1. Sustainable Design and
Development
Unit 1:
Sustainable Development - An Overview
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2. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
- Maintain essential ecological processes and life-support
systems
- Preserve genetic diversity
- Ensure the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems
Conservation + Development
- Development requires conservation of living resource base,
and
- Conservation will not occur unless minimum development
standards are met (i.e. food, shelter, water)
THE WORLD CONSERVATION STRATEGY - 1980
‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’
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3. Brundtland Report - 1987 (Our Common Future, WECD)
- To ensure that development meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
- Sustainable development does imply limits
- Development must be in harmony and enhance both
current and future potential to meet human needs and
aspirations
DEFINITIONS
‘SUSTAINABILITY’, ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’
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4. Robert Gilman
- Sustainability is equity over time... think of it as extending
the Golden Rule through time...
President’s Council on Sustainable Development
- Sustainable development is economic growth that will
benefit present and future generations without detrimentally
affecting the resources or biological systems of the planet.
David Orr
- Sustainable design is the careful meshing of human
purposes with the larger patterns and flows of the natural
world.
Paul Hawken
- Leave the world better than you found it...
DEFINITIONS
‘SUSTAINABILITY’, ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’, ‘SUSTAINABLE DESIGN’
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5. “The problem is that the very significance of the idea - like globalization - has
become a victim of verbal dexterity. Profound concepts, in general, have so many
resonances that they result in various interpretations. What makes ‘sustainability’
unusual is not its propensity to generalization, but its careless application within so
many contexts. It is a real problem that ‘sustainability’, as a word, is distasteful to so
many because it is frequently and clumsily misused. There are many individuals who
become weary and tired of those who insist upon the importance of the idea. If every
politician continues to use the term freely as a mark of personal vision, but without
thought as to its meaning, then they risk devaluing the term” (Cullingford 2004).
DEFINITIONS
CLARIFICATION VS DEVALUATION
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6. “Brands making green claims on their
products need clarity on what they can
and cannot say...”
“Many brands [are] searching for the right
words to sell the environmental benefits
of products...”
“But many advertisers still slip up by
using vague terms that leave themselves
open to charges of greenwash.”
HTTP://WWW.ENN.COM/BUSINESS/ARTICLE/38072
GREEN MARKETING - ARE YOUR CLAIMS SUSTAINABLE?
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS NETWORK - 9-1-08
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7. Economic Approach
Maximize income while maintaining constant or increasing stock of capital.
Environmental Approach
Maintain the resilience and robustness of biological and physical systems.
Socio-cultural approach
Maintain the stability of social and cultural systems.
APPROACHES
ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIO-CULTURAL
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8. Sustainability
The end goal of sustainable development
Sustainable Development
The means by which to achieve sustainability
Sustainable Design
A set of tools and techniques used in sustainable development
PRINCIPLES
SUSTAINABILITY, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
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9. Sustainable development comprises types of
economic and social development that protect
and enhance the natural environment and social
equity
‘Development’ denotes ‘qualitative improvement in human well-being’ or ‘unfolding of
human potential’; it may or may not involve economic growth.
‘Social equity’ is used in the sense of ‘equal opportunity’ rather than ‘equality’.
Diesendorf, M. (2000) ‘Sustainability and sustainable development’ in Sustainability:
the Corporate Challenge of the 21st Century, D. Dunphy et al. (eds), Allen & Unwin,
Sydney, pp.23.
PRINCIPLES
SUSTAINABILITY, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
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10. •Conservation of Biological Diversity and Ecological Integrity
Maintain or enhance the range of native plants and animals and the health of natural areas.
•Precautionary Principle
Reduce the chance of serious environmental problems even if we are not sure these problems
will occur.
•Inter-generational and Intra-generational Equity
Reduce the effects of activities on the environment that the community, now and in the future,
relies on to meet its needs and expectations.
•Improved Valuation and Pricing of Environmental Resources
Improve the way we undertake valuation of environmental costs and benefits and use this
information when making decisions.
•Community Participation
Strong local support and involvement will be essential to a transition to sustainable living.
•Global Perspective
Consider all actions and impacts on a global scale, so as not to simply move your
environmental issues elsewhere.
PRINCIPLES
ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (ESD)
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