Sustainability is making decisions that do not have negative consequences for either current or future generations. It implies both the preservation of natural resources and a commitment to human and societal wellbeing.
To do this we need to create communities that can provide for an improved quality of life, protected and healthy ecosystems, social wellbeing and cohesion, and economic equity. Business, government, the professions and wider society all need to contribute to the transformation of our way of life so that we support and preserve the planet upon which we all depend. The transition away from a carbon-based economy is one example of a necessary transformation if we are to move away from our current unsustainable situation.
Such a transformation requires a new approach to education. Education for Sustainability incorporates the principles of sustainable design: “Sustainable design is the careful nesting of human purposes with the larger patterns and flows of the natural world...” (David Orr).
Sustainability impacts on a wide range of ecological and human issues. Click on the issues contained in the following list for news, teaching materials, courses and resources relevant to each.
Sustainability Issues:
- Education for Sustainability
- Energy Efficiency
- Climate
- Community Development
- Food
- Human Health & Wellbeing
- Human Rights and Indigenous Issues
- Renewable Energy
- Natural Resource Management
- Sustainable Design
- Air, Land, Water and Waste
- Business and Sustainability
- Animal Rights
- Environmental Politics and Philosophy
