• Sustainability as a core educational value, one that ought to find its way into courses across the The status and function of sustainability in the curriculum • Sustainability as a subject of analysis • Sustainability as a prescription for individual and corporate behavior • Sustainability as a lens of inquiry: a way of looking at, evaluating, and solving problems. I argue that there are problems with the definitional approach itself and not just with any specific definition. Sustainable Development •Sustainable development is an apparently simple concept •But one that is surprisingly difficult to articulate •This is demonstrated well by the research of Sara Parkins back in the year 2000 •She found that there were over 200 definitions of sustainability… 2. 2 a: of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged b: of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods 1 : capable of being sustained. Thus ‘sustainable Sustainable Development: Definitions, Principles, Policies Herman E. Daly School of Public Affairs University of Maryland (hd22@umail.umd.edu) Introduction—I begin by considering two competing definitions of sustainability (utility-based versus throughput-based), and offer reasons for rejecting the former and accepting the latter. 1.1 Sustainability Definitions. Various disciplines may apply this term differently. Environmental Sustainability: A Definition for Environmental Professionals 3 In “Social Sustainability: towards some definitions,” McKenzie identifies several attempts to define social sustainability and concludes it generally to be, “a positive condition within communities, and a process within communities that can achieve that One result was that words such as “sustainability” and “sustainable” became common buzzwords—motherhood-and-apple-pie concepts The discussion of sustainable development has frequently proved confusing. Definitions of sustainability—and criticisms of the definitions—abound. It also acknowledges that human civilisation takes resources to sustain our modern way of life (1) . Overlapping and conflicting definitions rapidly proliferated. Merriam-Webster On-line Dictionary. However, sustainability proved a remarkably difficult concept to define and use precisely. The definition of “sustainability” is the study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance. Sustainability: definitions Some definitions: Sustainable development (WCED, 1987) "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” Elkington (1999): Triple P (planet, people, profit) “Finding a balance between economic prosperity, Definitions of Sustainability from the Literature (Compiled by Annie Pearce and Leslie Walrath) Definition Source Key Issues "We came to see that a new development path was required, one that sustained human progress not just in a few places for a few years, but for the entire planet into the distant future. Sustainability as a Term. Definition One. The term sustainability has a multidisciplinary use and meaning. 1 Student Perceptions and Definitions of Sustainability Introduction “Sustainability emerges on our campuses as a set of principles and examples, a work in progress that can be advanced only through participation and engagement in bringing those principles into the rhythm of day-to-day life sustainability of its administrative and operational choices. In dictionaries, sustainability is typically described by many sources as a capability of a system to endure and maintain itself. For the past two years an inter-agency initiative to advance environmental and social sustainability in the United Nations System has been exploring this issue, under the guidance of the Environmental Management Group.