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Sustainability and Sustainable Development

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Synonyms

Environmental sustainability: capable of being sustained

Definition

The word sustainability is derived from the Latin sustinere (tenere, to hold; sus, up). The way in which sustainability is used nowadays is based on the English term “sustainability,” which is an expression of the possibility of a certain matter to be supported. Sustainability is seen as a paradigm for thinking about the future in which environmental, societal, and economic considerations are balanced in the pursuit of an improved quality of life. The ideals and principles behind it lays on broad concepts such as intergenerational equity, gender equity, social tolerance, poverty alleviation, environmental preservation and restoration, natural resource conservation, and building just and peaceful societies.

Sustainable development is the overarching paradigm of the United Nations. The concept of sustainable development was described by the (1987) Brundtland Commission Report as “development that meets the...

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Correspondence to Eila Jeronen Ph.D. .

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Jeronen, E. (2013). Sustainability and Sustainable Development. In: Idowu, S.O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Gupta, A.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_662

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_662

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28035-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28036-8

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