Sustainability involves taking action and making decisions that achieve long-term stability and shared benefits related to the environment and society. But what does sustainability mean, and where does the word come from? The word “sustainability” and the adjective “sustainable” can describe a wide range of activities, from business practices to lifestyle choices and even consumer products. The word “sustainability” combines “sustain”–to last a long time, and “ability”–having the means to do something. It’s an umbrella term to address various ways to prioritize longevity and lowering risks affecting large groups of people. Sustainability is a trend that has been growing for several decades. Understanding how sustainability benefits cities, communities and businesses gives insight into how and why people choose to take sustainable actions.
Definition of sustainability
The official definition of sustainability is: “The ability to meet today’s needs without sacrificing needs of future generations.” (United Nations Brundtland Commission, 1987). Based on this meaning, sustainability centers on achieving longevity–of cities, communities, and natural places. This is especially important during times of rapid change, such as our contemporary industrialized time, when protecting nature, fair treatment of workers, and ethical dimensions of novel technologies are more important than ever.
Three main pillars of sustainability
To increase resilience in the face of change, sustainability is often associated with three main areas: social, environmental and economic activities. Across these categories, specific topics support long-term well-being, including lowering greenhouse gas emissions to reduce climate change, reducing pollution, water stewardship, and ensuring affordable access to basic needs for all people.
The pillars of sustainability are interconnected since social issues like public health and wellness are directly linked to clean environments. In other instances, the pillars of sustainability can create trade-offs. Sustainability is about finding the right balance to meet economic needs without sacrificing the fair treatment of people or environmental preservation. That way, future generations can experience the quality of life we enjoy today.
A brief history of sustainability
Different sustainability movements and historical activities have shaped how we understand sustainability today. Many originated in the 1970s and 1980s, and they have evolved over time.
- Environmental movements
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, environmental challenges related to pollution and its negative health impacts near industrialized areas sparked a wave of environmental activism and mass movements. The most well-known example is an environmental protest held on April 22, 1970, when 20 million Americans participated in demonstrations on behalf of the environment.
In the next few years, the U.S. government responded with many changes to support stronger environmental protections, including the foundation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air and Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
- Sustainable product labels
In the 1980s and early 1990s, approaches to sustainability evolved to focus on consumer protection. This was a response to consumer demand for product information related to ethical and environmentally friendly production standards. A wave of labels that are well-known today had their foundations during this period. Here are a few examples:
- 1970: The recycling label was first designed and used to indicate products that could be returned as feedstock in production.
- 1988: The fair trade label was created in the Netherlands.
- 1990: The first U.S. organic food label was created.
- 1992: ENERGY STAR Label for energy efficient appliances started.
- Global target-setting to achieve aims
Global target-setting through international treaties and protocols has been a global strategy for nations to agree on shared goals related to sustainability issues. Examples include the following agreements:
- 1987 Montreal Protocol: In a meeting convened by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Montreal Protocol aimed to phase out ozone-burning aerosols. It was ratified unanimously by all nations. It is largely viewed as a success of international diplomacy and effectively reversed the depletion of the ozone layer.
- 1997 Kyoto Protocol: Using the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, global nations agreed to establish limits for 37 industrialized nations, amounting to 5% reduction from 1992 levels. The protocol passed with 192 signatory countries. It also established the world’s first “cap and trade” system, enabling certain countries to trade their excess carbon emission credits with others who needed them to reach their targets.
- 2015 UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Following the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which ended in 2015, the United Nations Development Programme called on nations to pursue 17 global SDGs to address sustainability challenges. They cover social, environment and economic topics as well as partnerships to achieve the goals. While the goals themselves are general categories of activity, they can be used to establish more specific targets through the adoption of 169 targets and 231 indicators.
- 2015 Paris Agreement: At COP21 in Paris, France, 196 signatory countries agreed to a legally binding target to limit “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” Following this meeting, in a 2018 Special Report, the IPCC emphasized the need to commit globally to the 1.5°C limit by the end of the century 2100 to avoid devastating global climate risks.
- 2022 COP15 Biodiversity Agreement: In a global meeting, nations addressed the loss of nature and biodiversity, with 188 signatory countries agreeing to protect 30% of the world’s degraded ecosystems by 2030.
Each of these agreements uses different approaches to global consensus building and problem solving related to sustainability. The agreements not only impact governments, but inform target setting by private businesses.
- Growth of sustainability reporting and investment
Corporations voluntarily reported their activities related to sustainability issues using standards created by international standards setting organizations. Many different reporting and management system standards have been used to help corporations meet a standard higher than merely meeting regulatory compliance.
Later, sustainability ratings systems started to compare businesses based on metrics related to environmental, social and governance activities. This not only supported research on the relationship between sustainable activities and value creation, but also provided a way for investors to integrate sustainability considerations into their investment decisions.
