn=0163-4275}}</ref>

The opposite concept in that model is ''strong sustainability''. This assumes that nature provides functions that technology cannot replace.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cabeza Gutés |first=Maite |date=1996 |title=The concept of weak sustainability |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0921800996800036 |journal=Ecological Economics |language=en |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=147–156 |doi=10.1016/S0921-8009(96)80003-6}}</ref> Thus, strong sustainability acknowledges the need to preserve ecological integrity.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|19}} Once we lose those functions we cannot recover or repair many resources and ecosystem services. Biodiversity, along with [[Biology:Pollination|pollination]] and [[Chemistry:Soil fertility|fertile soils]], are examples. Others are clean air, clean water, and regulation of [[Earth:Climate system|climate system]]s.

Weak sustainability has come under criticism. It may be popular with governments and business but does not ensure the preservation of the earth's ecological integrity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bosselmann |first=Klaus |title=The principle of sustainability: transforming law and governance |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4724-8128-3 |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |location=London |oclc=951915998}}</ref> This is why the environmental dimension is so important.<ref name="Bosselmann-2010" /> 

The [[Organization:World Economic Forum|World Economic Forum]] illustrated this in 2020. It found that $44 trillion of economic value generation depends on nature. This value, more than half of the world's GDP, is thus vulnerable to nature loss.<ref name="WEF-2020">WEF (2020) [https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy] New Nature Economy, World Economic Forum in collaboration with PwC</ref>{{rp|8}} Three large economic sectors are highly dependent on nature: construction, [[Earth:Agriculture|agriculture]], and food and beverages. Nature loss results from many factors. They include [[Engineering:Land development|land use change]], sea use change and climate change. Other examples are natural resource use, pollution, and [[Earth:Invasive species|invasive alien species]].<ref name="WEF-2020" />{{rp|11}}

=== Trade-offs ===
[[Trade-off]]s between different dimensions of sustainability are a common topic for debate. Balancing the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability is difficult. This is because there is often disagreement about the relative importance of each. To resolve this, there is a need to integrate, balance, and reconcile the dimensions.<ref name="Purvis" /> For example, humans can choose to make ecological integrity a priority or to compromise it.<ref name="Bosselmann-2010" />

Some even argue the Sustainable Development Goals are unrealistic. Their aim of universal human well-being conflicts with the physical limits of Earth and its ecosystems.<ref name="Stockholm+50-2022" />{{rp|41}}

== Measurement tools ==
[[File:Sao Paulo Profile, Level 1, 2012.jpg|thumb|Urban sustainability analysis of the greater urban area of the city of São Paulo using the 'Circles of Sustainability' method of the UN and Metropolis Association.<ref name="James-2015">{{Cite book |last1=James |first1=Paul |url=https://www.academia.edu/9294719 |title=Urban Sustainability in Theory and Practice: Circles of Sustainability |last2=with Magee |first2=Liam |last3=Scerri |first3=Andy |last4=Steger |first4=Manfred B. |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=9781315765747 |location=London |author-link=Paul James (academic)}}</ref>]]{{Excerpt|Sustainability measurement|paragraphs=1|file=no}}

=== Environmental impacts of humans ===
{{Further|Earth:Planetary boundaries|Earth:Ecological footprint}}

{{ external media
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| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLydZ2Hrp_gPS1DRwFcowNTRNR1B9QbPm3 Our Planet] - Documentary series highlighting impacts people have had on the environment. (Netflix, Open Access)}}

