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One definition is 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.

So what is sustainability?

Sustainability is a holistic concept that integrates or embraces the social, economic and environmental aspects of our lives. It's more of a long-term direction or journey than a destination.

It is concerned with fairness and human values as well as ecology, and considers how successfully planet Earth continues to function as the human species' only home. We depend on natural systems for food, fresh air, and warmth and we only have one planet to use - or abuse and suffer the consequences. All other life on Earth depends on humans not making it uninhabitable, too!

A sustainable household is one that is run with more awareness of the longer term, so decisions of today do less damage to natural systems on which future generations will depend.

What the UN says:

Sustainable consumption is:

• About consuming differently
• About consuming efficiently
• About having an improved quality of life
• Not about guilt

Fundamental concepts of sustainable living

• Criteria for assessing sustainability claims would include some fundamental concepts such as:
• The impact an action has on the remaining stocks of non-renewable resources taken from the earth's crust.
• The dispersal of persistent and perhaps toxic man-made chemicals. Can nature handle these?
• The damaging impact on soils, water and natural eco-systems.
• The social impact on people locally and through trade on the needs of people at a distance.

Source of information

The information on this page is sourced from the Sustainable Living programme (opens in a new window).