Why Is Sustainability Important? So far, we’ve discussed the different ways that sustainability is defined and the tools and metrics we have developed on a global scale to measure our impact on the environment, societies, and economies worldwide.
In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
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Chicago Tribune: Sustainability is a good goal, but it has a very broad definition
Sustainability is a good goal, but it has a very broad definition
Sustainability is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal on environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability of human beings, published semimonthly online by MDPI.
Three visual representations of sustainability and its three dimensions. The left image shows sustainability as three intersecting circles. The top right is a nested approach where social and economic sustainability are contained within environmental sustainability.
Sustainability is the ability to maintain or support a process over time. Sustainability is often broken into three core concepts: economic, environmental, and social.
Sustainability is the long-term viability of a community, set of social institutions, or societal practice. Sustainablity is usually understood as a form of intergenerational ethics that accomodates the economic, social, and environmental needs of current and future generations.
To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations. Learn more about sustainability and how EPA incorporates it into its work in the National Research Council's report, Sustainability and the U.S. EPA.