A concise and accessible examination of sustainability in a range of
contemporary contexts, from economic development to government policy. The
word “sustainability” has been connected to everything from a certain kind
of economic development to corporate promises about improved supply
sourcing. But despite the apparent ubiquity of the term, the concept of
sustainability has come to mean a number of specific things. In this
accessible guide to the meanings of sustainability, Kent Portney describes
the evolution of the idea and examines its application in a variety of
contemporary contexts—from economic growth and consumption to government
policy and urban planning. Portney takes as his starting point the 1987
definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development of
sustainability as economic development activity that “meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.” At its heart, Portney explains, sustainability focuses on
the use and depletion of natural resources. It is not the same as
environmental protection or natural resource conservation; it is more about
finding some sort of steady state so that the earth can support both human
population and economic growth. Portney looks at political opposition to
the promotion of sustainability, which usually questions the need for
sustainability or calls its costs unacceptable; collective and individual
consumption of material goods and resources and to what extent they must be
curtailed to achieve sustainability; the role of the private sector, and
the co-opting of sustainability by corporations; government policy on
sustainability at the international, national, and subnational levels; and
how cities could become models for sustainability action.