Rural Community Gateway

Have you ever heard a phrase and wondered what exactly it means? It happens to us all! The Gateway Guides aim to give you a brief overview of some often used terms, with links to useful resources and websites if you want to know more. We don't claim to have all the answers, and we've meaningly chosen terms that are hard to define, but we hope you find these articles useful introduction.

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development. We hear it all the time – from the government, funders, rural organisations, environmental groups and others. Everyone says it’s important, but what exactly does it mean?

There is no single definition of sustainable development. The 'classic' definition is "development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

This comes from a World Commission on Environment and Development report to the United Nations in 1987 called ‘Our Common Future’, or the Brundtland Report.

Three pillars

Sustainable development has three ‘pillars’ – social, environmental and economic. For many people sustainable development should take all of these factors into account. However, some place the emphasis on one or two of these factors, which leads to differences in definition and focus.

For some organisations, having a commitment to sustainable development is about trying to be environmentally friendly, for example by using less energy. For others, sustainable development is about social aspects like developing fair trade in developing countries.

For others, sustainable development is about sustaining their organisation or company, ensuring it is economically viable for the future. For community groups this can mean working towards not being reliant on grants and funding for survival.

Don’t get lost in the definitional quagmire

But don’t let differences in emphasis put you off. When you get to the bottom of it most people agree on the core principle of sustainable development.

As the Sustainable Development Commission says, “it is important not to get bogged down in a definitional quagmire. There are enough common elements that most agree on as central to a sustainable development approach. Essentially this means that we can make progress towards a world where we seek to simultaneously progress economic and social and environmental goals and policies in ways that develop and maintain a good quality of life for us all and enable future generations to do the same.”

Why is it important?

Sustainable development has become an increasingly important concept over the past couple of decades or so.

The Scottish Government’s 2005 sustainable development strategy ‘Choosing our Future’ says, “At the start of the 21st century countries across the world are facing up to the global threat of unsustainable development, causing damage to such an extent that the planet cannot sustain human life, leading to a world where future generations would no longer have the resources to meet their needs.”

Over one billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day and if everyone lived a typical Western lifestyle, there we would need to be three planet earths to keep us all going. There is now a realisation that we cannot continue with development that does not take into account environmental and social aspects along with economics.

Where can I find out more?

• UK Government Sustainable Development Department
• Sustainable Development Commission
• Scottish Sustainable Development Forum
• Wikipedia definition of Sustainable Development
• Scottish Government Sustainable Development website
• Choosing our future: Scotland’s sustainable development strategy
• Your Project – Sus it Out
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Divisions for Sustainable Development 

We want to hear from you

Is there a term or phrase you'd like us to cover in our Gateway Guide series? Let us know by emailing editor@ruralgateway.org.uk. This article is meant as an introduction to sustainable development, you can share your thoughts, useful websites and resources by adding a comment to this article.

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