Sustainable development (SD) is an approach to life that balances the needs and desires of present and future generations with protecting or restoring natural environments, ultimately seeking economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
Environmental sustainability calls on individuals and societies to live in harmony with nature, reduce harmful emissions and pollution levels, promote peaceful, just, inclusive societies. Furthermore, its aim is to ensure healthy lives with decent work opportunities; high-quality education; adequate food; safe water supplies and energy supplies as well as decreased inequalities between social groups.
Definition
Sustainable development has become an international priority. It entails reaching economic, social and environmental objectives while simultaneously protecting the planet, with future generations enjoying similar quality of life as we have experienced ourselves.
One of the central elements of sustainable development is resource efficiency. This refers to using natural resources in ways that don’t pollute or damage the environment permanently, while at the same time reducing waste and making sure people have access to education, healthcare and decent work opportunities.
Another characteristic of sustainable development is its equity. Sustainable development must ensure that everyone, especially women, minorities and children have equal chances at living well – this includes women, minorities and children alike. Furthermore, sustainable development is about addressing poverty and hunger which can act as barriers to sustainable development; and climate change which threatens global environmental degradation while creating other problems.
Goals
The world must evolve in such a way as to ensure a sustainable future, which requires changing mindset and behavior – something only possible through education. Therefore, the UN and governments of all countries should continue sensitising residents about sustainability issues through teaching them environmental and economic concerns while simultaneously cultivating tolerance, social cohesion, and justice among its populations.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to create a world that is free from poverty and hunger, with access to quality health care and education for all. In addition, they promote sustainable energy use with renewables such as wind power and solar power as well as efficiency improvements through international cooperation as well as sustainable urban development, consumption responsibility and responsible consumption practices.
Realizing these goals will require concerted effort by all sectors of society – business included. ISO standards can play an integral role in supporting the implementation of SDGs; for more information please consult ISO’s SDG guide.
Implementation
The sustainability paradigm acknowledges that human needs for food, shelter and water must co-exist in harmony with life-sustaining ecosystems on our planet. Human activity may cause pollution that damages natural resources or leads to climate change, as well as potentially triggering climate change itself.
Sustainable development may involve global issues, but sustainable actions must take place locally as well. Individuals need to make wise choices that consider environmental, social and economic consequences when making choices; reduce consumption by using less fossil fuels; use energy, water and land more efficiently; invest in public education and health programs; promote diversity; respect gender equality when making decisions and take appropriate actions relating to sustainable development.
Accomplishing sustainable development goals and targets will require substantial financial resources. To do so, the United Nations, other international organizations and individual countries will need to find innovative means of unlocking more private investment for sustainability. The 2030 Agenda contains implementation measures for every Sustainable Development Goal; ESCAP is helping this process along by fostering policy coherence and accountability while strengthening partnerships, capacity, data systems, science technology innovation.
Reports
Businesses increasingly prioritize sustainability initiatives, reporting on their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and aligning investment decisions with values to create a better world for future generations. In addition, reporting can give investors insight into a company’s risk management practices so they can avoid reputational and regulatory risks.
Global efforts towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals have been compromised by multiple factors, including inequalities, weak enabling environments, and climate change. These obstacles make achieving these goals by 2030 more challenging.
An effective approach to meeting the SDGs involves large-scale investments by both governments and individuals in physical infrastructure and human capital, but many countries lack sufficient fiscal space to afford it. SDSN works to address these gaps by monitoring government policy commitments, ambitions, and actions – an approach which complements existing analyses while increasing visibility of SDG progress while identifying policies which bridge current SDG outcomes with desired ones, increasing likelihood of success and visibility of progress.