Sustainability

Sustainability is a societal goal that broadly aims for humans to safely co-exist on planet Earth over a long time. Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and therefore vary in the literature and over time.[2]

[1] Sustainability is commonly described along the lines of three dimensions (also called pillars): the environmental, economic and social dimension.
[1] This concept can be used to guide decisions at the global, national and at the individual level (e.g. sustainable living).
[3] In everyday usage, sustainability is often focused mostly on the environmental aspects so that "sustainability" becomes the same as "environmental sustainability". Therefore, for many people, especially those from the environmental movement, sustainability is mainly about environmental issues, e.g. living within the planetary boundaries.
[4] People are concerned about human impacts on the environment.[
5]: 21  The most dominant environmental issues since about the year 2000 have been climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution and land degradation (such as deforestation and general degradation of ecosystems).
[6][7] A closely related concept is that of sustainable development. Both terms are often used synonymously.
[8] UNESCO formulated a distinction as follows: "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."
[9] Both concepts have been criticized from different angles. One angle is that sustainability as a goal might be impossible to reach due to far-reaching detrimental impacts of humans on the environment.
[10] The other angle is that the concept is vague, ill-defined and merely a buzzword.

[1] An assessment in 2022 found that: "under current trends, the world’s social and natural biophysical systems cannot support the aspirations for universal human well-being embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals."
[11] This also underlines the difficulty of trade-offs between different dimensions of sustainability. The economic dimension of sustainability is as controversial as the concept of sustainability itself.[
1] This is partly because of the inherent contradictions between "welfare for all" and environmental conservation.
[12] To resolve this contradiction, the decoupling of economic growth from environmental deterioration needs to be considered. It is difficult to achieve because environmental and social costs are not generally paid by the entity that causes them, and are not expressed in the market price.
[13] Usually, externalities are either not addressed at all or are left to be addressed by government policy or by local governance. Some examples are: taxing the activity (the polluter pays); subsidizing activities that have a positive environmental or social effect (rewarding stewardship); or outlawing the practice (legal limits on pollution).
[13] The notion of "trade-offs" between different dimensions, for example between environmental management and economic growth, leads to discussions about the relative importance of each of the three dimensions.
[1] Due to the high complexity of the goal of sustainability, there are many reasons to explain why sustainability is so difficult to achieve.
[3][14] Such reasons are also called "sustainability barriers". Sustainability barriers need to be analyzed and understood. Only then can they be addressed effectively so that a "sustainability transition" becomes possible.
[3]: 34  Some sustainability barriers are rooted in nature and its complexity (everything is related). Other barriers are "extrinsic" to the concept of sustainability. This means they could in principle be overcome, for example by putting a price tag on the consumption of public goods.[3]: 35  A number of extrinsic sustainability barriers are related to the dominant institutional frameworks where market mechanisms often fail for public goods. Some example steps humanity can take to transition to (environmental) sustainability include: maintaining nature's ecosystem services, reducing food waste, promoting dietary shifts towards mostly plant-based foods, further reducing fertility rates and thus population growth, promoting new green technologies and adopting renewable energy sources while phasing out subsidies to energy production through fossil fuels.[15] Questions of global concern are difficult to tackle because global issues call for global solutions but the existing global organizations (UN, WTO and others) are not sufficiently equipped and have hardly any sanctioning mechanisms to enforce existing global regulation.[3]: 135–145  Contents
1 Definitions 1.1 Current usage 1.2 Historical usage of the term 1.3 Comparison with sustainable development 2 Dimensions of sustainability 2.1 Development of three dimensions 2.2 Environmental sustainability 2.3 Economic sustainability 2.4 Social sustainability 2.5 Proposed additional dimensions 3 Interactions between dimensions 3.1 Relationship between environmental and economic dimension 3.2 Trade-offs between dimensions 4 Measurement 4.1 Measuring environmental sustainability 4.2 Measuring economic sustainability 5 Types of sustainability barriers 6 Sustainability transition 7 Options for overcoming barriers 7.1 Policies for reaching environmental sustainability 7.2 Decoupling economic growth from environmental deterioration 7.3 Government action and local governance 7.4 Action principles 7.5 More effective governance for global issues 8 Responses by non-government stakeholders 8.1 Businesses 8.2 Religious communities 8.3 Individuals 9 Critique 9.1 Impossible to reach 9.2 Vague and unclear 9.3 Greenwashing 10 See also 11 References Definitions Current usage A diagram indicating the relationship between the "three pillars of sustainability", in which both economy and society are constrained by environmental limits.[16] This concentric circle diagram also emphasizes a hierarchy. Sustainability is regarded as a "normative concept".