There are several methods to measure or describe human impacts on Earth. They include the ecological footprint, ecological debt, [[Earth:Carrying capacity|carrying capacity]], and sustainable yield. The idea of [[Earth:Planetary boundaries|planetary boundaries]] is that there are limits to the carrying capacity of the Earth. We should not cross these thresholds to prevent irreversible harm to the Earth.<ref name="Steffen-2015">{{Cite web |last1=Steffen |first1=Will |last2=Rockström |first2=Johan |last3=Cornell |first3=Sarah |last4=Fetzer |first4=Ingo |last5=Biggs |first5=Oonsie |last6=Folke |first6=Carl |last7=Reyers |first7=Belinda |date=15 January 2015 |title=Planetary Boundaries – an update |url=https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2015-01-15-planetary-boundaries---an-update.html |access-date=19 April 2020 |website=Stockholm Resilience Centre}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ten years of nine planetary boundaries |url=https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2019-11-01-ten-years-of-nine-planetary-boundaries.html |access-date=19 April 2020 |website=Stockholm Resilience Centre |date=November 2019}}</ref> These planetary boundaries involve several environmental issues. These include climate change and [[Biology:Biodiversity loss|biodiversity loss]]. They also include types of pollution. These are biogeochemical (nitrogen and phosphorus), [[Biology:Ocean acidification|ocean acidification]], land use, [[Water scarcity|freshwater]], [[Earth:Ozone depletion|ozone depletion]], [[Chemistry:Aerosol|atmospheric aerosols]], and chemical pollution.<ref name="Steffen-2015" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Persson |first1=Linn |last2=Carney Almroth |first2=Bethanie M. |last3=Collins |first3=Christopher D. |last4=Cornell |first4=Sarah |last5=de Wit |first5=Cynthia A. |last6=Diamond |first6=Miriam L. |last7=Fantke |first7=Peter |last8=Hassellöv |first8=Martin |last9=MacLeod |first9=Matthew |last10=Ryberg |first10=Morten W. |last11=Søgaard Jørgensen |first11=Peter |date=2022-02-01 |title=Outside the Safe Operating Space of the Planetary Boundary for Novel Entities |journal=Environmental Science & Technology |language=en |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=1510–1521 |bibcode=2022EnST...56.1510P |doi=10.1021/acs.est.1c04158 |issn=0013-936X |pmc=8811958 |pmid=35038861}}</ref> (Since 2015 some experts refer to biodiversity loss as ''change in biosphere integrity''. They refer to chemical pollution as ''introduction of novel entities.'')

The [[I = PAT|IPAT formula]] measures the environmental impact of humans. It emerged in the 1970s. It states this impact is proportional to human population, affluence and technology.<ref name="Ehrlich&Holden2">{{Cite magazine |last1=Ehrlich |first1=P.R. |last2=Holden |first2=J.P. |year=1974 |title=Human Population and the global environment |magazine=American Scientist |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=282–292}}</ref> This implies various ways to increase environmental sustainability. One would be human [[Earth:Human population planning|population control]]. Another would be to reduce consumption and affluence<ref name="Wiedmann-2020" /> such as [[Physics:Energy conservation|energy consumption]]. Another would be to develop innovative or green technologies such as [[Engineering:Renewable energy|renewable energy]]. In other words, there are two broad aims. The first would be to have fewer consumers. The second would be to have less environmental footprint per consumer.

The ''Millennium Ecosystem Assessment'' from 2005 measured 24 ecosystem services. It concluded that only four have improved over the last 50 years. It found 15 are in serious decline and five are in a precarious condition.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |url=http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.354.aspx.pdf |title=Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis |publisher=World Resources Institute |year=2005 |location=Washington, DC}}</ref>{{rp|pp=6–19}}

=== Economic costs ===
[[File:Doughnut-transgressing.jpg|thumb|The doughnut model, with indicators to what extent the ecological ceilings are overshot and social foundations are not met yet]]
Experts in [[Social:Environmental economics|environmental economics]] have calculated the cost of using public natural resources. One project calculated the damage to ecosystems and biodiversity loss. This was the [[Biology:The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity|Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity]] project from 2007 to 2011.<ref>TEEB (2010), [http://teebweb.org/publications/teeb-for/synthesis/ The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature: A Synthesis of the Approach, Conclusions and Recommendations of TEEB]</ref>

An entity that creates environmental and social costs often does not pay for them. The market price also does not reflect those costs. In the end, government policy is usually required to resolve this problem.<ref name="Jaeger">{{Cite book |last=Jaeger |first=William K. |url=https://islandpress.org/books/environmental-economics-tree-huggers-and-other-skeptics |title=Environmental economics for tree huggers and other skeptics |date=2005 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=978-1-4416-0111-7 |location=Washington, DC |oclc=232157655}}</ref>

We can take future costs and benefits into account when we make decisions. To do this we use the [[Finance:Social discount rate|social discount rate]]. The bigger our concern for future generations, the lower the social discount rate should be.<ref>Groth, Christian (2014). ''[https://web2.econ.ku.dk/okocg/VV/VV-2014/Lectures%20and%20lecture%20notes/Contents-VaekstMaster2014-2.pdf Lecture notes in Economic Growth]'', (mimeo), Chapter 8: Choice of social discount rate. Copenhagen University.</ref> Another approach is to put an economic value on ecosystem services. This allows us to assess environmental damage against perceived short-term welfare benefits. One calculation is that, "for every dollar spent on ecosystem restoration, between three and 75 dollars of economic benefits from ecosystem goods and services can be expected".<ref>[https://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/31813/ERDStrat.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y UNEP, FAO (2020). UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. 48p.]</ref>

