What is sustainable development?

Sustainable means ‘‘the ability to keep going overtime’

Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of

the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.

Sustainable development means growth must be accomplished with respect to nature

and humankind.

Sustainable development is principle for meeting human development goals while at

the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources
and ecosystem services based upon the economy and society . The desired result is a
state of society where living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet
human needs without undermining the stability of the natural system.

What is the GDB tool and how it is related to economic growth and sustainable
development?

Gross domestic production (GDB): It is the monetary value of all the finished goods
and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period and includes
anything produced by the country's citizens and foreigners within its borders.

Economic development is not a blessing for human beings. No doubt, it brings higher
material welfare by increasing national output of goods and services and on the other
hand it pollutes the environment badly by overuse and misuse of natural resources.
For example, soil erosion and air and water pollution etc. may exceed the
benefits of having more output of goods and services.

Now the basic question is how economic development can exist so that development
can be sustained for generations. That is why ‘sustainable development’ has come into
discussion.

Sustainable development means the development which should keep going. Ordinarily
speaking, it is a situation in which economic development does not decrease over time,
Sustainable development is the development that is everlasting. Sustainable
development is a process in which natural resource base is not allowed to decay.

Relationship between Environment and Sustainable Development:

(a) Sustainable development minimizes environmental degradation. As development

involves some disturbances in our environment, sustainable development has to be
understood as a tool to minimize the rate of environmental degradation.
(b) Environment is one of the dimension of sustainable development. Sustainable
development is one which raises national and per capita income by keeping the
environmental damage within a tolerable limit so that the future generation will get equal
benefits in terms of output and congenial environment.

Objective of Sustainable Development:

The following are the main objectives:
(i) Sustainable improvements:
Sustainable development aims at creating sustainable improvements in the quality of
life of all people.

(ii) Increase in economic growth:

Sustainable development aims at increasing the economic growth through meeting

basic needs i.e. raising the standard of living.

(iii) Public participation:

Sustainable development aims at public participation to keep the environment clean.

(iv) Maintenance of environmental resources:

Sustainable development aims at maintenance of natural and environmental resources

along with economic development.

GDB is affected by several conditions such as environmental / social / political

and economic conditions of the country.

Sustainability increase over a period of time and continuously change over a

certain period.

Theoretically (in books) sustainability means requiring 25 years of sustainability

to maintain development.

How can sustainable development be maintained?

 Stable economy
 Renewable energy
 Technology
 Political energy
  Protect over environment
 Equal distribution of wealth

If new science is introduced, new technology and environmental changes occurs

sustainable development is not static.

Two sides of sustainable development

A decent life for newly increasing population in terms of education, health care, reduce
poverty, housing and equal distribution of wealth.

A decent society to keep going over a long period of time, for example by educating
people the result will be
 Chance to have employment
 Avoid terrorism
 Will take action against natural disasters
 Clean water
 Protect environment

Factors affecting economic growth

Cant predict the future

Economic political and social factors

Natural disasters and wars

Distribution of wealth

What Is the Triple Bottom Line (TBL)?

 The triple bottom line aims to measure the financial, social, and environmental
performance of a company over time.
 The TBL consists of three elements: profit, people, and the planet.
  TBL theory holds that if a firm looks at profits only, ignoring people and the
planet, it cannot account for the full cost of doing business.

Businesses need to clearly communicate the positive and measurable impact that they
have on all the stakeholders impacted by their operations.

Triple bottom line (TBL) reporting, also known as sustainability reporting, has emerged
as the primary vehicle to communicate this information from businesses to
stakeholders. This type of reporting goes beyond profit (financial) information and
discloses the planet (environmental) and people (social) impact of a business.
Sustainability reporting is a tool to communicate to society the actions a company is
undertaking to fulfill its broad responsibilities to society.

The triple bottom line (TBL) is a framework or theory that recommends that companies
commit to focus on social and environmental concerns just as they do on profits. The
TBL posits that instead of one bottom line, there should be three: profit, people, and the
planet. A TBL seeks to gauge a corporation's level of commitment to corporate social
responsibility and its impact on the environment over time.

In 1994, John Elkington—the famed British management consultant

and sustainability guru—coined the phrase "triple bottom line" as his way of measuring
performance in corporate America. The idea was that we can manage a company in a
way that not only earns financial profits but which also improves people’s lives and the
planet.

