Reclaiming the Definition of Sustainability

[Karl]

An interesting paper on the definition of sustainability, and how the meaning, scope etc. has gradually changed over the past 20 yr…

Johnston, P., Everard, M., Santillo, D. & Robert, K.H. 2007. Reclaiming the Definition of Sustainability. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 14 (1): 60-66.

Article Link: http://www.springerlink.com/content/...m/fulltext.pdf

ABSTRACT

Background and Scope.

Since its inception two decades ago, the concept of sustainable development has suffered from a proliferation of definitions, such that it has increasingly come to mean many things to many different people. This has limited its credibility, called into question its practical application and the significance of associated achievements and, overall, limited the progress in environmental and social developments which it was designed to underpin.

This viewpoint article is intended to re-open the concept of sustainable development for discussion 20 years on from the Brundtland Report, in the context of the current state of the world, our growing understanding of ecosystems and their response to stressors and the parallel increase in recognition of inherent limitations to that understanding.

Approach.

Following a brief review of the diverse manner in which the concept has developed over time, we present the case for application of a series of simple conditions for sustainability, originally developed by The Natural Step in the early 90s, which nevertheless still provide a sound basis on which progress towards sustainable development could be monitored. The paper also highlights the unavoidable links between sustainability and ethics, including those in the sensitive fields of population and quality of life.

Discussion.

Overall we argue the need for the concept of sustainable development to be reclaimed from the plethora of economically-focused or somewhat vague and un-measurable definitions which have found increasing favour in recent years and which all too often accompany relatively minor progress against 'business as usual'.

Recommendations and Perspectives.

The vision encapsulated in the Brundtland Report was ground-breaking. If, however, true sustainability in human interactions with the biosphere is to be realised, a far stronger and more empirical interpretation of the original intent is urgently required. To be effective, such an interpretation must encompass and guide developments in political instruments and public policy as well as corporate decisionmaking, and must focus increasingly on addressing the root causes of major threats to sustainability rather than just their consequences.

Keywords: Ecosystems; ethical standards; over-exploitation; pollution; public policy; resources; sustainability; sustainable development; uncertainty

[TonyThompson]

Following on this article... I am interested in what people think about The Natural Step framework. Are you familar with it, is it logical, does it work?

[Karl]

Originally Posted by TonyThompson

Following on this article... I am interested in what people think about The Natural Step framework. Are you familar with it, is it logical, does it work?

Originally Posted by Karl

Article Link: http://www.springerlink.com/content/...m/fulltext.pdf

Approach. Following a brief review of the diverse manner in
which the concept has developed over time, we present the case
for application of a series of simple conditions for sustainability,
originally developed by The Natural Step in the early 90s, which
nevertheless still provide a sound basis on which progress towards
sustainable development could be monitored. The paper
also highlights the unavoidable links between sustainability and
ethics, including those in the sensitive fields of population and
quality of life.

While it was mentioned in the original article referenced above (Johnston et al. 2007), perhaps we should start by allowing readers to familiarize themselves with the ideas of that system (from a more direct source), and how this system relates to the various “definitions” of sustainability:

http://www.naturalstep.ca/articles/T...kGuidebook.pdf

TNS Framework - Overview

Det Naturliga steget

[GarethKane]

I find TNS a bit OTT - I'd rather use McDonough & Braungart's Eco-Effectiveness or Edwin Datchefski's BioThinking.

My fav definitions of sustainability are:

The economy working within the limits of society which is living within ecological limits.

or

Saving the planet AND solving world poverty.

[Karl]

Apparently, the "fulltext" pdf version of the article/paper referenced in the original post, is no longer available from SpringerLink via the URL provided (http://www.springerlink.com/content/...m/fulltext.pdf) -- seems that the open access time has expired.

So, I have now included a copy of the report from the original link as an attachment to this post (see below).

Overall, it seems that some progress has been made on this forum, in relation to "reclaiming" the definition of sustainability. So perhaps this is now an opportunity to move beyond "definitions" and into some of the other aspects raised here, especially in the context of recent events in the global economy.

[Karl]

A blog article related to the topic of the consequences of shifts in interpretation (and policies for implementation) of "sustainability"

> GG and Sustainability | metyu's blog

I think the recent shift in sustainability thinking - from a concept grounded in development theory, epitomised by Brundtland, Agenda 21 and Millennium Development Goals, to "oooh, carbon dioxide, we're all gonna die" - is a dangerous one.

This shift occurred about two years ago; think 'Revenge of Gaia' (James "Grim Jim" Lovelock) and IPCC FAR S4PM. At this point, climate change had been on my professional agenda for about 5 years, in terms of energy efficiency and adaptation. Suddenly, sustainability was all about reducing CO2 emissions. In the UK, sustainability consultants no longer needed to know about Agenda 21: the title was reduced to the level of buliding services engineer and carbon bean-counter.

Now, take a step back. With current fever over GHGs, we forget what was achieved during the 1990s. The internet age brought communication between activists to an unprecedented level. This culminated in the Seattle protests of 1999, WTO Protests in Seattle, 1999 — Global Issues.

...continues...