Definitions of Sustainable Development

Depending on the detail of the accepted definition, it may be necessary to complement or clarify its meaning with supporting principles and objectives. Listed below is a catalog of known definitions (or goals) of sustainable development.

In surveying a broad range of literature on the subject, sustainable development has been defined as:

. . . development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

. . . development which ensures that the utilization of resources and the environment today does not damage prospects for their use by future generations.... Sustainable economic development does not require the preservation of the current stock of natural resources or any particular mix of human, physical, and natural assets. Nor does it place artificial limits on economic growth, provided that such growth is both economically and environmentally sustainable.

…providing for a secure and satisfying material future for everyone, in a society that is equitable, caring, and attentive to basic human needs.
* Rees, "Defining Sustainable Development"

... positive socioeconomic change that does not undermine the ecological and social systems upon which communities and society are dependent. Its successful implementation requires integrated policy, planning, and social learning processes; its political viability depends on the full support of the people it affects through their governments, their social institutions, and their private activities.

* Rees, "Defining Sustainable Development"


... the management of our resources in such a way that we can fulfill our economic, social, cultural, and aesthetic needs without permanent impairment to the resource base and the life support systems on which we all depend.

* Environment Council of Alberta - Conservation Strategies in Canada


... an approach to development which increases the long-term wealth of the earth's inhabitants. It opposes policies and practices which support economic growth by depleting natural resources or degrading and destroying the earth's natural potential. It supports the planned and controlled use and extraction of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources.

* Canadian University Students Organization. Sustainable Development: A CUSO Education Program


... an integrated approach -- including social, environmental, cultural, and spiritual well-being, as well as economic progress in its field of endeavor. It places emphasis on ecological balance and social equity in development planning, promoting, for example, decentralization and democracy in the workplace and the broader community.

* S. Wismer, Sustainable Development and Urban Life


... a goal which unites two activities: 1. resource use and development, indeed all economic activity, undertaken without reference to global or regional environmental capacities is self-limiting; it simply will not be maintained over the long term. 2. Environmental protection, on the other hand, often seems to be promoted without reference to human needs, or recognition of the role of economic development in meeting them.

* B. Sadler, Environmental Protection and Resource Development: Convergence for Today


... utilizes its natural, human, and technological resources to ensure that all members of present and future generations can attain a high degree of health and well-being, economic security, and a say in shaping their future while maintaining the integrity of the ecological system upon which all life and production depends.

* Anthony Cortese, Cambridge Civic Forum

... seeks to develop strategies and tools to respond to five broad requirements:

1. integration of conservation and development

2. satisfaction of basic human needs

3. achievements of equity and social justice

4. provision for social self-determination and cultural diversity

5. maintenance of ecological integrity

* D. Brooks, Beyond Catch Phrases: What Does Sustainable Development Really Mean?


...development that maintains or enhances economic opportunity and community well-being while protecting and restoring the natural environment upon which people and economies depend.

* An Act from the legislature of the State of Minnesota