It is an everyday word in the 21st century, but is everyone referring to the same thing when they talk about ‘sustainability’? Geography student Ellen Heaselgrave investigates.
Sustainability is a powerful and important word with conflated meanings and associations. The United Nations have historically viewed sustainability as “meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations” (1). However, does the term sustainability always encompass these ideals?
Before undertaking a research project with the LEC Sustainability Group exploring the definitions of sustainability used by various political and research organisations, I, admittedly, thought this would be a simpler task. My main finding is there is not a universal understanding of sustainability, even between similar organisations.
Most people know the previously mentioned Brundtland definition, however, this is only one definition, and it arguably doesn’t act as a strong guiding force for organisations. For example, of the organisations who use and claim to follow this definition, many differed widely in their choice to encapsulate some or all the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. Some see sustainability as synonymous with environmental aims, when sustainability can and often inherently does, relate to human and societal challenges, which should be considered when using the term.
Another example of sustainability becoming differently understood is the conflicts around the inclusion of development, growth and expansion ideas. Most modern political organisations or companies discuss sustainable development; however, many researchers and activists argue that visions of distributive justice, intergenerational equity and maintaining ecological limits require transformative economic change (2). Thus, meaningful sustainability cannot coincide with a business-as-usual focus on growth.
The confused ideas around sustainability are aided by corporations capitalising on the term in greenwashing campaigns to increase profits without adhering to the ethos of sustainability (3). However, generalised definitions like Brundtland’s can still have impact when used in considered, transparent manners. The meaning of sustainability has been conflated by marketing and political agendas, so organisations should define what sustainability means for them, and which aspects of sustainability they aim to represent, providing actionable goals.
- United Nations. (2022) Sustainability. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability
- White, M.A. (2013) Sustainability: I know it when I see it. Ecological Economics 86, 213-217.
- Carrigan, M. (2017) Revisiting ‘The Myth of the Ethical Consumer’: why are we still not ethical shoppers. Journal of Consumer Ethics 1(1), 11-21.
