What is 'Sustainability'?

Definitions of sustainability vary, but most promote social progress, economic progress, and minimal environmental impact.  Sustainability is commonly understood by the 1987 UN’s World Commission on Environment and Development’s definition: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”(UNESCO).  The Alliance for Sustainable Communities-LV views a sustainable community which “covers all that is needed to have healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy planet Earth - not only the environment, but community, participatory democracy, social justice, housing, transportation, peace, local economies, and more” and recently has spear-headed the Lehigh Valley Campus Sustainability Initiative as part of their mission (“Sustainability – In Depth”). Involving higher education in the process of striving for a more sustainable society is crucial, but unfortunately overlooked by the initial UN Sustainable development report.  In the context of a higher educational institution, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability for Higher Education (AASHE) envisions universities and colleges:

 

… [taking] a leadership role in preparing students and employees to achieve a just and sustainable society. The campus itself would serve as a model of sustainability, with curriculum and operations reflecting an integrative approach to learning and practice. The process of education would emphasize active, experiential, inquiry based learning and real-world problem solving.

 

On the model campus all sectors would work collaboratively to advance sustainability, and the content and context of learning would reflect a focus on systemic, interdisciplinary thinking with respect to human health, ethics, future generations, and planetary stewardship. (“Our Vision”)

 

The reality is the world is desperately in need of more ecologically literate individuals who desire to decelerate the magnitude of harmful human alteration to the surface of the Earth and its inhabitants.

 

 

Text extracted from Elyse Jurgen's Final Independent Study Paper (May 07')

 

 

References:

 

1. "Our Vision".  Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).  23 April 2007
2. "Sustainability – In Depth”. The Alliance for Sustainable Communities.  14 April 2007

    

3. “UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014)”. UNESCO.  13 April 2007

    

 

 

 

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