Sustainable Development & Sustainability References: Unit textbook – DesJardins, Chapter 1 UNCED (1992) ‘Agenda 21’ Worldwatch Institute ‘State of the World 2003’ - preface J. Porritt (2001) ‘The only game in town’ Green Futures magazine

Overview of session v History of the concepts v Concepts: – sustainable development & sustainability – 3 pillars of sustainability/ triple bottom line –Natural capital –Corporate sustainability v Critiques of the concept

History / development of the concept v 1980 World Conservation Strategy v 1987 Our Common Future (Brundtland) v 1992 Rio Earth Summit – Agenda 21: global, national, local v 1996 Sustainability indicators v 1999 UK Strategy; updated 2005 v 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development Definitions : * “......development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” WCED, 1987 ( Brundtland) * “.....improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems” Munro & Holdgate,1991

Sustainable Development - made up of 3 closely related issues: v Environment: must be valued; not treated as a free good. Minimal use of non-renewable resources; protect ecosystems v Equity: for developing countries; key issue of poverty has to be addressed v Futurity: society, businesses and individuals must operate on a different timescale than currently operates - so that long-term, inter-generational considerations can be tackled. Welford 1996

Sustainability Definition: Sustainability involves: v only using resources at a rate which allows them to be replenished to ensure their long- term survival, and v not exceeding the environment’s ability to absorb pollution. Peattie, 1992

Sustainable Yield Threshold v Analogy ( from Economics) - distinction between consuming interest and spending capital. v When the sustainable yield threshold is crossed, it signals a fundamental change between the consumer and what is being consumed. v The demands of our generation now exceed the income, the sustainable yield, of the earth’s ecological endowment. Brown 1996

Sustainability - 3 pillars v

v 3 E’s - Economics, Ecology & Ethics (DesJardins, 2007) v 3 P’s - Profits, People and Planet (Shell reports) v Triple Bottom Line ( Elkington, 1997 ) ie. the simultaneous pursuit of : –economic prosperity –environmental quality –social equity

‘ One Planet Economy’ UK government’s vision and challenge: v from a three-planet economy to one v A successful economy that grows within the capacity of the planet’s resources v Sustainable consumption and production ( HM Government (2005) ‘Securing the Future’)

Concept of Natural Capital (Hawken, Lovins & Lovins, 1999) Natural Capital is made up of:- v Resources – water, minerals, oil, trees, fish, soil, air, etc v Living Systems – grasslands, savannas, oceans, rainforests, etc v Ecosystem Services – exchange of carbon dioxide & oxygen, water storage, flood management, waste processing, regeneration of the atmosphere, etc

Weak vs Strong Sustainability v Weak sustainability view: no inherent difference between natural capital and other forms of capital v Strong sustainability view: man-made or human capital cannot substitute for all environmental resources of all of the ecological services provided by nature …so v these resources and services should be protected and not depleted

The Precautionary Principle v Definition: where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation (Rio Declaration, 1992)

Defining Corporate Sustainability ….. …meeting the needs of a firm’s direct and indirect stakeholders without compromising its ability to meet the needs of future stakeholders as well Dyllick T & Hockerts K (2002) ‘Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability’ in the journal Business Strategy and the Environment, Issue 11

Critiques of the concept (Porritt, 2001) v utopian - idealistic? v Illusive concept, confusing v no consensus v problematic to operationalise v meaningless? v easier to recognise what is unsustainable