In recent years, economist Kate Raworth has developed the concept of [[Finance:Doughnut (economic model)|doughnut economics]]. This aims to integrate social and environmental sustainability into economic thinking. The social dimension acts as a minimum standard to which a society should aspire. The carrying capacity of the planet acts an outer limit.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raworth |first=Kate |title=Doughnut economics: seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist |date=2017 |publisher={{wipe|Random House}} |isbn=978-1-84794-138-1 |location=London |oclc=974194745}}</ref>

== Barriers ==
There are many reasons why sustainability is so difficult to achieve. These reasons have the name ''sustainability barriers''.<ref name="Berg-2020" /><ref name="Howes-2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Howes |first1=Michael |last2=Wortley |first2=Liana |last3=Potts |first3=Ruth |last4=Dedekorkut-Howes |first4=Aysin |last5=Serrao-Neumann |first5=Silvia |last6=Davidson |first6=Julie |last7=Smith |first7=Timothy |last8=Nunn |first8=Patrick |date=2017 |title=Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure? |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=165 |doi=10.3390/su9020165 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free|hdl=10453/90953 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Before we address these barriers we must analyze and understand them.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|34}} Some barriers arise from nature and its complexity ("everything is related").<ref name="Harrington-2016" /> Others arise from the human condition. One example is the value-action gap. This reflects the fact that we often do not act according to our convictions. Experts describe these barriers as ''intrinsic'' to the concept of sustainability.<ref name="Berg-2017">{{Cite journal |last=Berg |first=Christian |date=2017 |title=Shaping the Future Sustainably – Types of Barriers and Tentative Action Principles (chapter in: Future Scenarios of Global Cooperation—Practices and Challenges) |url=https://www.gcr21.org/en/publications/global-dialogues/2198-0403-gd-14/ |journal=Global Dialogues |language=en |publisher=Centre For Global Cooperation Research (KHK/GCR21), Nora Dahlhaus and Daniela Weißkopf (eds.) |doi=10.14282/2198-0403-GD-14 |issn=2198-0403}}</ref>{{rp|81}}

Other barriers are ''extrinsic'' to the concept of sustainability. This means it is possible to overcome them. One way would be to put a price tag on the consumption of public goods.<ref name="Berg-2017" />{{rp|84}} Some extrinsic barriers relate to the nature of dominant institutional frameworks. Examples would be where market mechanisms fail for [[Finance:Public good (economics)|public goods]]. Existing societies, economies, and cultures encourage increased consumption. There is a structural imperative for growth in [[Finance:Competition (economics)|competitive market]] economies. This inhibits necessary societal change.<ref name="Wiedmann-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Wiedmann |first1=Thomas |last2=Lenzen |first2=Manfred |last3=Keyßer |first3=Lorenz T. |last4=Steinberger |first4=Julia K. |date=2020 |title=Scientists' warning on affluence |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=3107 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=7305220 |pmid=32561753 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.3107W}}[[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]</ref>

Furthermore, there are several barriers related to the difficulties of implementing sustainability policies. There are trade-offs between the goals of environmental policies and economic development. Environmental goals include nature conservation. Development may focus on poverty reduction.<ref name="Howes-2017" /><ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|65}} There are also trade-offs between short-term profit and long-term viability.<ref name="Berg-2017" />{{rp|65}} Political pressures generally favor the short term over the long term. So they form a barrier to actions oriented toward improving sustainability.<ref name="Berg-2017" />{{rp|86}}

Barriers to sustainability may also reflect current trends. These could include [[Finance:Consumerism|consumerism]] and [[Finance:Short-termism|short-termism]].<ref name="Berg-2017" />{{rp|86}}

== Transitions ==

=== Components and characteristics ===
The [[Organization:European Environment Agency|European Environment Agency]] defines a sustainability transition as "a fundamental and wide-ranging transformation of a socio-technical system towards a more sustainable configuration that helps alleviate persistent problems such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss or resource scarcities."<ref>{{Cite book |last=European Environment Agency. |url=https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2800/641030 |title=Sustainability transitions: policy and practice. |date=2019 |publisher=Publications Office |location=LU |doi=10.2800/641030 |isbn=9789294800862}}</ref>{{rp|152}} The concept of sustainability transitions is like the concept of energy transitions.<ref>{{Citation |title=Introduction |date=2020 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128195215000267 |work=The Regulation and Policy of Latin American Energy Transitions |pages=xxix–xxxviii |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-819521-5.00026-7 |isbn=978-0-12-819521-5 |access-date=2022-07-14 |s2cid=241093198 }}</ref>

