Sustainable development (SD) refers to people living prosperous and harmonious lives while being in tune with nature, without poverty, hunger or inequality. SD requires humans and the planet coming together in an agreement that reduces harmful emissions and decreases pollution levels.
Brundtland Commission Report (1987) defined sustainable development (SD) as development that meets current generations’ needs without jeopardizing future generations’ ability to meet their own. For meaningful SD to occur, three interrelated pillars must work in harmony and equilibrium.
Environmental Protection
Environmental protection is an integral component of economic development in any nation, helping people live longer, healthier lives while contributing to poverty reduction.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide humanity with a clear agenda. They include goals of eliminating poverty and hunger; improving health and well-being for all; quality education that promotes gender equality; accessing affordable clean energy sources that reduce inequalities; creating sustainable cities and communities, climate action initiatives and responsible consumption and production practices.
Nearly all nations work toward these goals in various ways and under different governmental structures, often cooperating together in pursuit of shared goals as global challenges cannot be contained by borders or their responses.
Economic Growth
Economic growth is essential to sustainable development, providing new opportunities to people around the globe. But economic development must also take account of environmental protection and conservation measures – particularly as natural environments provide vital raw materials like water and timber as well as ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, flood risk mitigation, nutrient cycling etc. Any loss of natural capital due to unsustainable economic development could have irreparable repercussions.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN are designed to create healthy economies, societies and environments without endangering future generations1. Economic activities may affect how these goals are accomplished; however, their activities often result in unintended environmental impacts like resource depletion, ecosystem degradation and climate change2. Such negative environmental effects can be minimized using green technologies and sustainable practices, which also have benefits like waste reduction efforts, lower healthcare and energy bills as well as better air quality – as well as cost savings from reduced waste disposal bills, improved healthcare costs and energy bills as well as improved air quality improvements among many other benefits.
Social Development
Sustainable development seeks to create a global society with a healthy environment. However, this goal presents many obstacles; issues like poverty, hunger and biodiversity loss must all be tackled for its realization.
However, recent years have witnessed some progress. For instance, deaths among children under five have decreased globally by 47% since 2015. Furthermore, in 2015 the United Nations General Assembly adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals that aim to create a healthy world while respecting human rights and maintaining economic prosperity.
These goals are ambitious and require cooperation across political boundaries to meet them. Additionally, financing must also be secure so countries will need to implement global financial practices which support sustainable development. Finally, when undertaking sustainable development projects it is also important to keep in mind social values – this may ensure the results are beneficial for society at large.
Human Rights
Human rights are a cornerstone of sustainable development, from education and equality to freedom and liberties. Governments have an obligation to uphold them; when they fail, people have recourse to hold them to account.
There is also a responsibility for businesses to foster tolerance and social cohesion as cornerstones of society. Furthermore, it’s critical for them to assess where risks to people and the planet lie within their operations and value chains so as to take measures necessary to manage those risks appropriately.
Human rights and sustainability agendas are inextricably linked, yet our understanding of their intersection continues to change over time as evident by various approaches in conceptualising and implementing them. Some approaches emphasize the need for balancing trade-offs between environmental, social, and economic progress while others reframe relationships or establish principles or goals for policy making; ultimately the goal is for human rights and sustainability agendas to reinforce each other and be fully aligned.