Sustainability: Origin and Evolution

This chapter begins with a restatement of the definition of sustainability first used in the Brundtland Report and then examines the three pillars of sustainability as proposed by John Elkington. These pillars, economic, environmental, and social are then examined in detail. In examining the economic pillar, the focus is on income inequality with data from various international organizations used to illustrate how income and wealth are distributed in various parts of the world. Analysis of the environmental pillar focuses on the degradation of various aspects of the environment with data from UNEP and other agencies used to illustrate the environmental crisis facing humanity. The discussion on the social pillar of sustainability focuses on the status of women globally.