Brundtland Report’s definition of sustainable development states: ‘development that meets present-generation needs without jeopardizing future-generations’ ability to meet theirs.” This requires reconciling economic growth with social inclusion and environmental protection.
Transparency between stakeholders – including customers – and management is integral to sustainability, building trust and aligning goals with one another.
Human Rights
Human rights are fundamental to sustainable development. They form the basis of all three dimensions: social, environmental and economic. Furthermore, this ideal is reflected in the 2030 Agenda’s transformative ambition that no one is left behind.
Sustainable Development Goals have an intimate connection with human rights advocacy. Human rights defenders play an essential role in upholding states’ legal human rights obligations while fulfilling their political commitments under SDGs.
Human rights norms provide the basis of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and can help overcome persistent inequalities and development deficits. It is, however, imperative to avoid rights inflation by ensuring proposed human rights are specific enough, enforceable under law and proportionate with their normative agency – this requires taking an increasingly prudent and methodical approach both to their design and implementation.
Environment
Environment plays a central role in social and economic development by impacting our health and well-being. Sustainable practices can protect the planet by protecting ecosystems while keeping human needs met through essential services provided by ecosystems. Such measures also reduce environmental stresses which contribute to poverty such as climate change, water scarcity and natural disasters – which in turn can contribute to poverty and hunger.
Environmental sustainability is of vital importance to global economies, as it creates green jobs in areas prone to environmental degradation such as tourism and agriculture. Companies investing in green technology such as wind turbines can improve air quality while simultaneously cutting energy costs.
One of the primary goals of sustainable development is eradicating global poverty and hunger. To this end, individuals should have access to basic services like education, clean water and healthcare and inequalities based on race, sex, age and economic status are reduced. Initiatives like Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) help achieve these objectives; including goals such as ending extreme poverty, promoting human health and wellbeing, combatting hunger/malnutrition as well as addressing disparities.
Economic Growth
Sustainable development refers to economic growth while conserving natural resources and protecting the environment. Achieve this requires changes in human behaviour that reduce environmental issues; harnessing solar energy, using crop rotation techniques and investing in natural capital regeneration may all play a part. Furthermore, sustainable development means limiting resource consumption rates within acceptable environmental capacity limits and producing waste within that capacity as well.
Sustainability means satisfying the needs of present generations without jeopardizing future ones’ ability to meet theirs, which means striking a balance between using natural resources efficiently, conserving them responsibly, economic development and poverty reduction, as well as taking into account justice as an integral component for achieving sustainability. Justice-based approaches must consider not only individuals’ rights but also power relations and inequality as a prerequisite for sustainability – otherwise any system void of justice becomes inherently unsustainable.
Social Development
Social sustainability encompasses everything from advocating human rights to providing quality education and addressing gender inequality. It’s an integral component of sustainable development because we cannot overlook the effects economic and environmental problems have on people; for instance, cutting down a forest to make money might make us feel rich short term, but can lead to ecosystem collapse, endangered species deaths and floods that endanger nearby communities in the long term.
One of the greatest barriers to social sustainability is changing environmental conditions, which affect all people worldwide. Climate change is already leading to sea level rise and more frequent extreme weather events.