Analysis of meanings of the concept of sustainability salas. As it is well known, the concept found its roots in the united nations 1987 brundtland commission report our common future and even earlier in the 1980s world. The issue of sustainability has received various treatments over the past two decades. Du pisani school for social and government studies, northwest university, potchefstroom, south africa abstract this article gives an overview of the origin of the concept of sustainable development by going far back in history to trace its roots. That document was concerned with the tension between the. Whereas the concept of sustainability is broadly acknowledged as being multi dimensional. The concept of sustainability and sustainable innovation. Sustainable development historical roots of the concept.
Despite these complications, the three principles outlined above do. Sustainability in project management is about considering the full lifecycle of the project. Aug 28, 2018 the ambiguity and polysemy of the concept of sustainability is a problem often faced by researchers. Sustainability is a broad discipline, giving students and graduates insights into most aspects of the human world from business to technology to environment and the social sciences. Tensions that can be found within this idea are numerous, ranging from its ambiguous and vague definition, to the failure of attaining a universal pragmatic and operational framework.
That document was concerned with the tension between the aspirations of mankind towards a better life on the one. Jorna professor of knowledge management and cognition. This view is further developed by labuschagne and brent 2006. In the concept of environmental sustainability, robert goodland substantiates a history documenting this need, presenting proponents ranging from mill and malthus to meadows and brundtland et al. The concept of sustainability is a wide approach everybody is talking about in a period when environmental problems caused by various human activities are requiring serious solutions. Sustainable development historical roots of the concept jacobus a. The distinction between weak and strong sustainability is discussed in daly 1994.
Analytic, semantic, logical means for a concept self, b development, c concept network, d moves and countermoves reinterpretation, reconstruction, semantic analysis. Pdf the concept of sustainable economic development. Bringing to surface conceptual developments underlying sustainability discussion and distil future course. At oah, the concept of sustainability was developed in the context of its vision and mission and occurs when.
Sustainability is a systemic concept, relating to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society. The history behind sustainable development is one that does not stretch far. The core skills with which a graduates leaves college or university are highly sought after, especially in a modern world looking to drastically reduce carbon. Aug 23, 2018 the figure shows schematically how the social and economic systems are embedded in the environment. Nov 01, 2010 sustainability as a policy concept has its origin in the brundtland report of 1987. For instance, due to the ubiquity of the notion of sustainability, different discourses have emerged over time, thereby associating this concept with social responsibility, environmental management, or. This dispute structure results in the misguided perception that there is only one. There is a tendency for sustainability to be identified with reluctance, almost abstinence, and that the concept also has moral overtones. The strength and relevance of the original brundtland concept was precisely that it posed the question of how to. A comprehensive foundation, first and secondyear college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowledge including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities.
The concept of sustainable development and its use for sustainability scenarios remigijus ciegis1, jolita ramanauskiene2, bronislovas martinkus2 1vilnius university, kaunas faculty of humanities muitines str. A truly sustainable college or university would emphasize these concepts in its curriculum and research, preparing students to contribute as working citizens to. Environmental sustainability 117 the reduction of ozonedepleting substances the experience with the ozonedepletion problem is an encouraging example of the world. Whereas the concept of sustainability is broadly acknowledged as being multidimensional, its various dimensions have brought to light different discourses over time and have often been treated separately. The concept of sustainability is comprised of three pillars. Its development was informed by a number of existing frameworks and was inspired, in particular, by the work of r. Abstract the ambiguity and polysemy of the concept of sustainability is. An attempt to reconceptualize lecture presented at nias. Ecoefficiency applies to all business aspects, from purchasing and production to marketing and distribution. Pdf since its inception two decades ago, the concept of sustainable development has suffered from a proliferation of definitions, such that it has.
Occupational safety and health administration1 osha recognizes that new strategies are needed to ensure that all workers return home safe, sound, and healthy from. In this sense, this study aims to analyze the attributes of sustainable, sustainability and sustainable development to contribute to its concept. In doing so, this report provided the oftcited definition of sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the. Apr 05, 2020 sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Corporate sustainability is a growing concern among investors who seek not only economic profit but also social good.