[3]: 26 [17][18] This can be illustrated as follows: "The quest for sustainability involves connecting what is known through scientific study to applications in pursuit of what people want for the future".

[18] Modern use of the term "sustainability" was strongly influenced by the 1983 UN Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission. In the commission's 1987 report titled Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland Report), sustainable development is defined as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

[19][20] The report helped bring "sustainability" into the mainstream policy discourse and popularize the concept of "sustainable development".[1] Key concepts to illustrate the meaning of sustainability include: Choices matter (in other words: "It is not possible to sustain everything, everywhere, forever."); sustainability is a normative concept (this means sustainability is connected to "what we see as desirable"); sustainability is a fuzzy or vague concept; scale matters, in both space and time; place matters; systems thinking is an organizing concept; limits exist (see planetary boundaries); sustainability is interconnected with other essential concepts (namely resilience, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability); change is an essential consideration and challenge for sustainability.

[18] In everyday usage, sustainability is often focused mostly on the environmental aspects so that "sustainability" becomes the same as "environmental sustainability". This can for example be seen in the publications by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).[21] Specific definitions Scholars have pointed out that a specific definition of sustainability may never be possible.

[2] However, attempts have been made to define sustainability and these often overlap with the definition of "sustainable development" or refer mainly to the environmental dimension. For example: Oxford Dictionary of English: "The property of being environmentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding the long-term depletion of natural resources“.

[22] Encyclopædia Britannica: "sustainability [is] the long-term viability of a community, set of social institutions, or societal practice. In general, sustainability is understood as a form of intergenerational ethics in which the environmental and economic actions taken by present persons do not diminish the opportunities of future persons to enjoy similar levels of wealth, utility, or welfare."

[8] University of Alberta, Office of Sustainability: "Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In addition to natural resources, we also need social and economic resources. Sustainability is not just environmentalism. Embedded in most definitions of sustainability we also find concerns for social equity and economic development."[

23] Brundtland Report (1987): "Sustainable development is defined as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"."

[19][20] Historical usage of the term Further information: Sustainable development § Origins The term sustainability is derived from the Latin word sustinere (tenere, to hold; sub, under). "To sustain" can mean to maintain, support, uphold or endure.

[24][25] It is therefore the ability to continue over a long period of time. Historically, "sustainability" referred to environmental sustainability and simply meant using natural resources in a way so that people in the future ("future generations") could continue to rely on their yields in the long term.[

26][27] The concept of sustainability, or Nachhaltigkeit in German, can be traced back to Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714), and was applied to forestry (now: sustainable forest management).

[28] He used this term in the sense of a long-term responsible use of a natural resource in 1713 in his work Silvicultura oeconomica.[29] The idea itself goes back to times immemorial, as communities have always worried about the capacity of their environment to sustain them in the long term. Many ancient cultures, "traditional societies" or indigenous peoples had or still have practices restricting the use of natural resources by human groups in various ways.

[30] Comparison with sustainable development Further information: Sustainable development The terms "sustainability" and "sustainable development" are closely related and are often used synonymously.[
8] Both terms are intrinsically linked with the "three dimensions of sustainability" concept.[1] One distinction that can be made is that sustainability is a general concept, whereas sustainable development is a policy. This section is an excerpt from Sustainable development.[edit] Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depends. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.[

31] Dimensions of sustainability Sustainability Venn diagram where "sustainability" is thought of as the area where the three dimensions overlap. Development of three dimensions Three different areas (also called dimensions or pillars) of sustainability are normally distinguished: the environmental, the social, and the economic. Most concepts of sustainability share this understanding, even though they might differ in the details. Several terms are in use for this concept in the literature: authors speak of three interconnected pillars, dimensions, components, stool legs, aspects, perspectives, factors or goals.

