Sustainable Development

Sustainable development (SD). Have you heard of it? Do you know what it is exactly? This section is intended to help you find out. 

Sustainable development as a concept has been around for many years, but came to the notice of the majority in the 1980’s, when the World Commission on Environment and Development produced a report entitled ‘Our common future’, more widely known as ‘The Brundtland Report’.

This report gave the world the now generally accepted definition of sustainable development, which is to say that it:

‘…meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.

In simple terms, then, sustainable development means using what you’ve got without ever using it up. It means having fun and being comfortable today in such a way that you can still have fun and be comfortable tomorrow.

Objectives

• be aware of areas of concern with regard to sustainability;
• know how to undertake a basic sustainable development audit; and,
• understand how your business can benefit from embracing sustainable initiatives.

Sustainable development is about ensuring a better quality of life for all, now and in the future. It is to do with economic growth achieved whilst protecting the environment, and making the benefits available to everyone. It follows that sustainable development is an issue for everyone, not just for major corporations. Small businesses have a crucial role to play.

The information in this section is intended as a starting point only. We would recommend that you contact a business adviser in your area for further information.

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