What Is Sustainable Development?

Put simply, sustainability refers to systems and processes that are able to operate independently over long periods of time (Robertson 2014). Sustainability in terms of development means the maintenance of development over an extended period of time (Elliot 1999). Discussions about sustainability often refer to an idea called the “triple bottom line”, sometimes referred to as the three pillars of sustainability or the “three E’s” (Elkington 2012). The first ‘E’ represents environment and is concerned with the preservation and restoration of the health living systems. The second ‘E’ stands for economy and relates to even distribution of resources over the long term, with each individual being

The most commonly used definition of sustainable development is still that given in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), i.e. sustainable development is ‘a process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Sustainable development is therefore about creating a better life for all people in ways that will be as viable in the future as they are at present. In other words, sustainable development is based on principles of sound husbandry of the world’s resources, and on equity in the way those resources are used and in the way in which the benefits obtained from them are distributed (Making Tourism More Sustainable, 2005).

The three pillars are environmental, social and economically sustainability. However in this report, environmental sustainability will be brought to light, the two other pillars will be trivial. In order for environmental sustainability to be defined, general sustainability must be defined. Sustainability is the ability to continue a defined behaviour indefinitely (Thwink.org, 2015). For the environment, there are three aspects which must be sustained for, renewable resources, non-renewable resources and pollution. Therefore, environmental sustainability is the degree of pollution emission, renewable resource production and non-renewable resource consumption that can be continued indefinitely for future use. CAROBN

Sustainable development is defined as “Development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (IISD, par. 1 ).

Sustainable development means that the present generations should be able to make use of resources to live better lives in such a manner that it does not compromise the ability of future generations. For sustainable development to occur, there needs to be sustainable economic, ecological and community development. Society needs to be educated about ways in which they can use resources, especially natural, in such a manner that it does not cause harm to the environment and put future generations lives at risk.

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

Sustainability is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations” (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 1987). The concept of sustainability comprises of four pillars: environmental; economic; political and social; as can be seen in the image below. Environmental sustainability is the use and management of the environment in a way that it does not deplete our finite resources. Economic sustainability is a long term sustainable economy that supports its community and political sustainability is the collaboration of different bodies of government to achieve a sustainable future. Now social sustainability is hard to define as it encapsulates many different factors; however to be very broad it is to achieve social justice. The real objective for sustainability is that all four pillars work together equally in a precautionary principle;

Sustainability development has three components: environment, society, and economy. If you consider the three to be overlapping circles of the same size, the area of overlap in the center is human well-being. As the environment, society, and economy become more aligned, the area of overlap increases, and so does human well-being. Therefore, education for sustainable development (ESD) is the use of education as a tool to achieve sustainability. Simply put, ESD is a way to make the world a safer, healthier, and more livable place for us and future generations (McKeown, 2002, pgs 7-9).

Every living being are directly or indirectly depend on natural environment. Sustainability helps to balance financial, social, and environmental factors to facilitate responsible business decision making over the immediate and long term. . Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Oxford University press 1987, p.43). Sustainability is also being protective and aware of use of natural resources and development that meets the need of present and everything that is need for our survival and well being depends, directly or indirectly on our natural environment. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sustainability is

Sustainable development has become each country’s priority and to effectively achieve this growth many countries use natural resources in production to comply with the consumers’ needs, at the same time making sure that the future generations’ needs are also met (Repetto et al., 1989). Hence the use of natural resources in production is processed carefully and effectively yet, even with cautious dealings accidents occur which result in chaos. Similarly the Montara oil spill in 2009 caused chaos in the Timor Sea and its surrounding population immensely. On 21st August 2009 Australia witnessed one of its worst oil disasters, an oil and gas leak that occurred in the Montara oil field in the Timor Sea. The leak occurred due to an explosion and it finally ended on 3rd November 2009. During the leak and even years after the issue of compensation still hung above the company PTTEP Australasia (PTTEP AA). In this essay we will explore the incident through the perspectives of PTTEP AA, the people of West Timor and the marine environment. Henceforth we will come to the conclusion of how this ongoing issue can be best handled.

Urbanization, which is becoming a buzzword during the last few decades, is enlarging at a booming speed. It is predicted that 93 percents urban growth will occur to the year 2020, in the developing world (Elliot J.A, 1999). Generally speaking, more than half of the people around the world have been moved to cities, which led to a series of “matters” connected with people’s life that changed in a dramatical way. In this period, sustainable development, another buzzword during the past few years, came into people’s view and gradually became the mainstream of society development. Its definition is to make the development continue in a long term, which means allowing appropriate economic growth and industrialization without

The actual definition of sustainable development may not be accepted by everyone but what is important is the recognition that sustainable development is about the balance of the connected Es, Economy, Environment, and Equity.

The concept of sustainable development regards the use of human, physical, and financial resources in a manner that is effectively directed only to industrial, commercial and financial areas, but also the infrastructure, education, health, tourism, and so on. Because the development is in the interest not only of the public but also the private sector, it takes account of social and environmental components of development (Therivel & Paridario, 2013).

In this essay I will discuss what sustainable development means? I will also discuss weak and strong approaches to sustainability and how this is related to sustainable development. Finally I will discuss how Isaac Construction in Christchurch has adopted sustainable development practices.

Brundtland report (1987) has defined the term sustainable development as the development that meets the needs for the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs