There are literally hundreds of working definitions of sustainability and sustainable development. The common threads between them are that they are to do with:

• Living within the limits
• Understanding the interconnections among economy, society, and environment
• Equitable distribution of resources and opportunities

The most widely recognised first came to prominence in 1987 when the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) produced a report for the United Nations called 'Our Common Future'. Its definition of sustainable development is as follows:

Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Or it can be considered like this:

Sustainability is about improving the quality of people's lives, making business more resource efficient and so keeping costs down, etc. It is not about sitting in the dark and having nothing but porridge to eat! FOE in a report entitled 'Sustainable Europe'

For the construction industry perhaps the best definition of sustainability and sustainable development is this:

Taking responsibility for all upstream and downstream impacts of decisions

Tom Woolley, Professor of Architecture, Queens University, Belfast

BENEFITS OF A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH

The benefits of implementing and including sustainability within all of your decision making processes will have lasting benefits for

• The Environment
• You
• Your Clients
• End Users

When should you be implementing a more holistic sustainable approach?

Perhaps the answer lies in this Chinese proverb:

'The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is NOW!'

For more detailed information on sustainability models and how they may be used to develop your business perhaps you might like to consider a CPD seminar from Greenlight Construction