What is Sustainability?
Sustainability Resources / Web Sites
Sustainability at Benchmark & Other Institutions
Sustainability is the concept of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It is progress toward a sustainable economy, society and environment (environment, equity and economy).
Sustainability can be described as each of us doing our part to build the kind of world—economically, environmentally and socially—that we want to live in, and one that we want our children and grandchildren to inherit. It means becoming aware of all interconnections—visible and invisible—in which our day-to-day choices affect the intricate balance of social, economic and ecological systems.
The United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) introduced the far-reaching implications of the term, “sustainable,” in their widely cited report, Our Common Future (1987):
“Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable—to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
Sustainability Resources / Web sites:
Redifining Progress - reducing your ecological footprint
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium
ACPA Sustainability Task Force
Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future
Green Planet Catering (Triangle Area of NC)
Ideal Bite - get your tip of the day
North Carolina Department of Administration Sustainability
NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources - Division of Pollution Prevention
Campus ERC: Environmental Resource Center for Higher Education
Students: Moving Out? Be sustainable!!
Change a Light, Change the World
Count Your Kilowatts and
join the Kilowatt Ours listserv
Play A Greater Part: Healthier Planet, Campuses, Communities & Economies
UNCW Environmental Concerns Organization
Sustainability at Benchmark and Other Institutions
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, final report