One expert argues a sustainability transition must be "supported by a new kind of culture, a new kind of collaboration, [and] a new kind of leadership".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuenkel |first=Petra |title=Stewarding Sustainability Transformations: An Emerging Theory and Practice of SDG Implementation |date=2019 |isbn=978-3-030-03691-1 |location=Cham |oclc=1080190654 |publisher=Springer}}</ref> It requires a large investment in "new and greener capital goods, while simultaneously shifting capital away from unsustainable systems".<ref name="Stockholm+50-2022" />{{rp|107}} It prefers these to unsustainable options.<ref name="Stockholm+50-2022" />{{rp|101}}

A sustainability transition requires major change in societies. They must change their fundamental values and organizing principles.<ref name="Swart, R.-2002" />{{rp|15}} These new values would emphasize "the quality of life and material sufficiency, human solidarity and global equity, and affinity with nature and environmental sustainability".<ref name="Swart, R.-2002" />{{rp|15}} A transition may only work if far-reaching lifestyle changes accompany technological advances.<ref name="Wiedmann-2020" />

Scientists have pointed out that: "Sustainability transitions come about in diverse ways, and all require civil-society pressure and evidence-based advocacy, political leadership, and a solid understanding of policy instruments, markets, and other drivers."<ref name="Ripple-2017" />

We can propose four overlapping processes of transformation. They each have different political dynamics. Technology, markets, government, or citizens can lead these processes.<ref name="Scoones-2016" />

=== Action principles ===
We can divide action principles that people can use to make societies more sustainable into four types. These are nature-related, personal, society-related and systems-related principles.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|206}}

* Nature-related principles: decarbonize; reduce human environmental impact by efficiency, sufficiency and consistency; be net-positive – build up environmental and societal capital; prefer local, seasonal, plant-based and labor-intensive; [[Social:Polluter pays principle|polluter-pays principle]]; [[Precautionary principle|precautionary principle]]; and appreciate and celebrate the beauty of nature.
* Personal principles: practise contemplation, apply policies with caution, celebrate frugality.
* Society-related principles: grant the least privileged the greatest support; seek mutual understanding, trust and many wins; strengthen social cohesion and collaboration; engage stakeholders; foster education – share knowledge and collaborate.
* Systems-related principles: apply [[Systems thinking|systems thinking]]; foster diversity; make what is relevant to the public more transparent; maintain or increase option diversity.

=== Example steps ===
In 2017 scientists published an update to the 1992 [[Earth:World Scientists' Warning to Humanity|World Scientists' Warning to Humanity]]. It showed how to move towards environmental sustainability. It proposed steps in three areas:<ref name="Ripple-2017" /> 

* Reduced consumption: reducing food waste, promoting dietary shifts towards mostly plant-based foods.
* Reducing the number of consumers: further reducing fertility rates and thus population growth.
* Technology and nature conservation: there are several related approaches. One is to maintain nature's ecosystem services. Another is promote new green technologies. Another is changing our energy use. One aspect of this is to adopt renewable energy sources. At the same time it is necessary to end subsidies to energy production through fossil fuels.

==== Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals ====
[[File:Sustainable Development Goals.svg|thumb|United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.]]
In 2015, the United Nations agreed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Their official name is Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals. The UN described this programme as a very ambitious and transformational vision. It said the SDGs were of unprecedented scope and significance.<ref name=":1b" />{{rp|3/35}} 

The UN said: "We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path."<ref name=":1b" /> 

The 17 goals and targets lay out transformative steps. For example, the SDGs aim to protect the future of planet Earth. Here the UN pledged to "protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations".<ref name=":1b" />