[1] They are used interchangeably.[1] For example, the 2005 World Summit Outcome document used the term "aspects".[32] Nevertheless, the distinction itself is rarely being questioned. The emergence of the three-pillar paradigm has little theoretical foundation nor a theoretically rigorous description: It gradually emerged without a single point of origin.[1][

33] The Brundtland Report from 1987 stated that environment and development are inseparable when trying to achieve sustainability. It also stated that sustainable development is a global concept that links environmental and social issues and is equally important for developing countries and industrialized countries: The 'environment' is where we all live; and 'development' is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode. The two are inseparable. [...] We came to see that a new development path was required, one that sustained human progress not just in a few pieces for a few years, but for the entire planet into the distant future. Thus 'sustainable development' becomes a goal not just for the 'developing' nations, but for industrial ones as well. — Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland Report), [19]: Foreword and Section I.1.10  Furthermore, the Agenda 21 from 1992 explicitly talks about economic, social and environmental dimensions as follows:[

34]: 8.6  Countries could develop systems for monitoring and evaluation of progress towards achieving sustainable development by adopting indicators that measure changes across economic, social and environmental dimensions. — United Nations Conference on Environment & Development - Earth Summit (1992),

[34]: 8.6  The "Agenda 2030" conceived the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their 169 targets as balancing "the three dimensions of sustainable development, the economic, social and environmental".[35] Environmental sustainability Further information: Human impact on the environment The increasing environmental pollution in the 1960s and 1970s led to growing environmental concern, evidenced by Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962,

[36] establishment of the Club of Rome in 1968 or establishment of Greenpeace in 1971. Awareness of pollution provided the basis for what was later discussed as sustainable development. This process began with concern for environmental issues (natural resources and human environment) in the 1970s, and was later extended to all the systems that support life on Earth.

[5]: 31  While environmental pollution is not a new phenomenon it remained a local or regional concern for most of human history. This changed in the 20th century when the awareness of the global character of environmental issues increased.

[5]: 5  The harmful effect and global spread of pesticides like DDT was first discussed in the 1960s.[36] In the 1970s it was determined that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) deplete the Earth's ozone layer. This led to the de facto-ban of CFCs with the Montreal Protocol in 1987.[3]: 146  The effect of greenhouse gases on the global climate was discussed by Arrhenius in the early 20th century (see also history of climate change science).[37] Climate change became a hot topic in the academic and political discourse only after the establishment of the IPCC in 1988 and the UNFCCC in 1992. In 1972, the UN held its first conference on environmental issues. The UN Conference on the Human Environment stated the importance of the protection and improvement of the human environment.[38]: 3  Furthermore, the report emphasized the need to protect wildlife and its habitat and to prevent pollution:

[38]: 4  The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and [...] natural ecosystems must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate. — UN Conference on the Human Environment,

[38]: p.4., Principle 2  In 2000, the UN launched 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to be achieved by the global community by 2015. Goal 7 was to "ensure environmental sustainability", but die not mention the concepts of social or economic sustainability.[1] The public discussion of the environmental dimension of sustainability often revolves around prevailing issues of the time. The most dominant issues since about the year 2000 have been climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution and land degradation (such as deforestation and general degradation of ecosystems).

[6][7] The public is concerned about human impacts on the environment, such as impacts on the atmosphere, land and water resources.[5]: 21  Of all the environmental challenges that humanity is currently facing and failing to solve, scientists have singled out the following as the most troubling: "potentially catastrophic climate change due to rising greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and agricultural production—particularly from farming ruminants for meat consumption."[15] The overall impact of humans' activities not only on the biosphere but even on the geological formation of the Earth led Paul Crutzen to speak of the current geological epoch as the Anthropocene.[39] Economic sustainability To some, the economic dimension of sustainability is as controversial as the concept of sustainability itself.[1] If the term "development" in sustainable development is understood in economic terms ("economic development") or even identified with economic growth, the notion of a sustainable development can become a way of whitewashing an ecologically destructive economic system.[40][41][42] This is because of the inherent contradictions between "welfare for all" and environmental conservation.

[12] On the other hand, especially for less developed countries, economic development is an imperative. Target 1 of Sustainable Development Goal 8 calls for economic growth, which is a driving force for societal progress and well-being. Target 8.1 is: "Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries".

[43] Regardless of differences in the understanding of the concept of sustainability, it is clear that humanity will have to resolve the issue of how societal progress (potentially by economic development) can be reached without additional strain on the environment. Accordingly, in 2011 UNEP cited the big challenge to society to "expand economic activities" while at the same time reducing the use of natural resources and reducing the environmental impacts of economic activities.

[44]: 8  According to the Brundtland report, "poverty is a major cause and also effect of global environmental problems. It is therefore futile to attempt to deal with environmental problems without a broader perspective that encompasses the factors underlying world poverty and international inequality."[19]: Section I.1.8  The report demands a new development path for sustained human progress and highlights that this is a goal for both the developing and the industrialized nations.

