What is Sustainability?

We often hear the word sustainability being thrown around but don’t understand the actual meaning of the word. The first step we can take is to educate ourselves so we can consciously make better decisions and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. There are three pillars of sustainability. These are economic, environmental, and social. At Surely Sustainable, we are focused on striving for environmental sustainability. According to environmentalist Paul Hawken, “Sustainability is about stabilizing the currently disruptive relationship between earth’s two most complex systems—human culture and the living world” (Evans 9). Over the history of humankind, we have taken advantage of our natural resources through our unbridled materialism with no regard for future generations. Our generation now is facing the consequences of this abuse to natural resources. We are now in a time where importance is being placed in helping the environment. It is our duty as part of the human race to fix the damage from previous generations and achieve ecological integrity. You might ask, What exactly does “ecological integrity” mean? Put simply, the rate at which humans consume should be proportional to the rate at which the Earth can replenish. This way we can live comfortably with what Earth is providing without exploiting our natural resources. By helping out and educating yourself about our Earth and sustainability you will become a vital role in the future of our Earth’s ecosystem.

So, how did sustainability start? In 1978 a piece was published in The Brundtland Report called Our Common Future first introducing the idea of sustainability. The piece was then further elaborated on for the UN to bring to light the tremendous environmental consequences of economic development. The report also touched on ways to stop the increasing threat to our planet by sustaining population and economic growth. Today, the issue has been debated and organized into the three pillars of sustainability-as we mentioned before-which the document originally stressed. For Surely Sustainable, our focus is on the environmental pillar which the original report was based on. We stress the idea of our planet and environment as non-inextinguishable resources so that our society can further develop the process of protecting these resources rationally.