The term ‘sustainable development‘ originally appeared in literature on development economics, often as a contrast to the ‘unsustainable development’ of some countries that were receiving large inward investment from multinational corporations. This was believed to be destroying the social and ecological infrastructure and hence hampering the future development of the countries.
Following the Rio ‘Earth Summit’ of 1992 and ensuing political support in the USA and at the World Trade Organization the need for ‘sustainable development‘ has, amongst political initiatives, led to a focus on firms developing appropriate strategies and thereby becoming ‘sustainable enterprises’. The focus has moved from just host developing countries to include impacts on mature home economies too.
Sustainable development: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Brundtland Commission)
Sustainable Enterprise: A company, institution or entity that generates continuously increasing stakeholder value through the application of sustainable practices through the entire base activity – products and services, workforce, workplace, functions/processes, and management/governance (Deloitte: Creating the Wholly Sustainable Enterprise)
Interpretations of the scope of sustainable development
Interpretations of the scope of sustainable development vary from a narrow interpretation which focuses on ‘green issues’ to broader interpretations which include concerns such as:
Increasing extremes of poverty and wealth
Population growth
Biodiversity loss
Deteriorating air and water quality
Climate change
Human rights