[19]: Section I.1.10  UNEP and UNDP launched the Poverty-Environment Initiative in 2005, which aims at the triple vision of having neither any extreme poverty, nor greenhouse gas emissions nor net natural asset loss which is proposed to guide the structural reform that will enable poor groups and countries to achieve the SDGs at scale.

[45][46]: 11  Such initiatives might be seen as a measure to mitigate the trade-off between high ecological footprint and high status of economic development.[3]: 82  Social sustainability The social dimension of sustainability is the least defined and least understood dimension of sustainability.

[47][48][49] A possible definition is that a socially sustainable society should ensure that people are not hindered by structural obstacles in the areas of health, influence, competence, impartiality and meaning-making.[50] Despite this anchoring of the social dimension of sustainability in the Brundtland report, "social sustainability" can be addressed in different ways. Some scholars place social issues at the very center of sustainability discussions.

[51] Some scholars suggest that all of the domains of sustainability are social: including ecological, economic, political and cultural sustainability. These domains of social sustainability are all dependent upon the relationship between the social and the natural, with the "ecological domain" defined as human embeddedness in the environment. In these terms, social sustainability encompasses all human activities.[52] It is not just relevant to the focused intersection of economics, the environment and the social.[53] Broad-based strategies for more sustainable social systems include: improved education and the political empowerment of women, especially in developing countries; greater regard for social justice, notably equity between rich and poor both within and between countries; and, perhaps most of all, intergenerational equity.[54] Social sustainability is thought to lead to liveable communities which would be "equitable, diverse, connected and democratic and provide a good quality of life".[55] Proposed additional dimensions Urban sustainability analysis of the greater urban area of the city of São Paulo using the 'Circles of Sustainability' method of the UN and Metropolis Association.

[56] Some sustainability experts and practitioners have proposed more dimensions of sustainability, such as institutional, cultural, and technical dimensions.[1] Some consider resource use and financial sustainability as two additional pillars of sustainability.

[57] In infrastructure projects, for instance, one must ask whether sufficient financing capability for maintenance exists.[57] Other frameworks bypass the compartmentalization of sustainability completely.[1] Cultural sustainability Further information: Cultural sustainability Some academics and institutions (such as Agenda 21 for culture and the United Cities and Local Governments) have pointed out that a fourth dimension should be added to the dimensions of sustainability since the triple-bottom-line dimensions of economic, environmental and social do not seem to be enough to reflect the complexity of contemporary society.

[58] This discussion points to the relation between culture and sustainable development through developing a solid cultural policy and advocating a cultural dimension in all public policies. Another example of this four-dimensional view was the Circles of Sustainability approach, which included cultural sustainability.

[59] Interactions between dimensions Relationship between environmental and economic dimension Further information: Weak and strong sustainability It has long been discussed what how the relationship between the environmental and economic dimension should be explained: Proponents of a concept of "weak" sustainability assume that "natural capital" (or environmental resources) can be replaced or substituted with "man-made capital".

[60] This is because technological progress can in certain cases solve environmental problems. This applies for example to capturing emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, recycling minerals, reforestation and filtering polluted air.

[61] The concept of "strong sustainability" on the other hand states that nature (or "natural capital") provides some functions that are not replaceable by technology or "man-made capital".

[62] Strong sustainability refers to resources that once lost cannot be recovered or repaired within a reasonable timescale, such as biodiversity or loss of certain species, pollination, fertile soils, assimilation capacity, clean air, clean water, climate regulation. Also, with regards to the economic dimension of sustainability, this can be understood by making a distinction between weak versus strong sustainability.

[63] In the former, loss of natural resources is compensated by an increase in human capital. Strong sustainability applies where human and natural capital are complementary, but not interchangeable. Thus, the problem of deforestation in England due to demand for wood in shipbuilding and for charcoal in iron-making was solved when ships came to be built of steel and coke replaced charcoal in iron-making – an example of weak sustainability. Prevention of biodiversity loss, which is an existential threat, is an example of the strong type. What is weak and what is strong depends partially on technology and partially on one's convictions.[

63] Different policies and strategies are needed for the two types. The economic dimension relies on the environmental dimension in many aspects: A publication by the World Economic Forum in 2020 stated that: "Our research shows that $44 trillion of economic value generation – more than half of the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services and is therefore exposed to nature loss."