== Options for overcoming barriers ==

=== Issues around economic growth ===

Eco-economic decoupling is an idea to resolve tradeoffs between economic growth and environmental conservation. The idea is to "decouple ''environmental bads'' from ''economic goods'' as a path towards sustainability".<ref name="Vaden-2020" /> This would mean "using less resources per unit of economic output and reducing the environmental impact of any resources that are used or economic activities that are undertaken".<ref name="UNEP2011" />{{rp|8}} We can measure pressure on the environment by the intensity of [[Chemistry:Pollutant|pollutant]]s emitted. We can then measure decoupling. To do this we follow changes in the [[Earth:Emission intensity|emission intensity]] associated with economic output.<ref name="UNEP2011" /> Examples of absolute long-term decoupling are rare. But some industrialized countries have decoupled GDP growth from production- and consumption-based {{CO2}} emissions.<ref name="Wiedenhofer">{{Cite journal |last1=Haberl |first1=Helmut |last2=Wiedenhofer |first2=Dominik |last3=Virág |first3=Doris |last4=Kalt |first4=Gerald |last5=Plank |first5=Barbara |last6=Brockway |first6=Paul |last7=Fishman |first7=Tomer |last8=Hausknost |first8=Daniel |last9=Krausmann |first9=Fridolin |last10=Leon-Gruchalski |first10=Bartholomäus |last11=Mayer |first11=Andreas |date=2020 |title=A systematic review of the evidence on decoupling of GDP, resource use and GHG emissions, part II: synthesizing the insights |journal=Environmental Research Letters |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=065003 |bibcode=2020ERL....15f5003H |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/ab842a |issn=1748-9326 |s2cid=216453887|doi-access=free }}</ref> Yet, even in this example, decoupling alone is not enough. We need to accompany it with "sufficiency-oriented strategies and strict enforcement of absolute reduction targets".<ref name="Wiedenhofer" />{{rp|1}}

One study in 2020 found no evidence of necessary decoupling. This was a [[Meta-analysis|meta-analysis]] of 180 scientific studies. It found that there is "no evidence of the kind of decoupling needed for ecological sustainability" and that "in the absence of robust evidence, the goal of decoupling rests partly on faith".<ref name="Vaden-2020" /> Some experts have questioned the possibilities for decoupling and thus the feasibility of [[Finance:Green growth|green growth]].<ref name="Parrique T-2019">Parrique T., Barth J., Briens F., C. Kerschner, Kraus-Polk A., Kuokkanen A., Spangenberg J.H., 2019. [https://gaiageld.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/decoupling_debunked_evidence_and_argumen.pdf Decoupling debunked: Evidence and arguments against green growth as a sole strategy for sustainability]. European Environmental Bureau.</ref> Some have argued that decoupling on its own will not be enough to reduce environmental pressures. They say it would need to include the issue of economic growth.<ref name="Parrique T-2019" /> There are several reasons why adequate decoupling is currently not taking place. These are rising energy expenditure, [[Medicine:Rebound effect|rebound effect]]s, problem shifting, the underestimated impact of services, the limited potential of recycling, insufficient and inappropriate technological change, and cost-shifting.<ref name="Parrique T-2019" /> 

The decoupling of economic growth from environmental deterioration is difficult. This is because the entity that causes environmental and social costs does not generally pay for them. So the market price does not express such costs.<ref name="Jaeger" /> For example, we can factor the cost of packaging into the price of a product. But we may omit the cost of disposing of that packaging. Economics describes such factors as [[Finance:Externality|externalities]], in this case a negative externality.<ref>{{cite book |first=Arthur Cecil |last=Pigou |date=1932 |url=https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/4154221/mod_resource/content/0/Pigou-The_Economic_of_Welfare_1920.pdf |title=The Economics of Welfare |edition=4th |location=London |publisher=Macmillan}}</ref> Usually, it is up to government action or local governance to deal with externalities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jaeger |first=William K. |title=Environmental economics for tree huggers and other skeptics |date=2005 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=978-1-4416-0111-7 |location=Washington, DC |oclc=232157655}}</ref> 

There are various ways to incorporate environmental and social costs and benefits into economic activities. Examples include: taxing the activity (the [[Social:Polluter pays principle|polluter pays]]); subsidizing activities with positive effects (rewarding [[Social:Stewardship|stewardship]]); and outlawing particular levels of damaging practices (legal limits on pollution).<ref name="Jaeger" />

=== Government action and local governance ===
A textbook on natural resources and environmental economics stated in 2011: "Nobody who has seriously studied the issues believes that the economy's relationship to the natural environment can be left entirely to market forces."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Natural resource and environmental economics |date=2011 |publisher=Pearson Addison Wesley |author=Roger Perman |author2=Yue Ma |author3=Michael Common |author4=David Maddison |author5=James Mcgilvray |isbn=978-0-321-41753-4 |edition=4th |location=Harlow, Essex |oclc=704557307}}</ref>{{rp|15}} This means  natural resources will be over-exploited and destroyed in the long run without government action.

