Sustainable Development

Definition

Sustainable development is not possible at the current pace of human consumption of resources and destruction of the earth environment. Sustainable development is the coexistence of human "development" and the "environment" for the sake of future generations.

The first official use of the term "sustainable development" appeared in a 1980 report of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) titled "World Conservation Strategy", which was subtitled, "Living Resource Conservation for Sustainable Development". The term gained widespread attention in 1987 when it was a fundamental concept of the "Our Common Future" report, known as the Brundtland Report, submitted to the United Nations General Assembly by the "UN World Commission on Environment and Development" (Brundtland Commission). The report defined sustainable development as

"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" *1. Sustainable development became a civil issue when it was designated as a goal at the Earth Summit in 1992. Although it arose from environmental issues, the concept of sustainable development evolved in various ways before moving into the CSR context. Consensus grew that "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" meant more than the preservation of the environment and included the elimination of discrimination and poverty. This view comes from the recognition, for example, that poverty in developing countries is a cause of various issues, such as overdevelopment of resources and over exploitation of wild animals. At the 2002 United Nations Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, a consensus was reached that the sustainability of future generations required the resolution of both environmental and social issues.