MODULE 12: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A. Sustainable World
 Four Pillars of Sustainability
 Examples of Sustainable Development

WEEK NUMBER: 12

TIME ALLOTMENT: 3 Hours

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this module, the students shall be able to:

1. Differentiate stability from sustainability; and
2. Articulate models of global sustainable development.

LEARNING CONTENT:

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

Sustainability requires humans to learn to live within our means. Major factors, such as
human population size, biosphere robustness, resource stock, food supply, and environmental
quality must remain in balance, on a global scale. This state of balance must last long enough
so that it will not be merely a blip on the curve of unsustainable growth (Zen, 2000a). Even
though we might not really attain that balance, we must move in that direction if humanity and
the ecosystem are to survive.

Because the Earth is a closed system, a sustainable world is not compatible with
"sustainable growth" (Palmer, 2000b). A closed system might conceivably accommodate
"sustainable development," a term popularized by the World Commission on Environment and
Development (1987; the "Brundtland Commission"), but how that could be done is not obvious
(see, however, Daly and Cobb, 1994, Appendix). Another way to look at the issue is to consider
the idea of a transition towards sustainability (Board on Sustainable Development, 1999), which,
however, needs a complementary discussion of the destination, or end-state, of that transition.

Discussion

A. Sustainable World

Stability is the quality, state, or degree of being stable while sustainability is capable of
being sustained. Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs. In addition to natural resources, we also need
social and economic resources. Sustainability is not just environmentalism. Embedded in most
definitions of sustainability we also find concerns for social equity and economic development.
Sustainable development is a carefully planned strategy to embrace growth while using
resources more efficiently, with utmost consideration of immediate AND long-term benefits for
our planet and the humans who live on it.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. By the end of the twentieth centuries, many of these
ideas had come together in the call for ‘sustainable development.
  Four Pillars of Sustainability

1. Human Sustainability

Human sustainability aims to maintain and improve the human capital in society.
Investments in the health and education systems, access to services, nutrition, knowledge and
skills are all programs under the umbrella of human sustainability. Natural resources and spaces
available are limited and there is a need to balance continual growth with improvements to health
and achieving economic wellbeing for everyone. In the context of business, an organization will
view itself as a member of society and promote business values that respect human capital.
Human sustainability focuses on the importance of anyone directly or indirectly involved in the
making of products, or provision of services or broader stakeholders (the human capital of the
organization) (Benn et al., 2014). Communities around the globe may be positively or negatively
affected by business activities, or impacted through methods used to source raw materials.
Human sustainability encompasses the development of skills and human capacity to support the
functions and sustainability of the organization and to promote the wellbeing of communities and
society.

2. Social Sustainability

Social sustainability aims to preserve social capital by investing and creating services
that constitute the framework of our society. The concept accommodates a larger view of the
world in relation to communities, cultures and globalization. It means to preserve future
generations and to acknowledge that what we do can have an impact on others and on the world.
Social sustainability focuses on maintaining and improving social quality with concepts such as
cohesion, reciprocity and honesty and the importance of relationships amongst people. It can be
encouraged and supported by laws, information and shared ideas of equality and rights. Social
sustainability incorporates the idea of sustainable development as defined by the United Nations
sustainable development goals. The principle of sustainable development addresses social and
economic improvement that protects the environment and supports equality, and therefore the
economy and society and the ecological system are mutually dependent (Diesendorf, 2000).

3. Economic sustainability

Economic sustainability aims to maintain the capital intact. If social sustainability focuses
on improving social equality, economic sustainability aims to improve the standard of living. In
the context of business, it refers to the efficient use of assets to maintain company profitability
over time. As stated by the UK Government (Annual Report 2000, January 2001): “Maintaining
high and stable levels of economic growth is one of the key objectives of sustainable development.
Abandoning economic growth is not an option. But sustainable development is more than just
economic growth. The quality of growth matters as well as the quantity.” Critics of this model
acknowledge that a great gap in modern accounting practices is not to include the cost of damage
to the earth in market prices (Hawking, 2010). A more recent approach to economics
acknowledges the limited incorporation of the ecological and social components in this model.
New economics is inclusive of natural capital (ecological systems) and social capital (relationships
amongst people) and challenges the mantra of capital that continual growth is good and bigger is
better, if it risks causing harm to the ecological and human system (Benn et al., 2014).
4. Environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability aims to improve human welfare through the protection of

natural capital (e.g. land, air, water, minerals etc.). Initiatives and programs are defined
environmentally sustainable when they ensure that the needs of the population are met without
the risk of compromising the needs of future generations. Environmental sustainability, as
described by Dunphy, Benveniste, Griffiths and Sutton (2000), places emphasis on how business
can achieve positive economic outcomes without doing any harm, in the short- or long-term, to
the environment. According to Dunphy et al. (2000) an environmentally sustainable business
seeks to integrate all four sustainability pillars, and to reach this aim each one needs to be
treated equally. The principle of the four pillars of sustainability states that for complete
sustainability problems to be solved in relation to all four pillars of sustainability and then need
be maintained. Although in some cases these may overlap, it is important to identify the specific
type of green business to focus on, as the four types present unique characteristics. Businesses
need to make a strategic decision about it so as to effectively incorporate the chosen approach
into their policies and procedures.