[[Biography:Elinor Ostrom|Elinor Ostrom]] (winner of the 2009Nobel economics prize) expanded on this. She stated that local governance (or self-governance) can be a third option besides the market or the national government.<ref name="Anderies-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Anderies |first1=John M. |last2=Janssen |first2=Marco A. |date=2012-10-16 |title=Elinor Ostrom (1933–2012): Pioneer in the Interdisciplinary Science of Coupled Social-Ecological Systems |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=10 |issue=10 |pages=e1001405 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001405 |issn=1544-9173 |pmc=3473022 |doi-access=free }}</ref> She studied how people in small, local communities manage shared natural resources.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize: Women Who Changed the World |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/nobel-prize-awarded-women/ |access-date=31 March 2022 |website=thenobelprize.org}}</ref> She showed that communities using natural resources can establish rules their for use and maintenance. These are resources such as pastures, fishing waters, and forests. This leads to both economic and ecological sustainability.<ref name="Anderies-2012" /> Successful self-governance needs groups with frequent communication among participants. In this case, groups can manage the usage of common goods without overexploitation.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|117}} Based on Ostrom's work, some have argued that: "Common-pool resources today are overcultivated because the different agents do not know each other and cannot directly communicate with one another."<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|117}}

=== Global governance ===
[[File:Launching of The UN Sustainability Development Solution Network (SDSN) Chapter Indonesia by The President of The Republic Indonesia (10111448114).jpg|thumb|Launch of the UN [[Organization:Sustainable Development Solutions Network|Sustainable Development Solutions Network]] (SDSN) Chapter Indonesia ]]
Questions of global concern are difficult to tackle. That is because global issues need global solutions. But existing global organizations (UN, [[Organization:World Trade Organization|WTO]], and others) do not have sufficient means.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|135}} For example, they lack sanctioning mechanisms to enforce existing global regulations.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|136}} Some institutions do not enjoy universal acceptance. An example is the International Criminal Court. Their agendas are not aligned (for example [[Organization:United Nations Environment Programme|UNEP]], [[Organization:United Nations Development Programme|UNDP]], and WTO) And some accuse them of nepotism and mismanagement.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|135–145}} 

Multilateral international agreements, treaties, and [[Social:Intergovernmental organization|intergovernmental organization]]s (IGOs) face further challenges. These result in barriers to sustainability. Often these arrangements rely on voluntary commitments. An example is  Nationally Determined Contributions for climate action. There can be a lack of enforcement of existing national or international regulation. And there can be gaps in regulation for international actors such as multi-national enterprises.Critics of some global organizations say they lack legitimacy and democracy. Institutions facing such criticism include the WTO, [[Organization:International Monetary Fund|IMF]], [[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]], UNFCCC, [[Organization:Group of Seven|G7]], [[Organization:Group of Eight|G8]] and [[Organization:OECD|OECD]].<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|135}}

== Responses by nongovernmental stakeholders ==
=== Businesses ===
[[File:Barssee und unmittelbare Umgebung 08.JPG|thumb|Today, the public primarily associates sustainable production with special seals of quality (here the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) seal for wood products in a forest in Germany).]]
Sustainable business practices integrate ecological concerns with social and economic ones.<ref name="Kinsley-1997">Kinsley, M. and Lovins, L.H. (September 1997). [http://www.natcapsolutions.org/publications_files/PayingForGrowth_ChronPilot_Sep1997.pdf "Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717081554/http://www.natcapsolutions.org/publications_files/PayingForGrowth_ChronPilot_Sep1997.pdf |date=17 July 2011}} Retrieved 15 June 2009.</ref><ref name="Callenbach-2011">[http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/968 Sustainable Shrinkage: Envisioning a Smaller, Stronger Economy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411191530/http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/968 |date=11 April 2016}}. Thesolutionsjournal.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.</ref> One accounting framework for this approach uses the phrase "people, planet, and profit". The name of this approach is the [[Social:Triple bottom line|triple bottom line]]. The [[Finance:Circular economy|circular economy]] is a related concept. Its goal is to decouple environmental pressure from economic growth.<ref name="Ghisellini 11–32">{{Cite journal |last1=Ghisellini |first1=Patrizia |last2=Cialani |first2=Catia |last3=Ulgiati |first3=Sergio |date=2016-02-15 |title=A review on circular economy: the expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652615012287 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |series=Towards Post Fossil Carbon Societies: Regenerative and Preventative Eco-Industrial Development |language=en |volume=114 |pages=11–32 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.007 |issn=0959-6526}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nobre |first1=Gustavo Cattelan |last2=Tavares |first2=Elaine |date=2021-09-10 |title=The quest for a circular economy final definition: A scientific perspective |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652621021910 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |language=en |volume=314 |pages=127973 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127973 |issn=0959-6526}}</ref>