[64]: 8  Three large economic sectors are highly dependent on nature: construction, agriculture, and food and beverages. Drivers of nature loss include: Land use change, sea use change, climate change, natural resource use and exploitation, pollution and invasive alien species.[64]: 11  Trade-offs between dimensions The notion of "trade-offs" between different dimensions, for example between environmental management and economic growth is frequently discussed in the literature.[1] This may include discussions of the relative importance of the three dimensions or objectives. The language involved frequently invokes the need to "integrate", "balance", and "reconcile" the pillars without necessarily articulating what this means in practice.[1] An assessment in 2022 found that: "under current trends, the world’s social and natural biophysical systems cannot support the aspirations for universal human well-being embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals."[11] This also underlines the difficulty of trade-offs between different dimensions of sustainability. Measurement Further information: Sustainability metrics and indices This section is an excerpt from Sustainability measurement.[edit] Sustainability measurement are tools and methods that attempt to measure the degree of sustainability of processes, products, services, businesses and so forth. Sustainability is difficult to quantify, perhaps even immeasurable.[65] The metrics used to try and measure sustainability involve the sustainability of environmental, social and economic domains, (both individually and in various combinations) and are still evolving. They include indicators, benchmarks, audits, sustainability standards and certification systems like Fairtrade and Organic, indexes and accounting, as well as assessment, appraisal[66] and other reporting systems. They are applied over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.[

67][65] Some of the widely used sustainability measures include corporate sustainability reporting, Triple Bottom Line accounting, World Sustainability Society, and estimates of the quality of sustainability governance for individual countries using the Environmental Sustainability Index and Environmental Performance Index. The UN Human Development Index and the ecological footprints are methods to monitor sustainable development over time.

[68][69] Measuring environmental sustainability Further information: Planetary boundaries and Ecological footprint The following ways have been suggested to measure humans' impact: ecological footprint, ecological debt, carrying capacity, sustainable yield, I = PAT. The impact of human activity on the global ecosystems can reach tipping points beyond which irreversible harmful developments will be triggered. One example are tipping points in the climate system. The concept of planetary boundaries identifies limits and emphasizes that there are absolute thresholds of the carrying capacity of the planet which must not be exceeded in order to prevent irreversible harmful developments of the Earth system.[4]

[70] The planetary boundaries include: climate change, biodiversity loss (changed in 2015 to "change in biosphere integrity"), biogeochemical (nitrogen and phosphorus), ocean acidification, land use, freshwater, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols, chemical pollution (changed in 2015 to "Introduction of novel entities"), for which control variables have been suggested in 2022.[4]

[71] The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment from 2005 measured 24 ecosystem services and concluded that only four have shown improvement over the last 50 years, while 15 are in serious decline and five are in a precarious condition.

[72]: 6–19  Healthy ecosystems are important because they provide vital goods and services to humans and other organisms. Measuring economic sustainability The doughnut model, with indicators to what extent the ecological ceilings are overshot and social foundations are not met yet The field of environmental economics has proposed different methods for calculating the cost (or price) associated with the use of public natural resources. The damage to ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity has been calculated in the project The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) from 2007 to 2011.

[73] Sustainability economics means taking a long-term view of human welfare. One way of doing this is by considering the social discount rate. This is the rate by which future costs and benefits should be discounted when making decisions about the future. The more one is concerned about future generations, the lower the social discount rate should be.

[74] Another method is to quantify the services that ecosystems provide to humankind and put an economic value on them, so that environmental damage may be assessed against perceived short-term welfare benefits. For instance, according to the World Economic Forum, half of the global GDP is strongly or moderately dependent on nature. Also, for every dollar spent on nature restoration there is a profit of at least 9 dollars.[75] In recent years, the concept of doughnut economics has been developed by the British economist Kate Raworth to integrate social and environmental sustainability into economic thinking. The social dimension is here portrayed as a minimum standard to which a society should aspire, whereas an outer limit is imposed by the carrying capacity of the planet.

[76] Types of sustainability barriers The political goal of sustainability, as formulated in the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" (the 17 Sustainable Development Goals), is very comprehensive and ambitious. The declaration stated that "In these Goals and targets, we are setting out a supremely ambitious and transformational vision" and have called the SDGs to be “of unprecedented scope and significance”.