At the early stage the organization lacked clear guidelines how the concept of sustainability to be implemented into the marketing strategy and action at the company. Yet despite this, sustainability remains an open concept with myriad interpretations and contextspeci. Thus, an axiomatic concept of these terms assists in praxis to hold areas with distinct functions accountable, but with a single final attempt to. The concept of environmental sustainability robert. The strongly normative nature of the sustainable development concept makes it difficult to pin down analytically. The concept of sustainable development and its use for. Linking environmental and economic performance, ecoefficiency is primarily a management concept. The figure shows schematically how the social and economic systems are embedded in the environment. Although it remains a shifting concept depending upon in which sustainability context it is applied and from which value position, a common ground understanding owes to the 1987 brundtland report wced, 1987 and the 1992 rio earth summit, which defined. Environment and development, and with it, the term sustainability itself. Sustainability as a policy concept has its origin in the brundtland report of 1987.
The core thrust of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, emerging strategies, and developing praxis presented in this chapter and throughout the book support the concept of practical sustainability defined here as an integrated approach to longterm environmental sustainability. Definitions of growth, development, and sustainability concepts 9 3. Brief for gsdr 2015 the concept of sustainable development. The concept of sustainability has gone far beyond the issues of the sustainable management of natural and environmental resources. Pdf sustainability as a policy concept has its origin in the brundtland report of 1987. Sustainability then becomes a concept that is equivalent to good and thus devoid of any specific meaninga blanket concept to assure stakeholders of the policys good intentions. It implies substitutability and thus weak sustainability, whereas strong sustainability is based on a concept of weak commensurability. Pdf reclaiming the definition of sustainability researchgate. Firstly, we analyzed the different contexts and areas of knowledge where this concept is used in society by using social listening on twitter, one of the. Marketing concept of sustainability and issues of corporate social responsibility has gone through considerable development from early phase to till to date. Esg investment represents the 3 pillars of sustainable investing. Embedded in most definitions of sustainability we also find concerns for social equity and economic development.
In some cases, this separation has limited the actual implementation of sustainability to its mere rhetoric. That document was concerned with the tension between the aspirations of mankind towards a. The most frequently used definition of sustainable development is from the brundtland report sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present people without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. While the concept of sustainability is a relatively new idea, the movement as a whole has roots in social justice, conservationism, internationalism and other past movements with rich histories. By the end of the twentieth centuries, many of these ideas had come together in the call for sustainable development. The definition and set of five sustainability principles proposed below seeks to advance and restore rigor to the ideas underlying the concept of sustainability. Nowadays, sustainability is part of the social sciences in a different way. Think about oahs concept of sustainability and how it relates to your definition.
We propose a definition that reverts to the original sense in which the concept was intended. Ecoefficiency differs from sustainability in that ecoefficiency does not measure social aspects. Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Albeit somewhat vague, this concept of sustainable development aims to maintain economic advancement and progress. Jul 27, 2011 sustainable development is a concept that at its core is revolutionary, yet difficult to pragmatically define. While the concept of sustainability is a relatively new idea, the movement as a whole has roots in social justice, conservationism. Ironically, also the contextual appropriate use of the sustainability concept in.
Sustainability will be achieved only when development supplants growth. Theory and concept of sustainability and sustainable development. If we acknowledge the finite nature of our planet, sustainable growth is an oxymoron 28, 29. Strong sustainability is defended by daly 1995 and criticized by beckerman 1994, 1995, who rejects the concept of sustainability in general.
Thus, it may also appear to some as a boring and bornagain concept, which preaches constantly. The concept of sustainable development, as coined by the world commission on. Building sustainable programs safe supportive learning. Faculty of management and organization university of groningen, groningen, netherlands. Given the futureorientation of the concept of sustainability, a logical implication is to consider the full lifecycle of a project, from its conception to its disposal. As sustainability is a multidisciplinary area of study, the text is the product. The core concept of sustainability openforests medium. The existence of definitions that are not operative, diverse and sometimes contradictory represents a difficulty for the election of a suitable concept of sustainability.
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