Growing attention towards sustainability has led to the formation of many organizations. These include the Sustainability Consortium of the [[Organization:Society for Organizational Learning|Society for Organizational Learning]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zhexembayeva, N. |date=May 2007 |title=Becoming Sustainable: Tools and Resources for Successful Organizational Transformation |url=http://worldbenefit.case.edu/newsletter/?idNewsletter=143&idHeading=46&idNews=589 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613010521/http://worldbenefit.case.edu/newsletter/?idNewsletter=143&idHeading=46&idNews=589 |archive-date=2010-06-13 |website=Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit |publisher=Case Western University |volume=3 |issue=2 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> the Sustainable Business Institute,<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.sustainablebusiness.org/2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517000948/http://www.sustainablebusiness.org/2.html |archive-date=17 May 2009 |publisher=Sustainable Business Institute}}</ref> and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the WBCSD |url=http://www.wbcsd.ch/templates/TemplateWBCSD2/layout.asp?type=p&MenuId=NDEx&doOpen=1&ClickMenu=LeftMenu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909144305/http://www.wbcsd.ch/templates/TemplateWBCSD2/layout.asp?type=p&MenuId=NDEx&doOpen=1&ClickMenu=LeftMenu |archive-date=9 September 2007 |access-date=1 April 2009 |publisher=World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)}}</ref> [[Social:Supply chain sustainability|Supply chain sustainability]] looks at the environmental and human impacts of products in the supply chain. It considers how they move from raw materials sourcing to production, storage, and delivery, and every transportation link on the way.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Supply Chain Sustainability {{!}} UN Global Compact |url=https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/supply-chain |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=www.unglobalcompact.org}}</ref>

=== Religious communities ===
{{Further|Religion:Religion and environmentalism}}
Religious leaders have stressed the importance of caring for nature and environmental sustainability. In 2015 over 150 leaders from various faiths issued a joint statement to the [[Earth:2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference|UN Climate Summit in Paris 2015]].<ref>[http://actalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/COP21_Statement_englisch2.pdf "Statement of Faith and Spiritual Leaders on the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21 in Paris in December 2015"]</ref> They reiterated a statement made in the Interfaith Summit in New York in 2014:<blockquote>As representatives from different faith and religious traditions, we stand together to express deep concern for the consequences of climate change on the earth and its people, all entrusted, as our faiths reveal, to our common care. Climate change is indeed a threat to life, a precious gift we have received and that we need to care for.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Statement — Interfaith Climate |url=https://www.interfaithclimate.org/the-statement/ |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=www.interfaithclimate.org}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Individuals ===

Individuals can also live in a more sustainable way. They can change their lifestyles, practise ethical consumerism, and embrace frugality.<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|236}}  These sustainable living approaches can also make cities more sustainable. They do this by altering the built environment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDilda |first=Diane Gow |title=The everything green living book: easy ways to conserve energy, protect your family's health, and help save the environment |date=2007 |publisher=Adams Media |isbn=978-1-59869-425-3 |location=Avon, Mass. |oclc=124074971}}</ref> Such approaches include [[Engineering:Sustainable transport|sustainable transport]], [[Social:Sustainable architecture|sustainable architecture]], and zero emission housing. Research can identify the main issues to focus on. These include flying, meat and dairy products, car driving, and household sufficiency. Research can show how to create cultures of sufficiency, care, solidarity, and simplicity.<ref name="Wiedmann-2020" />

Some young people are using activism, litigation, and on-the-ground efforts to advance sustainability. This is particularly the case in the area of climate action.<ref name="Aggarwal-2022">Aggarwal, D., Esquivel, N., Hocquet, R., Martin, K., Mungo, C., Nazareth, A., Nikam, J., Odenyo, J., Ravindran, B., Kurinji, L. S., Shawoo, Z., & Yamada, K. (2022). [https://www.stockholm50.report/charting-a-youth-vision-for-a-just-and-sustainable-future.pdf Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future]. Stockholm Environment Institute. DOI: 10.51414/sei2022.010</ref>{{rp|60}}

