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Sustainable
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social. Many definitions emphasize the environmental dimension. This can include addressing key environmental problems, including climate change and biodiversity loss. The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, organizational, and individual levels. A related concept is that of sustainable development, and the terms are often used to mean the same thing. 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." Details around the economic dimension of sustainability are controversial. Scholars have discussed this under t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Living
Sustainable living describes a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle that attempts to reduce the use of Earth's natural resources by an individual or society. Its practitioners often attempt to reduce their ecological footprint (including their carbon footprint) by altering their home designs and methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet. Its proponents aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, naturally balanced, and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology. The practice and general philosophy of ecological living closely follows the overall principles of sustainable development. One approach to sustainable living, exemplified by small-scale urban Transition Towns, transition towns and rural ecovillages, seeks to create self-reliant communities based on principles of simple living, which maximize self-sustainability, self-sufficiency, particularly in food processing, food production. These principl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General Assembly (1987)''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. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity. Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the Economic development, economy, Environmental protection, environment, and society. The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make the concept of sustainable development better known. Sustainable development overlaps with the idea of sustainability which is a Normativity, normative concept. Text was copied from this source, which is av ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Business
A sustainable business, or a green business, is an enterprise that has (or aims to have) a minimal negative (or potentially positive) impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy. Such a business attempts to meet the triple bottom line. They cluster under different groupings, and the whole is sometimes referred to as " green capitalism." Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies. In general, a business is described as green if it matches the following four criteria:Cooney, S. (2009) "Build A Green Small Business. Profitable ways to become an ecopreneur." # It incorporates principles of sustainability into each of its business decisions. # It supplies environmentally friendly products or services that replace demand for nongreen products and/or services. # It is greener than traditional competition. # It has made an enduring commitment to environmental principles in its business operations. Terminology "Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weak And Strong Sustainability
Weak and strong sustainability are terms that have emerged from the field of environmental economics and describe different approaches to sustainability, specifically in relation to natural resource management and economic development. Weak sustainability is applicable when certain natural and human capital assets are assessed as interchangeable, meaning that the use or loss of, for example, a reduction in natural capital can be considered sustainable if the simultaneous change in human capital meets or exceeds the value of the change in natural capital. It assumes that different types of capital can be measured and given value in the same way. Strong sustainability is applicable when a specific capital asset, typically a natural capital asset, is assessed as incommensurable or so valuable that it should be maintained or enhanced independently of changes in other, typically human-made, capitals. It particularly considers that certain natural assets have critical ecological functio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability Measurement
Sustainability measurement is a set of frameworks or indicators used to measure how sustainable something is. This includes processes, products, services and businesses. Sustainability is difficult to quantify and it may even be impossible to measure as there is no fixed definition. To measure sustainability, frameworks and indicators consider environmental, social and economic domains. The metrics vary by use case and are still evolving. They include indicators, benchmarks and audits. They include sustainability standards and certification systems like Fairtrade and Organic. They also involve indices and accounting. They can include assessment, appraisal and other reporting systems. The metrics are used over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.Bell, Simon and Morse, Stephen 2008. Sustainability Indicators Measuring the Immeasurable?'' 2nd edn. London: Earthscan. . For organizations, sustainability measures include corporate sustainability reporting and Triple Bottom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brundtland Commission
The Brundtland Commission, formerly the World Commission on Environment and Development, was a sub-organization of the United Nations (UN) that aimed to unite countries in pursuit of sustainable development. It was founded in 1983 when Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, appointed Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, as chairperson of the commission. Brundtland was chosen due to her strong background in the sciences and public health. The Brundtland Commission officially dissolved in 1987 after releasing ''Our Common Future'', also known as the ''Brundtland Report''. The document popularized the term "sustainable development" and won the Grawemeyer Award in 1991. In 1988, the Center for Our Common Future replaced the commission. History Before Brundtland Ten years after the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, a number of global environmental challenges had not been adequately addressed. During the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity Loss
Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in Biodiversity, biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far. These activities include habitat destruction (for example deforestation) and land use intensification (for example monoculture farming). Further problem areas are Air pollution, air and water pollution (including nutrient pollution), over-exploitation, Invasive alien species, invasive species and climate change. Many scientists, along with the ''Global Assessment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Protection
Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. Objectives include the conservation of the existing natural environment and natural resources and, when possible, repair of damage and reversal of harmful trends. Due to the pressures of overconsumption, population growth and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation. Since the 1960s, environmental movements have created more awareness of the multiple environmental problems. There is disagreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity, so protection measures are occasionally debated. Approaches Voluntary agreements In industrial countries, voluntary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability Standards And Certification
Sustainability standards and certifications are voluntary guidelines used by producers, manufacturers, traders, retailers, and service providers to demonstrate their commitment to good environmental, social, ethical, and food safety practices. There are over 400 such standards across the world. The trend started in the late 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of Ecolabels and standards for organic food and other products. Most standards refer to the triple bottom line of environmental quality, social equity, and economic prosperity. A standard is normally developed by a broad range of stakeholders and experts in a particular sector and includes a set of practices or criteria for how a crop should be sustainably grown or a resource should be ethically harvested. This might cover, for instance, responsible fishing practices that do not endanger marine biodiversity or respect for human rights, and the payment of fair wages on a coffee or tea plantation. Normally sustainabi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triple Bottom Line
The triple bottom line (or otherwise noted as TBL or 3BL) is an accounting framework with three parts: social, environmental (or ecological) and economic. Some organizations have adopted the TBL framework to evaluate their performance in a broader perspective to create greater business value.Slaper, Timothy F. and Hall, Tanya J. (2011)"The Triple Bottom Line: What Is It and How Does It Work?"''Indiana Business Review''. Spring 2011, Volume 86, No. 1. Business writer John Elkington (business author), John Elkington claims to have coined the phrase in 1994. Background In traditional business accounting and common usage, the "bottom line" refers to either the "profit" or "loss", which is usually recorded at the very bottom line on a statement of revenue and expenses. Over the last 50 years, environmentalists and social justice advocates have struggled to bring a broader definition of bottom line into public consciousness by introducing full cost accounting. For example, if a corporati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Common Future
__NOTOC__ ''Our Common Future'', also known as the Brundtland Report, was published in October 1987 by the United Nations through the Oxford University Press. This publication was in recognition of Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister and Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Its targets were multilateralism and interdependence of nations in the search for a sustainable development path. The report sought to recapture the spirit of the Stockholm Conference which had introduced environmental concerns to the formal political development sphere. ''Our Common Future'' placed environmental issues firmly on the political agenda; it aimed to discuss the environment and development as one single issue. The document was the culmination of a "900-day" international exercise which catalogued, analysed, and synthesised written submissions and expert testimony from "senior government representatives, scientists and experts, research insti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability reporting refers to the disclosure, whether voluntary, solicited, or required, of non-financial performance information to outsiders of the organization. Sustainability reporting deals with qualitative and quantitative information concerning environmental, social, economic and governance issues. These are the criteria often gathered under the acronym ESG ( environmental, social and corporate governance). The introduction of non-financial information in published reports is seen as a step forward in corporate communications and an effective way to increase corporate engagement and transparency. Sustainability reports can help companies build consumer confidence and improve corporate reputations through transparent disclosure on social responsibility programs and risk management. Such communication aims to give stakeholders broader access to relevant information outside the financial sphere that also influences the company's performance. In the EU, the mandatory pra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
