Sustainability, is about undertaking current consumption and production, in a manner that the same (or even larger) levels of consumption and production are available in the future.
In an EXTRACTIVE economy, where we constantly extract new (and mostly non-renewable) materials from Nature (from earth, water and air), to transform them into non-compostable end-user products, the question of sustainability becomes URGENT because, there is:
Limited Supply of raw materials
and
Limited Places to park our waste
Thus SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, in practice and theory, is to be the guiding principle of everything (barring none) that we do.
Luckily, the global forum on the same concerns came forward with UNSDGs (https://sdgs.un.org/goals), which can become the backbone of our actions:
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
Today, the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) provides substantive support and capacity-building for the SDGs and their related thematic issues, including water, energy, climate, oceans, urbanization, transport, science and technology, the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), partnerships and Small Island Developing States. DSDG plays a key role in the evaluation of UN systemwide implementation of the 2030 Agenda and on advocacy and outreach activities relating to the SDGs. In order to make the 2030 Agenda a reality, broad ownership of the SDGs must translate into a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals. DSDG aims to help facilitate this engagement.
Follow DSDG on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sustdev and on Twitter at @SustDev.