[35]: 3/35  Due to the high complexity of this goal, there are many reasons to explain why sustainability is so difficult to achieve.[3][14] Such reasons are also called "sustainability barriers". These barriers need to be analyzed and understood. Only then can they be addressed effectively so that a "sustainability transition" becomes possible.[3]: 34  Some sustainability barriers are rooted in nature and its complexity (everything is related). Others are rooted in the human condition called "value-action gap", meaning we often do not act according to our convictions. These barriers have been called "intrinsic" to the concept of sustainability as such.[3] Other barriers are "extrinsic" to the concept of sustainability. This means they could in principle be overcome, for example by putting a price tag on the consumption of public goods.[3]: 35  A number of extrinsic sustainability barriers are related to the dominant institutional frameworks where market mechanisms often fail for public goods. Also, legal frameworks rarely consider issues of intergenerational justice and future generations. Furthermore, there are several barriers related to the difficulties of implementing sustainability policies. There are trade-offs to be made between objectives of environmental policies (such as nature conservation) and those focused on economic development (such as poverty reduction).[14][3]: 65  There are also trade-offs between short-term profit and long-term viability. For example the question might arise: "Is it more sustainable to invest in protecting the rainforest or to alleviate the hunger of people in need?".[3]: 66  Barriers working against sustainability can also be rooted in the Zeitgeist, such as consumerism and short-termism.[3]: 205  Sustainability transition A "sustainability transition" is a structural and potentially radical transformation to a "more sustainable society". The definition for "sustainability transition" as proposed by the European Environment Agency states: "A fundamental and wide-ranging transformation of a socio-technical system towards a transition more sustainable configuration that helps alleviate persistent problems such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss or resource scarcities."

[77] The concept of "sustainability transitions" is a similar concept to energy transitions.[78] A sustainability transition must be "supported by a new kind of culture, a new kind of collaboration, a new kind of leadership".

[79] It requires substantial investment in "new and greener capital goods, while simultaneously shifting capital away from unsustainable systems".[11]: 107  It requires actively demoting unsustainable ones options.[11]: 

101  Scientists have pointed out that: "Sustainability transitions come about in diverse ways, and all require civil-society pressure and evidence-based advocacy, political leadership, and a solid understanding of policy instruments, markets, and other drivers."[15] Options for overcoming barriers Policies for reaching environmental sustainability Further information: Sustainable development § Pathways A model to express human impact on the environment is called the "I = PAT formula" which was developed in the 1970s.[80] This formulation attempts to explain human impact on the environment in terms of three components: population numbers (abbreviated as "P"), levels of consumption, abbreviated as "A" for "affluence"), and impact per unit of resource use (abbreviated as "T" for "technology", because this impact depends on the technology used). The equation states that environmental impact is proportional to population, affluence and technology.[80] In that context, policies for reaching environmental sustainability can be grouped into the following three categories (most governments and international organizations use all three approaches, though they may disagree on which deserves the most priority): Population: Many think that the most effective means of achieving sustainability is population control, by improving access to birth control and education for girls.[81] Affluence: Many also believe that sustainability cannot be achieved without reducing consumption. This theory is represented in the idea of a steady-state economy, meaning an economy without growth. A method in this category includes increasing energy efficiency. In 2020, scientific research published by the World Economic Forum determined that affluence is the biggest threat to sustainability.[82] Technology: Still others hold that the most promising path to sustainability is new technology.

[83] This theory may be seen as a form of technological optimism. One example for this category is transitioning to renewable energy.

[84] Other methods to achieve sustainability that are associated with this category include climate engineering or genetic engineering. Some example steps humanity can take to transition to (environmental) sustainability include: maintaining nature's ecosystem services, reducing food waste, promoting dietary shifts towards mostly plant-based foods, further reducing fertility rates and thus population growth, promoting new green technologies and adopting renewable energy sources while phasing out subsidies to energy production through fossil fuels.[15] These steps were listed in an update to the 1992 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity. This update or "second warning to humanity" was signed by around 15,000 scientists in 2017. Decoupling economic growth from environmental deterioration Further information: Eco-economic decoupling In order to resolve the dilemma of economic growth versus environmental conservation, the concept of eco-economic decoupling comes into play: This means "using less resources per unit of economic output and reducing the environmental impact of any resources that are used or economic activities that are undertaken" [44]: 8  Pressure on the environment can be measured by the intensity of pollutants emitted. Decoupling can then be measured by following changes in the emission intensity associated with economic output.[44] Examples of absolute long-term decoupling are rare, but recently some industrialized countries have decoupled GDP growth from both production and, to a lesser extent, consumption-based CO2 emissions.[85] But even in this example decoupling alone is not sufficient and needs to be complemented by "sufficiency-oriented strategies and strict enforcement of absolute reduction targets".