== Critiques ==

=== Impossible to reach ===
Scholars have criticized the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development from different angles. One was Dennis Meadows, one of the authors of the first report to the Club of Rome, called "[[The Limits to Growth]]". He argued many people deceive themselves by using the Brundtland definition of sustainability.<ref name="Wilhelm-2000" /> This is because the needs of the present generation are actually not met today. Instead, economic activities to meet present needs will shrink the options of future generations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gambino |first=Megan |date=15 March 2012 |title=Is it Too Late for Sustainable Development? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/is-it-too-late-for-sustainable-development-125411410/ |access-date=2022-01-12 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|27}} Another criticism is that the paradigm of sustainability is no longer suitable as a guide for transformation. This is because our societies are "socially and ecologically self-destructive consumer societies".<ref name="Blühdorn 2017 42–61">{{Cite journal |last=Blühdorn |date=2017 |title=Post-capitalism, post-growth, post-consumerism? Eco-political hopes beyond sustainability |journal=Global Discourse |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=42–61 |doi=10.1080/23269995.2017.1300415 |issn=2043-7897|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Some scholars have even proclaimed the end of the concept of sustainability. This is because humans now have a significant impact on Earth's climate system and ecosystems.<ref name="Melinda Harm" /> It might become impossible to pursue sustainability because of these complex, radical, and dynamic issues.<ref name="Melinda Harm" /> Others have called sustainability a [[Philosophy:Utopia|utopia]]n ideal: "We need to keep sustainability as an ideal; an ideal which we might never reach, which might be utopian, but still a necessary one."<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|5}}

=== Vagueness ===
The term is often hijacked and thus can lose its meaning. People use it for all sorts of things, such as ''saving the planet'' to ''recycling your rubbish''.<ref name="Halliday-2016" /> A specific definition may never be possible. This is because sustainability is a concept that provides a normative structure. That describes what human society regards as good or desirable.<ref name="Ramsey-2015" />

But some argue that while sustainability is vague and contested it is not meaningless.<ref name="Ramsey-2015" /> Although lacking in a singular definition, this concept is still useful. Scholars have argued that its fuzziness can actually be liberating. This is because it means that "the basic goal of sustainability (maintaining or improving desirable conditions [...]) can be pursued with more flexibility".<ref name="Harrington-2016" />

=== Confusion and greenwashing ===
Sustainability has a reputation as a buzzword.<ref name="Purvis" /> People may use the terms ''sustainability'' and ''sustainable development'' in ways that are different to how they are usually understood. This can result in confusion and mistrust. So a clear explanation of how the terms are being used in a particular situation is important.<ref name="Harrington-2016" />

[[Social:Greenwashing|Greenwashing]] is a practice of deceptive marketing. It is when a company or organization provides misleading information about the sustainability of a product, policy, or other activity.<ref name="Aggarwal-2022" />{{rp|26}}<ref>{{Cite news |first=Bruce |last=Watson |date=2016-08-20 |title=The troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/aug/20/greenwashing-environmentalism-lies-companies |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018015320/https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/aug/20/greenwashing-environmentalism-lies-companies |archive-date=18 October 2016}}</ref> Investors are wary of this issue as it exposes them to risk.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-18 |title=The Troubling Evolution Of Large Scale Corporate Greenwashing |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investors-are-increasingly-calling-out-corporate-greenwashing-1.1125826 |website=www.bloomberg.ca |publisher=BNN Bloomberg}}</ref> The reliability of eco-labels is also doubtful in some cases.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-08-18 |title=The Troubling Evolution Of Large Scale Corporate Greenwashing |url=https://theconversation.com/greenwashing-can-you-trust-that-label-2116 |work=The Conversation}}</ref> Ecolabelling is a voluntary method of environmental performance certification and labelling for food and consumer products. The most credible eco-labels are those developed with close participation from all relevant stakeholders.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ebrahimi Sirizi, M., Taghavi Zirvani, E., Esmailzadeh, A., Khosravian, J., Ahmadi, R., Mijani, N., Soltannia, R., & Jokar Arsanjani, J. |date=2023 |year=2023 |title=A scenario-based multi-criteria decision-making approach for allocation of pistachio processing facilities: A case study of Zarand, Iran. Sustainability |journal=Sustainability |volume=15 |issue=20 |page=15054 |doi=10.3390/su152015054 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== See also ==
* List of sustainability topics
* [[Engineering:Outline of sustainability|Outline of sustainability]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Library resources box |others=yes |lcheading=Sustainability}}




[[Category:Environmental terminology]]

{{Sourceattribution|Sustainability}}