Wondering what is sustainability, and whether it means more than recycling? It means meeting today’s needs without harming future generations’ ability to meet theirs, balancing environment, economy and society.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Report that set out the best-known definition | “Our Common Future”, 1987 |
| UN General Assembly resolution that created the commission | Resolution 38/161, 1983 |
| Size of the Brundtland Commission | 21 members, half from developing nations |
| Meetings the commission held in cities around the world | 15 meetings |
| Dimensions sustainability seeks to integrate | 3 dimensions: economic, environmental and social |
These figures come from a university sustainability textbook and a study guide on the Brundtland Report: see the SUNY textbook chapter and the RevisionDojo study guide. Figures can change or be restated, so check the source before you rely on them.
The core idea behind sustainability
The word gets stretched in advertising, but its roots are precise. The most quoted definition describes sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The SUNY textbook chapter notes that the Brundtland Report used “sustainable development,” “sustainable” and “sustainability” interchangeably.
That short sentence holds two ideas. The first is needs, especially the essential needs of the world’s poor, which the report says should get overriding priority. The second is limits: the state of technology and social organization restricts how much the environment can provide, now and later.
Read this way, sustainability is not a synonym for “eco-friendly”. It asks whether a way of living, producing or trading can carry on without wearing down the things it depends on, including people.
- Present needs: food, health, education, work and a stable environment today.
- Future generations: the opportunities and resources people will need later must not be reduced.
- Limits: technology, social organization and the environment’s capacity set boundaries.
Where the definition comes from: the Brundtland Commission
In 1983 the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 38/161, which set up a special commission to propose long-term environmental strategies. The commission later took the formal name World Commission on Environment and Development, though it became widely known by the name of its chair, Gro Harlem Brundtland. The SUNY textbook chapter describes her as a medical doctor and public health advocate who served as Norway’s Minister for Environmental Affairs and later held the post of Prime Minister during three periods.
The commission had 21 members from across the globe, with half representing developing nations. It held 15 meetings in various cities around the world to gather firsthand experience of how people interact with the environment, according to the same textbook chapter.
Its final report, Our Common Future, appeared in 1987. A RevisionDojo study guide says the report established its wording as the most widely used definition and placed sustainable development firmly on the international policy agenda.
What the report did and did not do
The report did not technically invent the term “sustainability”. It was, however, the first credible and widely disseminated study to probe what the term means for the global impact of humans on the environment, per the SUNY textbook chapter.
It also did not create a rule you can be fined for breaking. The study guide calls the idea that it was a legally binding global rule a common misconception, and describes it instead as an influential framework and definition.
The three dimensions: environment, economy and society
The textbook chapter says there are three dimensions that sustainability seeks to integrate: economic, environmental and social, including sociopolitical. The Brundtland Report treats them as parts of a highly integrated system that may be poorly understood. Each dimension has its own focus, summarised below from a RemNote study deck.
| Dimension | Main focus |
|---|---|
| Environmental | Conserving natural resources and protecting ecosystem services |
| Economic | Efficient use of resources and long-term financial viability |
| Social | Equity, health, education and community resilience |
The SUNY chapter also explains where the dimensions overlap. The meeting of social and economic elements can form the basis of social equity. Economic and environmental interests together create “viability”, and environment and society together create “bearability”, the recognition that societies depend on environmental resources and services. Sustainability sits where all three meet.
A shorter way to remember the dimensions is prosperity, planet and people. The Graines de Paix dictionary entry uses exactly those labels for the economic, ecological and human dimensions.
What is the difference between sustainability and sustainable development?
People often use the terms as if they were the same, and the Brundtland Report itself did. Some educators separate them, though. A RemNote study deck says sustainability is the long-term goal, while sustainable development is the process and pathway to get there.
The same deck offers a simple picture: if sustainability is the destination, sustainable development is the journey. It adds that the distinction matters because it shows we are in transition rather than already there.
The SUNY chapter reports that the US Environmental Protection Agency also draws a distinction. For the agency, sustainability covers ideas, aspirations and values that inspire organisations to become better stewards of the environment. Sustainable development implies that environmental protection does not rule out economic development, and that growth must be ecologically viable now and in the long run.
Why trade-offs are part of the picture
Because the dimensions depend on each other, a gain in one can cause a loss in another. The RemNote deck gives the example of a country that pursues rapid industrial growth and ignores environmental protections. Polluted water harms public health, and affected communities lose trust in institutions, so the growth was not truly sustainable.
The reverse can also fail. The same deck says strong environmental protection without economic development to provide jobs and income may leave people in poverty and unable to meet basic needs. Its summary is that an economy that destroys the environment it depends on is not truly viable.
The RevisionDojo guide offers a modern example. Expanding renewable electricity may reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create employment, but it counts as sustainable only if mineral extraction, costs and access do not impose disproportionate harm on vulnerable communities.
A social idea, not just a technical one
According to the SUNY chapter, the Brundtland Report makes clear that sustainable development is enabled by technology and economic viability but is first and foremost a social construct. Its aim is to improve quality of life through fair supply of goods and services, access to education, justice and healthcare, and protection of the interests of generations to come. The chapter places sustainability alongside other social movements, including human rights, racial equality, gender equity, labor relations and conservation.
In its conclusion, the report lists what pursuing sustainable development requires, as reproduced by the Graines de Paix entry:
- a political system that ensures effective citizen participation in decision-making;
- an economic system capable of generating surpluses and technical skills on a sustained, autonomous basis;
- a social system able to resolve tensions arising from unbalanced development;
- a production system that respects the obligation to preserve the ecological base for development;
- a technological system always on the lookout for new solutions.
The entry quotes the report’s view that what counts is the sincerity with which these objectives are pursued and the effectiveness of corrective actions.
Limits and alternative models
The RemNote deck flags two advanced ideas in an optional section. Planetary integrity means keeping Earth’s life-supporting systems within safe operating limits. Steady-state economics proposes an alternative to traditional growth-based economics, aiming for stable population and constant per-capita consumption within ecological limits.
Putting the idea to work
You do not need a degree to apply the definition. A useful test for any product, policy or habit is to ask who benefits now, who bears the cost later, and whether the resource base survives. That keeps all three dimensions in view instead of a single green claim.
The guides below take specific topics further. Each one builds on the basics covered here.
- Keeping materials in use for longer is the heart of the circular economy.
- If you want to put numbers on your own impact, start with carbon footprint calculation.
- Before trusting a vague green label, read the explainer on what is greenwashing.
- To compare products fairly, the guide to life cycle assessment goes deeper.
Packaging is where many people first meet these trade-offs. The overview of sustainable packaging is a good starting point, and the comparison of biodegradable vs compostable clears up two terms that are often confused. You can also read about plastic free packaging and keep the guide to recycling symbols explained to hand when you sort your waste.
If you buy or sell online, the broader hubs on sustainable ecommerce and green logistics apply the same thinking to shops and shipping.
Frequently asked questions
What is sustainability in a sentence?
Show answer
It is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, a wording popularised by the 1987 report Our Common Future, as the RevisionDojo study guide explains.
Is sustainability only about the environment?
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No. The Brundtland Report links social equity, economic productivity and environmental quality, and the SUNY chapter says sustainability seeks to integrate three dimensions: economic, environmental and social.
Who was Gro Harlem Brundtland?
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She chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development, which is why the commission and its report are widely known by her name. The SUNY chapter gives her full background in its account of the commission.
Is the Brundtland definition a law?
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No. The RevisionDojo guide says it is a common misconception that the report created a legally binding global rule, and that it instead gave an influential framework that shaped later international sustainability policy.