[85] : 1  The decoupling of economic growth from environmental deterioration is difficult because environmental and social costs are not generally paid by the entity that causes them, and are therefore not expressed in the market price.[13] For example, the cost of packaging is factored into the price of a product, but the cost of disposing of that packaging is not factored in. In economics, such factors are considered externalities, in this case a negative externality

.[86] Companies do not have an incentive to reduce packaging or to choose recyclable materials because they aren't required to pay for disposal. Usually, externalities are either not covered at all or left to be addressed by government action or by local governance. Some examples are: taxing the activity (the polluter pays principle); subsidizing activities that have a positive environmental or social effect (rewarding stewardship); or outlawing the practice (legal limits on pollution).[13] Government action and local governance Without government action, natural resources are often over-exploited and destroyed in the long-term. See for example this statement in a textbook on natural resources and environmental economics in its 4th edition: "Nobody who has seriously studied the issues believes that the economy's relationship to the natural environment can be left entirely to market forces."

[87]: 15  Related to this aspect, Elinor Ostrom (winner of the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences) stated that the choice should not be limited to either the market or the national government, and that local governance (or self-governance) can in fact be a suitable third option.

[88] Her empirical work involved field studies on how people in small, local communities manage shared natural resources.

[89] She showed that over time, communities using natural resources such as pastures, fishing waters and forests can establish rules for use and maintenance that can lead to both economic and ecological sustainability.[88] An important requirement for success of self-governance is to have groups in which participants are frequently communicating. In this case groups can manage the usage of common goods without overexploitation.[3]: 117  Based on Ostrom's work, it has been pointed out that: "Common-pool resources today are overcultivated because the different agents do not know each other and cannot directly communicate with one another."[3]: 117  Action principles There are four types of "action principles" that people and decision makers can follow to facilitate more sustainable societies:[3]: 206  Nature-related principles: Decarbonize; reduce human environmental impact by efficiency, sufficiency and consistency; be “net-positive” – build up environmental and societal capital; prefer local, seasonal, plant-based and labor-intensive; polluter-pays principle; precautionary principle; appreciate and celebrate the beauty of nature Personal principles: practice contemplation, apply policies cautiously, celebrate frugality Society-related principles: Grant the least privileged the greatest support; seek mutual understanding, trust and multiple wins; strengthen social cohesion and collaboration; engage the stakeholders; foster education – share knowledge and collaborate. Systems-related principles: Apply systems thinking, foster diversity, increase transparency of the publicly relevant, maintain or increase option diversity. More effective governance for global issues Questions of global concern are difficult to tackle because global issues call for global solutions. But the existing global organizations (UN, WTO and others) are not sufficiently equipped. They have hardly any sanctioning mechanisms to enforce existing global regulation. Furthermore, they are not always accepted by all nations (an example is the International Criminal Court), their agendas are not aligned (for example UNEP, UNDP and WTO), or they are being accused of nepotism and mismanagement.[3]: 135–145  There are also challenges that multilateral international agreements, treaties and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) face and which result in barriers to sustainability: There is a dependence on voluntary commitments (for example Nationally Determined Contributions for climate action), existing national or international regulation not being effectively enforced, and there are regulatory white spaces and control deficits for international actors (including multi-national enterprises). Lastly, many international public organizations are lacking legitimacy and democracy.[3]: 135   Responses by non-government stakeholders Businesses Today, the public primarily associates sustainable production with special seals of quality (here the FSC seal for wood products). Sustainable business practices integrate ecological concerns with social and economic ones.

[90][91] The accounting framework for this approach is called the triple bottom line and uses the phrase "people, planet, and profit". Sustainability is a business opportunity now and has led to the formation of organizations such as the Sustainability Consortium of the Society for Organizational Learning,[

92] the Sustainable Business Institute,[93] and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

[94] Supply chain sustainability refers to companies' efforts to consider the environmental and human impact of their products' journey through the supply chain, from raw materials sourcing to production, storage, delivery and every transportation link in between.

