How can sustainable development be achieved in the 21 st century?
Jay Connor
The Brundtland Report defines sustainable development as meeting ‘the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ 1 However, despite a plethora of reports, committees and political jargon, we are yet to make any significant global breakthrough in sustainable development. Instead, continual consumption in the developed world greatly over-exploits the resources of developing nations, while both developed and developing countries alike avidly seek further economic growth. Although the United Nations outlined eight Millennium Development Goals 2 to solve the world’s key immediate issues, achieving sustainable development fo r our future can be included in just three clear categories: the economy, the environment and the social community . Ultimately, sustainable development can only be attainable through a united global effort at all levels of leadership with a clear focus on social, environmental and economic campaigns. Sustainable development is not just related to environmental challenges; it involves all societal issues. Thus, it should be considered in every future Government policy. A significant shift in social attitudes is required to achieve sustained progress. Improved public services, such as healthcare and education, result in improved standards of living and therefore a better capacity for individual environmentally conscious decisions. More immediately, Governments should encourage action by private firms which shifts the environmental burden 3 from the consumer to the producer. At present, environmentally sustainable options are widely available across the market, but they are invariably too expensive to be considered by the average consumer. Firms proposing a specific action should prove it will not harm the environment and that all possible measures to prevent environmental damage will be taken. Public participation and support should be encouraged to translate sustainable development from a distant concept into real action. Everyone should acknowledge that the survival of future generations relies on responsible consumption. Official organizations and Governments should demonstrate both leadership and citizenship to exemplify the new attitudes.
To capitalize on national projects such as improved public services and pressure on private firms, there must be a globally concentrated effort, with developed nations providing the majority of investment and leadership. International institutions and agencies such as the United Nations must play a key role
1 Our Common Future , also known as the Brundtland Report, was published by the United Nations in 1987 and sought to place environmental and developmental concerns on the international political agenda. Named after the former chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development, this seminal book synthesized expert opinions on solving these ongoing issues. 2 The United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals are eight goals the UNmembers pledged to achieve by 2015. They include: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to achieve universal primary education, to promote gender equality and empower women, to reduce child mortality, to improve maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, to ensure environmental sustainability and to develop a global partnership for development. 3 I believe it to be extremely unjust that consumers are expected to take responsibility for the environmental damage caused by producing the goods they buy when the developer coordinates and carries out the process. In reality, consumers are victims of environmental damage rather than the cause.
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