Examples of Sustainable Development

1. Wind Energy

People have utilized the power of the wind for millennia, dating back to the first recorded
windmill in Persia between 500 and 900 AD. Fast forward to the 21st century and, in many
localities, energy generated by wind power has become either competitive with or less expensive
than coal-generated electricity Wind turbines are a great solution for power generation due to
their cost and the fact that they require a very small land footprint. Other land uses such as
farming, conservation and recreation can happen simultaneously with wind power generation.
As the price of wind power technology continues to drop and energy storage and transmission
infrastructure improves, wind energy could significantly supplement or replace entire grid
systems.

2. Solar Energy

From roof-top solar panels to massive solar farms that can attain the same generating
capacity as a conventional power plant, it is clear that there is a renewable energy revolution
happening in the world — and it is powered by the sun. A solar farm can reduce 94% of the
emissions that a coal power plant emits. It also eliminates noxious pollutants like Sulphur nitrous
oxides and mercury which are major contributors to the air pollution responsible for millions of
premature deaths every year. Solar technology is getting cheaper and is now cost competitive
or less costly than conventional power generation in many parts of the world. According to the
International Renewable Energy Agency, currently 220 million to 330 million tons of annual
carbon dioxide are saved due to solar photovoltaics. With solar still making up less than 2% of
the global energy mix, this shows the great potential for the growth of solar in the future.

3. Crop Rotation

Currently we produce the bulk of our food through industrial agriculture. A system which
relies on large farms that monocrop and use enormous amounts of fertilizer and chemical
pesticides. Industrial agriculture is immensely damaging to soils, water, air and the climate.
Crop rotation, in contrast, is defined as “the successive planting of different crops on the same
land to improve soil fertility and help control insects and diseases.” This way of farming is not a
new practice, but rather a more ancient way of farming chemical-free, whilst maximizing the
long-term growth potential of land.

An ongoing study at Iowa State University’s Marsden Farm research centre has shown
that complex crop rotation systems can outperform conventional monoculture in both yield and
profitability. It is also a practice that produces a diverse range of foods, can be adapted to
different local conditions, causes less erosion and stores more carbon in soils assisting with
carbon sequestration.

4. Water efficient fixtures

Many countries in the world are becoming water stressed and we are beginning to
understand that water is not as unlimited as we once believed. In most buildings around the
world, essential water usage such as showering, washing hands and sewage conveyance is
unavoidable. However, the amount of water used for these essential services can be drastically
reduced by more than 50% with the use of water-saving fittings and fixtures. Some examples
of water-efficient fixtures include: low-flow taps and shower heads, dual flush toilets and toilet
stops. These fixtures can be retrofitted easily and affordably into existing buildings or specified
for new building projects.

5. Green Spaces

Green spaces such as parks, wetlands, lakes, forests or other eco systems are
fundamental to sustainably developed urban areas. These areas are essential for cooling cities
while trees produce oxygen and filter out air pollution. Well-designed green spaces also play a
critical role in providing safer routes for those commuting by foot or bicycle and providing safer
spaces for physical activity and recreation.

Summary

To take sustainability seriously requires us to reexamine our ideas about growth, social
equity, consumption, and "standard of living", that putative indicator of social well-being.
Sustainability is constrained at both ends of the economic throughput. At the starting point it is
constrained by the availability of resources, and at the end point by the accumulation of the
products of their use: waste, loss, and pollution. Consumption and systems of material
distribution, the processes that link those two ends, go to the heart of the matter. The scale of
global consumption, both public and private, depends on population size and on the intensity of
resource use.

REFERENCES:

1. Ariola, M., (2018). Contemporary World. Unlimited Books Library Services & Publishing Inc.,
Manila, Philippines
2. Steger, M., Battersby, P., and Siracusa, M., (2014).The SAGE Handbook of Globalization.
Two volumes.

Congratulations for finishing the Module 12! Keep up the good work.
Prepared by:

JOJIELYN SALUDES-NAVARRO, LPT, MAED

Instructor

Reviewed/ Approved:

LILY MAE M. KIMAYONG, MBA

Program Head, Hospitality Management

AIZA P. RUMAUAC, CPA

Program Head, Accountancy and Business Administration

JADE A. BUISEL, ECE, REE ANGELO K. LAHINA, LPT, MAT

Program Head, Engineering, and Computer Studies Program Head, Teacher Education

JEAN RUSSEL B. PAULMITAN, RCrim, MSCJ ABRAHAM G. UCOL

Program Head, Criminology Program Head, Industrial Technology