Sustainability is a term that’s thrown around rather a lot in environmental circles and is increasingly becoming a part of everyday language. Although often used synonymously with terms like green or environmentally friendly sustainable development is a robust term in its own right with a clear definition.

So what is sustainability and what does it mean to live in a sustainable way? Thankfully the task of defining sustainable development was covered by the UN led Brundtland Commission, who in 1987 defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” But what does this mean for us and how can we ensure we are acting in a sustainable way?

Let’s look at two scenarios, and go through why some decisions are considered sustainable and others not. Imagine a society trying to produce electricity for its population, one option would be burning coal in a power station.

Burning fossil fuel is unsustainable in two important ways. Firstly fossil fuels are non renewable and will some day run out. If present day society burns the world’s fossil fuels reserves without investing in renewable energy technology then future generations will suffer an energy shortage and their energy needs will not be meet. Burning fossil fuel also releases carbon dioxide into the environment, resulting in global warming. Although the effects of global warming are being realised across the planet now, its consequences and problems are likely to be increasingly felt by future generations. This means burning coal seriously jeopardises the environmental future of this planet and thus compromises future generations and is by definition unsustainable.

Imagine a different approach, where the government decided to invest in the renewable technology of a wind farm to produce electricity. The turbines are powered by wind, caused by variations in air pressure ultimately powered by the sun. This is a renewable source of energy. Using it now has no relation to how much will be available for  future generations. Producing electricity via wind turbines releases very little carbon dioxide, so the atmosphere remains largely unaffected and future generations can enjoy a world with reduced anthropogenic global warming. Using wind power not only avoids damaging the environmental health of the planet – but creates an infrastructure that ensures present and future generations can meet their energy needs.

It is important to note that the outright banning of all fossil fuels with immediate effect across the globe would mean that the energy needs of most populations could not be met. Crops would fail, entire societies could collapse and people would die.  This again is also against the definition of sustainability. At the root of many controversial environmental topics, such as organic food or GM crops is the question of sustainability and the balance between environment, current and future populations. For example whilst organic foods might be better for the environment some argue that a world wide switch to organic product might not produce enough food to meet the world’s dietary  needs now, and so be in effect an unsustainable practise.

So sustainable development has to balance the needs of the present with the needs of the future. Sustainable development is more than just a scientific theory, it’s an action and for anyone with a passion for the environment a challenge. Although there are some practises for which debate and research may go on for years, many are rather more clear cut. Investing in renewable energy, minimising waste, reducing energy consumption and recycling are all great practises for anyone wanting to help make a more sustainable society.