Moreover, the TBL tenet holds that if a company focuses on finances only and
does not examine how it interacts socially, that company cannot see the whole picture,
and thus cannot account for the full cost of doing business.

According to TBL theory, companies should be working simultaneously on these three

bottom lines:

1. Profit (the economic bottom line):

The traditional measure of corporate profit—the profit and loss (P&L) account. In
the original concept, within a sustainability framework, the "profit" aspect needs
to be seen as the real economic benefit enjoyed by the host society. It is the real
economic impact the organization has on its economic environment. This is often
confused to be limited to the internal profit made by a company or organization
(which nevertheless remains an essential starting point for the computation).
Therefore, an original TBL approach cannot be interpreted as simply traditional
 corporate accounting profit plus social and environmental impacts unless the
"profits" of other entities are included as a social benefit.

People (the social equity bottom line): Measures of how socially responsible an
organization has been throughout its operations. A TBL company conceives a
reciprocal social structure in which the well-being of corporate, labour and other
stakeholder interests are interdependent. An enterprise dedicated to the triple bottom
line seeks to provide benefit to many constituencies and not to exploit or endanger any
group of them. The "upstreaming" of a portion of profit from the marketing of finished
goods back to the original producer of raw materials, for example, a farmer in trade
agricultural practice, is a common feature. In concrete terms, a TBL business would not
use child labour and monitor all contracted companies for child labour exploitation,
would pay fair salaries to its workers, would maintain a safe work environment and
tolerable working hours, and would not otherwise exploit a community or its labour
force. A TBL business also typically seeks to "give back" by contributing to the strength
and growth of its community with such things as health care and education. Quantifying
this bottom line is relatively new, problematic and often subjective. The Global
Reporting Initiative(GRI) has developed guidelines to enable corporations
and NGOs alike to comparably report on the social impact of a business.

2.

3. The Planet ( the environment’s bottom line): Measures how environmentally

responsible a firm has been.

The planet, environmental bottom line, or natural capital bottom line refers to
sustainable environmental practices. A TBL company endeavors to benefit the natural
order as much as possible or at the least do no harm and minimize environmental
impact. A TBL endeavor reduces its ecological footprint by, among other things,
carefully managing its consumption of energy and non-renewables and reducing
manufacturing waste as well as rendering waste less toxic before disposing of it in a
safe and legal manner. Ecologically destructive practices, such as overfishing or other
endangering depletions of resources are avoided by TBL companies. Often
environmental sustainability is the most profitable course for a business in the long run.
Arguments that it costs more to be environmentally sound are often specious when the
course of the business is analyzed over a period.

By focusing on these three interrelated elements, triple-bottom-line reporting can be an

important tool to support a firm's sustainability goals.
Sustainable development 17 goals (SDGs):

The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global agenda, adopted by

countries in 2015, with a vision of ending poverty, protecting the planet and
ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Each of the 17 SDGs has specific targets to be achieved by 2030. The goals and
targets are universal, meaning they apply to all countries around the world, not just poor
countries. Reaching the goals requires action on all fronts – governments, businesses,
civil society and people everywhere all have a role to play.

GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 14: Life Below Water
GOAL 15: Life on Land
GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Sustainability in business:

A focus on sustainability (for private businesses) can be thought of as a management

strategy that helps businesses set goals and prioritize resource allocations.
Sustainability at the private business level can first be thought of primarily in terms of
financial sustainability—that is, the ability of private firms to generate profits and cash
flow to sustain business operations. For-profit businesses— first and foremost—must
focus on their economic bottom line. A company that earns a profit is providing a good
or service that is valued by society. Consumers and businesses do not pay for products
and services that do not provide them with value or benefits above the cost of the
product or service to them (or else they would not have made the free decision to
purchase that product or service). Therefore, at a basic level, if a business is profitable,
it is having a net positive social impact. This is assuming that business has no external
impact on the environment or society.

However, there are companies that are profitable in the short term that are having a
long-term net negative impact. For example, a lumber company that owns timber
reserves could harvest all its timber resources in one year, generating a significant profit
for that one year. However, if in doing this the company ignored the costs and losses
associated with destroying the forest and the ability of the forest to continue to produce
timber, then the net impact could be negative. By depleting the resource base of the
company, short-term gain can lead to long-term financial failure for the company. This
example highlights the need for sustainable thinking in business. For business to be.
sustainable in a financial sense, businesses must increasingly consider the longer term
and broader consequences of decisions.