Understanding Sustainable Development

What is Sustainable Development?

• Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
• It balances environmental, social, and economic needs.
• Unsustainable development can lead to financial crises and climate change.
• Environmental limits are a central principle, and ignoring them leads to climate change.
• Savings are possible through improved government efficiency, with over £60 million saved via SDC scrutiny in one instance.
• Health and transport benefits can be achieved by switching to walking or cycling.

Need and Importance of Sustainable Development

• Ensure future generations' needs are met without hindrance.
• Balance economic, social, and environmental objectives.
• Ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
• Improves social well-being and protects or enhances environmental quality.
• It's a long-term approach considering economic, social, and ecological interdependence.
• Essential due to escalating pressure on natural resources and the environment.
• Population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and globalization put immense pressure on resources.
• Depletion of resources results in environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change.
• Maintaining ecological balance and mitigating climate change are vital.
• Crucial for long-term business and economic prosperity.
• Sustainable practices increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer loyalty.
• Sustainable economic development creates jobs and promotes innovation.

Objectives of Sustainable Development

• Focused on addressing environmental, economic, and social challenges.
• Provides a framework for promoting sustainable economic growth for future generations.

Poverty Alleviation

• Aims to reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty.
• Sustainable economic growth is necessary through income generation and employment.
• Economic growth should be inclusive and benefit all members of society, especially those in poverty.
• Achievable through education, skills development, social protection programs, and targeted support.

Social Equity

• Involves reducing inequality and ensuring access to essential services.
• Reducing inequality and addressing the root causes of poverty and social exclusion are necessary.
• Policy interventions include targeted social programs, progressive taxation, and affirmative action.

Environmental Protection

• Focuses on the proper use of natural resources to keep them healthy for future generations.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving biodiversity, and managing natural resources are included.
• Minimizing the harmful effects of human activities is vital.
• Shifting to renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency, and implementing sustainable transportation are crucial.
• Conserving biodiversity involves protecting endangered species and preserving natural habitats.
• Effective natural resource management ensures long-term productivity and sustainability of resources.
• This benefits the planet's survival and future generations' well-being using sustainable practices and policies.

Economic Development

• Aims to promote economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable.
• It's necessary to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth that benefits everyone.
• This includes creating jobs, fostering entrepreneurship, and investing in infrastructure and innovation.
• Promoting fair trade and addressing economic inequality are also important.
• Requires responsible resource management, efficient use of resources, and reduced waste and pollution.
• Adopting sustainable production and consumption practices can promote circular economy models.
• Reduces reliance on fossil fuels which is vital for addressing social and environmental challenges.
• Enables a thriving economy that benefits everyone while protecting the planet.
• Economic development includes better literacy, infrastructure, and reduced poverty.
• Brings material welfare by increasing national output, but can pollute the environment by overusing resources.
• Depends on real factors like capital accumulation, technological progress, and improved labor force skills.
• Development aim is to expand capabilities and increase opportunities.
• Countries develop better social and political institutions and create more freedom.
• Higher participation in industrial production is involved.
• Exhibits a higher level of involvement in the international economy.

Effect of Economic Development

• Long-term improvement in overall material well-being.
• Covers social, cultural, political, and economic changes.
• Covers quantitative and qualitative changes
• Change in economic structure
• Introduction of new products and technologies.
• Emergence of new sectors and industries.
• Increase in job opportunities and improvement in infrastructure.
• Reduction in population size.
• Improvement in skills and efficiency.
• Increase in the rate of capital formation.
• Measured by life expectancy or real GDP per capita.

Sustainable Development

• Satisfies current needs while improving future generations' capabilities.
• Assures a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and social well-being for long-term sustainability.
• Makes sure economic development doesn't come at the expense of social and environmental well-being.
• Environmental, social, and economic aspects are considered during decision-making
• Requires preservation of natural resources, increased use of renewables, and environmentally safe technologies.
• Also requires framing and implementing policies for security and human justice.

Comparison of Economic and Sustainable Development

• Economic development is financial progress; Sustainable development ensures future generations can benefit.
• Sustainable Development present as well as future generations.
• Economic Development has no environmental protection focus; Sustainable Development does.
• Economic Development is used underdeveloped countries, Sustainable Development is used in both

Examples of Sustainable Development

• Renewable energy: Investing in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower can reduce reliance on fossil fuels, contributing to climate change.
• Sustainable agriculture: Sustainable goals improve soil health, reduce water usage, and reduce the need for harmful pesticides and fertilizers.
• Green buildings: Designing and constructing energy-efficient buildings using sustainable materials can reduce energy consumption, water usage, and waste.
• Sustainable transportation: Promoting the utilization of public transportation, walking, and cycling, and promoting the use of low-emission vehicles, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
• Waste reduction and recycling: Implementing waste reduction and recycling programs can reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserve resources, and reduce pollution.
• Conservation and protection of natural resources: Protecting natural resources such as forests, oceans, and waterways can preserve biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and provide essential ecosystem services.
• Sustainable tourism: Promoting sustainable tourism practices, such as responsible tourism and ecotourism, can benefit local communities, preserve cultural heritage, and reduce the negative impacts of tourism on the environment.

Goals of Sustainable Development

• Established a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve sustainable development objectives.
• The goals provide a framework for addressing the economic, environmental, and social challenges facing the world.
• There are 17 SDGs, each with specific targets to be achieved by 2030.

