AUD1208 – MODULE 1

What Is Development?
© “Development” is really much more than simply economic growth.

© As the links between economic growth and social and environmental issues are better
understood, experts including economists tend to agree that this kind of growth is inevitably
unsustainable— if environmental and social/human losses resulting from economic growth
turn out to be higher than economic benefits - the overall result for people’s wellbeing
becomes negative.
© Economic growth itself inevitably depends on its natural and social/human conditions. – To
be sustainable, it must rely on a certain number of natural resources and services provided
by nature, such as pollution absorption and resource regeneration.

H I S T O RY
© In 1984, the United Nations (UN) established an independent group of 22 people drawn from
member states of both the developing and developed worlds, and charged them with
identifying long-term environmental strategies for the international community.
© The report of the World Commission on Environment and Development entitled Our Common
Future (WCED, 1987) is widely considered to have been key in putting sustainable
development firmly into the political arena of international development thinking.
© The concept of sustainable development, although had appeared in the 1970s, was widely
disseminated in the early 1980s by the ‘World Conservation Strategy’ (IUCN, UNE’P and WWF,
1980), which called for the maintenance of essential ecological processes; the preservation
of biodiversity; and sustainable use of species and ecosystems.
© The report has been translated into more than 24 languages (Finger, 1994) and its definition
of the term continues to be that which is most widely used and cited.
© For the first time, the Commission had considered environmental concerns arising through
development processes from an economic, social and political perspective rather than
solely from a science base as in previous studies.
© The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and
Development, 1987), placed it on the world’s political agenda and helped re-kindle public
interest in the environment. It also spread the message that global environmental
management was needed
© Their recommendations focused on integrating development strategies and environmental
policies and global partnerships to meet the interdependent environmental concerns and
development opportunities North and South.
© The ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 was, at the time, the largest ever
international conference held. It was also the first time heads of state had gathered to
consider the environment.
© Putting sustainable development into practice was seen to involve the participation of a full
range of sectors, groups and organizations; in business and science, youth and church
groups within communities and by local authorities as well as international agencies.
© A key outcome was the ‘Agenda 21’ document detailing the issues, the actors and the
means for achieving sustainable development by the start of the twenty-first century.

© Ten years later, 104 heads of state gathered again for the UN World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
© The aim was to reinvigorate at the highest political level, the global commitment to a North–
South partnership to achieve sustainable development.
© It has been referred to as ‘by far the most inclusive summit to date for the way in which more
stakeholder groups were brought into formal meetings, including a bigger presence for
business and many more NGOs from the developing world, representing issues of human
rights, social justice and business accountability
© In 2000, the UN community had committed to the achievement of eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) embracing many of these concerns.
© One of these goals refers explicitly to sustainable development and the actions of
governments in preparing national sustainable development strategies,
DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT
© Most widely quoted definition of Sustainable Development from the 1987 Brundtland Report.
© “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
© “Sustainable” development could probably be otherwise called “Equitable and Balanced”.
© In order for development to continue indefinitely, it should balance the interests of different
groups of people, within the same generation and among generations, and do so
simultaneously in three major interrelated areas–economic, social, and environmental.
© Sustainable development is about equity, defined as equality of opportunities for well-being,
as well as about comprehensiveness of objectives
© Obviously, balancing so many diverse objectives of development is an enormous challenge
for any country.
© Arguably, the most critical problem of sustainable development—in each country as well
as globally—is eradicating extreme poverty.
© Another, closely related, global problem is establishing and preserving peace in all regions
and all countries.
© Other Definitions:

© Environmental care ‘married’ to development.

© Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting
ecosystems.
© Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
© An environmental ‘handrail’ to guide development.
© A change in consumption patterns towards more benign products, and a shift in
investment patterns towards augmenting environmental capital.

Interpretations of sustainable development

 Depictions of Sustainability Development

Figure 1.8. The shared essentials of the concept of sustainability

DEVELOPMENT VS. CONSERVATION

© Development and conservation were framed as incompatible: in conceiving the
‘environment’ as the stocks of substances found in nature, by definition these resources were
considered to be ultimately limited and pollution and environmental deterioration
understood as the inevitable consequences of industrial development.
WHAT IS THE VALUE OR IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT?
© Sustainable development encourages us to conserve and enhance our resource base, by
gradually changing the ways in which we develop and use technologies
© Sustainable development has continued to evolve as that of protecting the world’s
resources while its true agenda is to control the world’s resources.
© Environmentally sustainable economic growth refers to economic development that meets
the needs of all without leaving future generations with fewer natural resources than those
we enjoy today.
© The essence of this form of development is a stable relationship between human activities
and the natural world, which does not diminish the prospects for future generations to enjoy
a quality of life at least as good as our own.
© The ‘environmentally sustainable economic growth’ is synonym to the prevalent concept of
‘Sustainable Development’.
© The goal of which is to achieve balance/harmony between environment sustainability,
economic sustainability and socio-political sustainability.
© The aim of sustainable development is to balance our economic, environmental and social
needs, allowing prosperity for now and future generations.

