1. What is sustainability? Where does the term come from?

- Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
- While the concept of sustainability is a relatively new idea, the movement as a whole
has roots in social justice, conservationism, internationalism and other past
movements with rich histories.

2. What is sustainable development?

- By the end of the twentieth centuries, many of these ideas had come together in the
call for ‘sustainable development.’
- "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs."

3. What is the Bruntdland Commission? What major contribution to the definition of

Sustainable Development?
- In 1983, the United Nations tapped former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem
Brundtland to run the new World Commission on Environment and Development1 .
- The Commission successfully unified environmentalism with social and economic
concerns on the world’s development agenda. Sustainability is a holistic approach
that considers ecological, social and economic dimensions, recognizing that all must
be considered together to find lasting prosperity.

4. What are the 3 pillars of sustainability and define each.

Economic - Human communities across the globe are able to maintain their
independence and have access to the resources that they require, financial and other, to
meet their needs. Economic systems are intact and activities are available to everyone, such
as secure sources of livelihood.
Social - Universal human rights and basic necessities are attainable by all people,
who have access to enough resources in order to keep their families and communities
healthy and secure. Healthy communities have just leaders who ensure personal, labour and
cultural rights are respected and all people are protected from discrimination.
Environmental - Ecological integrity is maintained, all of earth’s environmental
systems are kept in balance while natural resources within them are consumed by humans
at a rate where they are able to replenish themselves.

5. Give all the sustainability issues in relation to each pillar of sustainability.

- Economy: Overconsumption. Overpopulation.Poor infrastructure.Unexplored
renewable energy options.Delay in commissioning power plants.Wastage of
energy.Poor distribution systems.
- social sustainability performance issues include human rights, fair labor
practices, living conditions, health, safety, wellness, diversity, equity, work-life
balance, empowerment, community engagement, philanthropy, volunteerism,
and more.
- Environmental: Global warming due to CO2 emissions. ...
Air pollution and water contamination. ...
 Pollution of the oceans, seas and inland waters. ...Slow energy transition and
insufficient share of renewable energy. ...Uncompromising food production
harms.
6. How is capitalism now defined with the application of sustainable development?
- sustainable capitalism arises from an ethical and moral commitment of a
society to accept its responsibility for preserving opportunities for future
generations. It does not rely on laws and regulations to force societal change,
but instead uses laws and regulations to reflect societal change. Sustainable
capitalism is fundamentally different from environmentalism because it deals
specifically with philosophical questions of the rightness of relationships
among people and between people and their natural environment.

7. What is Systems Thinking for Sustainability?

- Systems thinking is an approach to integration that is based on the belief that the
component parts of a system will act differently when isolated from the system's
environment or other parts of the system. ... Systems thinking is particularly useful in
addressing complex or wicked problem situations.

8. What is Value Chain perspective? Cite changes to value chains in businesses after
applying sustainability.
- the process begins with the end user and assigns a higher value to those activities
that are most important to the customer. Supply chain analysis typically focuses on
the costs of goods or services.
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9. Is sustainability a synonym of corporate social responsibility? Why or why not?
10. What is sustainability strategy and planning?
11. What is stakeholder engagement? How is this relevant to sustainability in businesses?
12. What is Sustainability Reporting?
13. What are the two major elements present in the Sustainable Reporting? Define each
element and give specific examples of information included in each element.
14. How should sustainability be measured and reported?
15. How can sustainability report become meaningful?
16. What are the major differences between sustainability reporting and financial reporting
in terms of:
a. Time-scale
b. Focus
c. Economic view
d. Data
e. Materiality
f. Users
17. Briefly discuss the internal and external motivations for sustainability reporting.
18. What is the Dow Jones Sustainability Index?
19. What are the benefits that private organizations can enjoy because of sustainable
reporting?
20. What are the two important reporting frameworks? Briefly discuss each.