Individual SDGs

• Climate Action: Reduces greenhouse gas emissions and limits global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
• Sustainable Cities and Communities: Promotes sustainable urbanization by ensuring access to basic housing, transportation, and sanitation services.
• Affordable and Clean Energy: Promotes renewable energy sources that remains affordable.
• Responsible Consumption and Production: Promotes sustainable consumption patterns, reducing waste and promoting recycling.
• Quality Education: Ensures all children can get an education regardless of background.
• Gender Equality: Ensures that women and girls have equal access to education, employment, and political representation.

Achieving Sustainable Development

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Conserve natural resources.
• Promote inclusive economic growth.
• Address inequality.
• Invest in education.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

• UN Member States agreed to try to achieve the 8 goals by 2015.
• Globally, the number of deaths of children under 5 years of age fell from 12.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2013.
• In developing countries, the percentage of underweight children under 5 years old dropped from 28% in 1990 to 17% in 2013.
• Globally, new HIV infections declined by 38% between 2001 and 2013.
• Existing cases of tuberculosis are declining, along with deaths among HIV-negative tuberculosis cases.
• In 2010, the world met the United Nations Millennium Development Goals target on access to safe drinking-water.

Health-related MDG Progress

• Progress has been uneven, with some countries falling behind due to HIV/AIDS, hardship, or conflict.
• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  • Undernutrition is the cause of an estimated 45% deaths among children under 5 years of age.
  • The proportion of underweight children in developing countries has declined from 28% to 17% between 1990 and 2013.
• Goal 2: Reduce child mortality
  • In 2013, 6.3 million children under 5 died, compared with 12.7 million in 1990.
  • Under-5 mortality declined by 49% between 1990 and 2013.
• Goal 3: Improve maternal health
  • The rate of decline is less than half of what is needed to achieve the MDG target.
• Goal 4: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
  • In 2013 an estimated 2.1 million people were newly infected with HIV – down from 3.4 million in 2001.
  • About half the world's population is at risk of malaria, and an estimated 198 million cases in 2013 led to approximately 584 000 deaths – most of these in children under the age of 5 living in Africa.
  • The annual global number of new cases of tuberculosis has been slowly falling for a decade thus achieving MDG

Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

• Target meets the MDG's relating to drinking and sanitation.
• the number of people living in urban areas without access to improved sanitation is increasing because of rapid growth in the size of urban populations.

Global Partnership for Development

• Many people continue to face a scarcity of medicines in the public sector, forcing them to the private sector where prices can be substantially higher.
• WHO works with partners to support national efforts to achieve the health-related MDGs.

Paris Agreement

• Is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
• It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.
• It entered into force on 4 November 2016.
• Its goal is to hold
• Limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of this century.
• Greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 and decline 43% by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
• A binding agreement that all nations must combat climate change and adapt to its effects.
• The Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation, based on the best available science.
• The framework is financial, technical and capacity building support to countries that need it.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

• Countries submit their national climate action plans.
• Each successive NDC is meant to reflect an increasingly higher degree of ambition compared to the previous version.
• Parties to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in order to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2023
• Countries communicate actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
• Also communicate actions to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Long-Term Strategies

• The Paris Agreement invites countries to formulate and submit long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS).
• LT-LEDS provide the long-term horizon to the NDCs without being mandatory
• Reaffirms that developed nations should the lead provide financial aid.
• Climate finance is needed for mitigation and adaptation.

Technology

• It speaks of technology development and transfer, establishing a framework.
• Mechanism accelerates tech development and transfer through policies.

Capacity Building

• All nations are not able to deal with the challenges, the Paris Agreement places strong emphasis on climate- capacity-building for developing countries.
• Established the enhanced transparency for the report of support in climate change.
• Information is gathered and will feed into the Global stockate which will assess the progress towards the climate goals.
• By 2030, zero-carbon solutions are to be competitive representing over 70% of emissions.

What is Business Sustainability

• It is the management of environmental, social and financial concerns by a company
• Responsible, ethical and ongoing success is to be ensured
• Investment in socially responsible and ethical practices

Importance of Business Sustainability

• Businesses resolve environmental, social and economic challenges
• The external world and improves effectiveness
• Gains goodwill from customers
• Impact businesses by showing environmental, employee, investors and consumer appeal.

3 Pillars of Sustainability

• Environmental sustainability which companies are to focus on
• Social sustainability which focuses on corporate social responsibility
• Economic sustainability focuses on long-term business profitability and transparent practices.

How to Create Sustainable Business Strategy

• Need to address compliance requirements regarding waste management, pollution and energy efficiency.
• Align overall business strategy with sustainability.
• Quantify results and return on investment.
• Be proactive and anticipative.
• The strategy needs to be transparent.
• Collaborate with other organizations.

Challenges with Business Sustainability

• Data availability on business operations
• Shortage of tools and talents
• unified rules and governance frameworks
• planning for long-term
• risks with greenwashing attempts.

Examples of Business Sustainability Goals and Objectives

• The investment is made can lead to increased profitability
• Data center cooling
• Carbon offsetting
• Net-zero pledges
• Waste reduction
• Green supply chains

The Future of Business Sustainability

• Business sustainability is expected to continue
• monitor waste and emissions
• Blockchain technology increase supply chain
• More companies address concern for sustainable operations
• Show proving processes will increase
• It will be a business plan of action
• sustainability reports are being conducted by companies to improve how they operate.