In the 2010s, sustainable investments grew significantly, and countries began adopting their own requirements for corporate reporting related to sustainability. Below are the dates some of the most widely-used corporate reporting standards began.
- 1990: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol was created to enable a standardized approach for corporations and other organizations to report how much greenhouse gas they emit in a given time period.
- 1997: International Standards Organization launches its 14001 Environmental Management System Standard
- 1998: Global Reporting Initiative was founded and launched its first reporting standards in 1999.
- 2000: The Carbon Disclosure Project forms a database for collecting corporate self-reported information related to climate change and later water and deforestation, to respond to requests from investors.
- 2013: The Integrated Reporting standards to incorporate financial and sustainability reporting into a single unified report, were created by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC).
- 2015: The Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is launched to support investors in quantifying physical and transition organizational risks related to climate change.
- 2018: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) launches a set of industry-specific sustainability reporting standards designed to support investor decision-making.
- 2023: The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) launches its first set of global reporting standards intended for use by governments around the world. It also assumes organizational control of TCFD, SASB and IIRC.
In the same year, Europe adopted its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), applicable to an estimated 50,000+ companies, which significantly enhances a previous set of reporting rules for Europe’s largest corporations.
All of these efforts show the diverse strategies of both voluntary organizations, companies and governments to address issues related to sustainability.
Sustainability at different scales
Working towards sustainability is something we can all contribute to: as individuals, businesses, governments and NGOs. However, the scale of impact of an individual obviously differs from that of a business or a government. Therefore, it is important to consider how sustainable activities may look different at these different scales.
- Personal sustainability
Individual actions affect the demand for products and services offered by companies and they inform the laws and policies of governments. People can include sustainability considerations in almost every aspect of life, from their purchasing decisions to their investment and career decisions. They can also include actions that influence other people, such as voting decisions or raising awareness about sustainability.
- Corporate sustainability
Businesses make decisions that have sustainability implications across their value chains. Their operations, the products and services they provide to customers, and how they organize their supply chains and the manufacturing and production of goods and services can all have significant impacts on the environment and people. Businesses can take sustainable actions by setting goals, implementing management systems, making responsible purchasing decisions, and more.
- Governmental sustainability
Government activities can also affect sustainability, as governments make decisions about the use of resources and spending across entire regions. Decisions related to what level of environmental pollution is safe and healthy for the public, what forms of infrastructure and energy are prioritized, and decisions related to international trade can all include considerations related to sustainability.
Even though the different scales of impact differ among governments, businesses and individuals, the sum of impacts at every level are interconnected. While businesses can set goals and make progress towards sustainable production of products and services, they depend on both individuals and governments to support them. Otherwise, there may not be enough access to publicly subsidized capital or consumer demand to support sustainable business decisions.
Benefits of sustainability
Sustainability is associated with a wide range of shared benefits. These benefits can be leveraged to avoid risks and improve the well-being of communities worldwide.
- Ecosystem resilience
We depend on healthy ecosystems to support our needs for food, water and medicines. Healthy ecosystems also reduce the spread of disease and ensure more stable patterns of weather, create natural buffer zones for storms, and provide “services” like filtering our ground water, cleaning the air, and replenishing nutrients in soil. Sustainability can promote all of these benefits.
- Plentiful natural resources
Natural resources are shared around the world. Sustainability issues can ensure the protection and fair distribution of natural resources available to all people. These include both resources that are extracted through mining such as metals and elements, or resources that regenerate like forests, agricultural crops, seafood, poultry and livestock, and wildlife.
- Health and well-being
Sustainability can improve the health and well-being of communities by reducing the amount of toxins and pollution released into the air and water, ensuring access to healthy, nutrient-rich foods, minimizing risks of extreme heat from climate change, and providing outdoor spaces and parks where people can walk and exercise freely through urban planning.
- Collaboration and cooperation
Sustainability is a collaborative effort that requires participation in decision-making and consensus among diverse groups of people. Its emphasis on shared benefits suggests that sustainability can reduce conflicts and support inclusive decision-making, so a higher proportion of people are satisfied with outcomes.
- Stable and low-risk economies
Sustainability impacts have quantifiable economic impacts, and many of these impacts are receiving more attention as they grow in scope. For instance, the World Economic Forum has shared research linking increased global average temperatures to significantly decreased GDP. A global average temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) is estimated to reduce the global GDP by 12%.
- Innovation and optimization
Sustainability supports problem-solving through the development of technologies and systems that function more efficiently. Optimizing systems and technologies to use less water and energy and support higher productivity can lead to sustainability improvements while also reducing costs.
Overall, sustainability is a set of movements, ideas and strategies to lower environmental and social risks and improve the well-being of people. It is global in scale and its key aim is long-term resilience for communities around the world.
