Sustainability
The Concept of Sustainability
Sustainability is a philosophy and a concept which requires the successful integration and balancing of important ecological, social and economic values. Sustainability has been mainly addressed from an ecological angle since the balance is specifically leaning away from ecological/environmental issues.
To reach true 'sustainability' (the area in the middle of the diagram where all three circles overlap) ecological, social and economic issues have to balance each other out. The integration of these three value sets, or elements, in making decisions and carrying out actions is known as "triple bottom line" (TBL) assessment and reporting. The successful integration occurs through effective governance systems, including appropriate decision-making, stakeholder engagement and the management approach. Applying governance systems to support TBL thinking and action is known as "quadruple bottom line" (QBL).
Council's definition of sustainability is drawn from the Brundland Report Our Common Future developed by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. It defines sustainability as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