INDEPENDENT AND MUTUALLY REINFORCING PILLARS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

IMPACT OF BUSINESS IN ENVIRONMENT

© The environmental pillar often gets the most attention.
© Companies are focusing on reducing their carbon footprints, packaging waste, water
usage and their overall effect on the environment.
© Companies have found that have a beneficial impact on the planet can also have a
positive financial impact.
© The all-in costs of wastewater, carbon dioxide, land reclamation and waste in general are
not easy to calculate because companies are not always the ones on the hook for the
waste they produce.
© A sustainable business should have the support and approval of its employees,
stakeholders and the community it operates in.
© The approaches to securing and maintaining this support are various, but it comes down
to treating employees fairly and being a good neighbor and community member, both
locally and globally.
 © On the employee side, businesses refocus on retention and engagement strategies,
including more responsive benefits such as better maternity and paternity benefits, flexible
scheduling, and learning and development opportunities.
© For community engagement, companies have come up with many ways to give back,
including fundraising, sponsorship, scholarships and investment in local public projects.
© On a global social scale, a business needs to be aware of how its supply chain is being
filled.
© Many of the large retailers have struggled with this as public outrage over tragedies like
the Bangladesh factory collapse, which have illustrated previously unaccounted for risks
in sourcing from the lowest-cost supplier.
© The economic pillar of sustainability is where most businesses feel they are on firm ground.
© To be sustainable, a business must be profitable.
© In fact, profit at any cost is not at all what the economic pillar is about.
© Activities that fit under the economic pillar include compliance, proper governance and
risk management.
© Sometimes, this pillar is referred to as the governance pillar, referring to good corporate
governance.
© It is the inclusion of the economic pillar and profit that makes it possible for corporations
to come on board with sustainability strategies.
© The main question for investors and executives is whether or not sustainability is an
advantage for a company.
© Sustainability provides a larger purpose and some new deliverables for companies to strive
for and helps them renew their commitments to basic goals like efficiency, sustainable
growth and shareholder value.
© A sustainability strategy that is publicly shared can deliver hard-to-quantify benefits such
as public goodwill and a better reputation.
© Sustainability encompasses the entire supply chain of a business, requiring accountability
from the primary level, through the suppliers, all the way to the retailers.

SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES FACED BY BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY

1. Poverty and youth unemployment
o That means looking at issues like job creation and integration of the underserved
in businesses’ target market and supply chain.
2. Advancing the circular economy
o The circular economy is best path to sustainability. Because globally, we face
limited physical resources.
o The circular economy means that waste becomes a resource input.
o Closing the circle of resource supply and disposal lets us stop depleting virgin
resources and contributing to pollution
3. Government action
o Without clear signals from government, companies have difficulty making the
business case for developing projects to support the SDGs.
o In a survey of 1000 CEOS, 42 per cent said that political uncertainty is reducing or
stalling their sustainability efforts.
o Government plays a critical role in creating a framework that demands action
from businesses in order to see system-wide change.
o But today, government is struggling to determine how to get businesses to do
better.
4. Climate change
 o We need information on how companies and countries are performing regarding
reduction of GHG emissions and other actions to fight climate change.
o If we could see the performance reported in a standardized way, monthly, we
would have more insights on priority areas – for companies, governments,
associations, etc.
5. Holistic thinking and action
o The most critical issue for business is not so much a single issue, but the
complexity and interaction between different sustainability issues.
o A single-minded focus on climate change is inadequate.
o Companies and others need to deal with sustainability issues in a more
integrated manner.
6. Business influencing policy.
o Tackling sustainability is not just about making the operations green.
o Real change requires building a social movement and pressuring politicians to
implement change at scale.
o Corporations are just making nice statements about the need for climate action.
7. Challenges of environmental sustainability
a. Global warming due to CO2 emissions.
• The climate change is accelerating and threatens the whole global
ecosystem by causing serious meteorological disasters like droughts, fires
and floods, which are becoming increasingly frequent and more extreme
b. Air pollution and water contamination.
• Experts estimate that nearly 90% of humanity breathes polluted air.
• That’s why, it is important to reduce air pollution and minimize the use of
chemicals, treating more wastewater – to cut rates of respiratory illnesses,
thus preventing seven million deaths a year.
c. Pollution of the oceans, seas and inland waters.
• The oceans have become the giant waste dumps for plastic and other
synthetic materials.
d. Slow energy transition and insufficient share of renewable energy.
• Quite a number of the world’s population lacks access to electricity and
depends on fossil fuels for cooking.
• This situation requires an energy transition towards a cleaner, more
accessible and efficient model based on the use of renewable energy
sources to build communities that are more sustainable.
e. Uncompromising food production harms.
• Overexploitation of natural resources and disturbance of the environment
depletes the soil and damages the marine ecosystems.
• It requires focus and consideration in order to change the food production
model and food habits, including a more plant-based diet featuring local
ingredients to save energy and reduce gas emissions.
f. Animal species extinction and destruction of their natural habits.
• The experts from UN call for protecting biodiversity and undertake conclusive
actions to put an end to these threats and conserve our natural heritage,
including our increasingly threatened forests.
g. Significant development of modern cities and agglomerations without a
transparent and comprehensive urban strategy.
• The metropolises of the future will need to be compact, safe, inclusive,
ecological and energy efficient, with more green spaces, more
environmentally friendly buildings and more sustainable methods of
transport which put the needs of pedestrians above those of traffic.
h. Hydric stress and water scarcity.
• The lack of this resource affects more than 40% of the world population, and
according to the World Economic Forum, agriculture accounts for more
than 70% of the water used in the planet’s most arid countries.
 • The responsible use of hydrological resources will improve food and energy
production, as well as protecting the biodiversity of our water ecosystems
and helping us slow climate change.
i. Overpopulation and waste management
• The world population is expected to exceed 8.5 billion by 2030, forcing us to
considerably reduce the amount of waste we generate through prevention,
reduction, reuse and recycling as part of the circular economy, with the aim
of minimizing the impact on health and the environment.
•