[95] Religious communities Further information: Religion and environmentalism Religious leaders have stressed the importance of caring for nature and environmental sustainability. In 2015 over 150 leaders from various faiths issued a joint statement to the UN Climate Summit in Paris 2015.[96] They reiterated an earlier statement made in the Interfaith Summit in New York in 2014: "As representatives from different faith and religious traditions, we stand together to express deep concern for the consequences of climate change on the earth and its people, all entrusted, as our faiths reveal, to our common care. Climate change is indeed a threat to life, a precious gift we have received and that we need to care for."[97] }} Individuals Further information: Sustainable living Individuals can change their lifestyles and practice ethical consumerism and embrace frugality if they want to live more sustainably.[3]: 236  Sustainable living approaches can reduce environmental impacts by altering the built environment to make cities more sustainable.

[98] Such approaches can include for example sustainable transport, sustainable architecture and zero emission housing. Young people are using a combination of activism, litigation and on-the-ground efforts to "advancing sustainability", particularly in the area of climate action.[99]: 60  Critique Impossible to reach The concepts of sustainability and sustainable development have been criticized from different angles. According to Dennis Meadows, one of the authors of the first report to the Club of Rome, called "The Limits to Growth", many people deceive themselves by using the Brundtland definition of sustainability.

[40] This is because the needs of the present generation are actually not met today, and the economic activities to meet present needs will substantially diminish the options of future generations.[100][3]: 27  Another criticism is that the paradigm of sustainability is no longer suitable as a guide (or "road map") for transformation due to the fact that our societies are "socially and ecologically self-destructive consumer societies".[101] Some scholars have even proclaimed the end of the concept of sustainability due to "the realities of the Anthropocene":[10] humans now have a significant impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems (for example causing unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss and climate change). It might become impossible to pursue a goal of sustainability when faced with these complex, radical and dynamic issues.[10] Others have called sustainability a utopian ideal: "we need to keep sustainability as an ideal; an ideal which we might never reach, which might be utopian, but still a necessary one".[3]: 5  Vague and unclear "Sustainability" has a reputation as a buzzword.[1][102] The term has been "hijacked" and lost its meaning: "Ask anyone what it means and they will give you a wide range of answers from saving the planet to recycling".[22] On the other hand it has been said that "sustainability will be vague and contested but not meaningless".[2] As sustainability is a concept that provides a normative structure (describing what human society regards as good or desirable), a specific definition may never be possible.[2] Greenwashing Greenwashing is the practice of deceptive marketing by a company or organization by providing misleading information about the sustainability of a product, policy or other environment-harming activity.

[99]: 26  This makes products appear more sustainable (more environmentally friendly, natural, healthier, free of chemicals, recyclable, less wasteful of natural resources) than they actually are.

[103] Investors are wary of this issue as it exposes them to risk.

[104] The reliability of eco-label is also doubtful in some cases.

[105] Ecolabelling is a voluntary method of environmental performance certification and labelling that is attached to food and consumer products. The most credible eco-labels are those that are developed with close participation from all relevant stakeholders.

[106] See also iconEnvironment portal Earth sciences portal iconEcology portal iconRenewable energy portal iconEnergy portal World portal List of sustainability topics Outline of sustainability References Purvis, Ben; Mao, Yong; Robinson, Darren (2019). "Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins". Sustainability Science. 14 (3): 681–695. doi:10.1007/s11625-018-0627-5. ISSN 1862-4065. CC-BY icon.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Ramsey, Jeffry L. (2015). "On Not Defining Sustainability". Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 28 (6): 1075–1087. doi:10.1007/s10806-015-9578-3. ISSN 1187-7863. S2CID 146790960. Berg, Christian (2020). Sustainable action : overcoming the barriers. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 978-0-429-57873-1. OCLC 1124780147. Steffen, Will; Rockström, Johan; Cornell, Sarah; Fetzer, Ingo; Biggs, Oonsie; Folke, Carl; Reyers, Belinda. "Planetary Boundaries - an update". Stockholm Resilience Centre. Retrieved 19 April 2020. Great transition : the promise and lure of the times ahead. Paul Raskin, Global Scenario Group. Boston: Stockholm Environment Institute. 2002. ISBN 0-9712418-1-3. OCLC 49987854. Diamond, Jared M. (2011). Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed. New York. ISBN 978-1-101-50196-2. OCLC 748370928. UNEP (2021). "Making Peace With Nature". UNEP - UN Environment Programme. Retrieved 30 March 2022. "Sustainability". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 31 March 2022. "Sustainable Development". UNESCO. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2022. Benson, Melinda Harm; Craig, Robin Kundis (2014). "The End of Sustainability".

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