Sustainability Timeline PDF

TIMELINE Sustainability Management 1 1713 - Carl von Carlowitz He was a buisness man, he owned a silver mi...

TIMELINE Sustainability Management 1 1713 - Carl von Carlowitz He was a buisness man, he owned a silver mine in the Saxony. He first promoted the idea of Yield principle, harvest not bigger than rate of regeneration. 1798 - Thomas Malthus 2 Thomas Robert Malthus's Essay on Population, first published in 1798, explores the relationship between population growth and resources, arguing that population tends to grow exponentially while resources grow at an arithmetic (linear) rate. This mismatch, Malthus contended, would inevitably lead to overpopulation, scarcity, and societal challenges unless checked by natural or human-made constraints. 3 1848 - Jhon Stuart Mill Jhon Stuart Mill, regarded as the greatest English philosopher of his time, published „Principles of political Economy”, where he devoted a chapter to the idea of „stationary state economy“, to a not growing economy. Profits and economic growth would decline over time as the limits to the productivity of land were reached. 1865 - William Jevons 4 William Jevons was an economist, he published the book „the coal question“. He was the first to apply Malthus's ideas about the exponential growth. He argued that due to the exponential growth in energy consumption, Britain`s coal reserves would in the 20th century become scarcer and too expensive to compete with those from abroad 5 1952 - Spaceship Earth Kenneth Boulding in his essay explained that in previous human history, the human activities were tiny compared to the enviroment and there was always a place to put our waste. Now the human took over and there is no "out there" left, so we must take into consideration recycling and waste management. He compared the Earth to a spaceship where resources must be managed carefully (inspired by a picture of Earth from space). 1956 - Peak Oil 6 Hubbert was a Shell geologist who in 1956 predicted that US resources would peak between 1965 and 1970. He based this prediction with observing the bell-shaped curve of production from an oil field, rising over the years, peaking about when half of the available oil had been extracted and than declining.  TIMELINE Sustainability Management 7 1962 - Silent Spring Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) is a groundbreaking environmental science book that played a pivotal role in raising awareness about the dangers of pesticides and the environmental harm caused by human activity. 1968 - Population Bomb 8 Ehrlich argues that rapid population growth, particularly in developing countries, would outstrip the planet’s resources, leading to famine, environmental degradation, and social collapse. 9 1970 - First Earth day The first Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, 1970, was a landmark event to raise awareness about environmental issues like pollution, deforestation, and resource depletion. Organized by Senator Gaylord Nelson and activist Denis Hayes, it united 20 million Americans in rallies, teach-ins, and protests, sparking the modern environmental movement and leading to key legislation like the Clean Air Act and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 1972 - Limits to growth 10 The Limits to Growth (1972), published by the Club of Rome and authored by Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III, is a landmark study on the potential consequences of exponential population and economic growth in a finite world. It uses computer modeling to analyze the interactions between population, industrialization, food production, 1987 - Brundtland Report resource depletion, and pollution. It was prepared for the United Nations by a World Commissionon Environment and Development headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland. It was 11 published in 1987 under the title Our Common Future and definied the term „Sustainability Development“ as „meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generation to meet their own needs“. The report argued that sustainable use of the planet’s non-human ‘resources’ cannot be separated from the ongoing need to radically reduce global poverty; i.e. sustainability is about both environment and society  TIMELINE Sustainability Management 12 1990 - Vienna Socio Ecology Founded around 1990, is a critical approach to understanding the relationship between society and the environment, particularly the ways in which human systems interact with ecological systems. It emerged as part of the broader development of socio-ecological thinking, which seeks to integrate social, cultural, and economic dimensions into environmental research and policy. 1992 - Rio Earth Summit 13 The most obvious direct consequence of the Brundtland Commission’s work was that in 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), often called the Earth Summit, took place in Rio de Janeiro. Such a conference had been one of the concrete proposals made in the Brundtland report. UNCED was the largest international conference held up to that time, including over a hundred heads of government 14 1994 - Triple bottom line Is a model made by Jhon Elkginton that suggests that any economic development must not only satisfy the economic bottom line of profitability, but also demonstrate that can be at least cost-neutral when it comes to enviromental and social impact 1997 - Kyoto protocoll 15 is an international treaty adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It legally binds participating industrialized countries to emission reduction targets, an overall 5,2% recognizing their greater responsibility due to historical emissions. It also introduced the first 3 market mechanism to help countries achieve their goals: 2000 - MDG’S Emissions Trading, CDM (clean The Millennium Development development mechanism, JI (Joint Goals (MDGs), adopted in 2000 implementation). by the United Nations, were eight global goals aimed at addressing major development 16 challenges by 2015. They focused on reducing poverty, improving education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and fostering global partnerships. They were only addressed to developed countries.  TIMELINE Sustainability Management 17 2015 - SDG’S The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Comprising 17 Goals and 169 Targets to 193 Countries. They differ from the MDG's because this time both developed and developing countries are partecipating. 2015 - Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement is a landmark international 18 treaty adopted in December 2015 during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris. Its primary goal is to combat climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre- industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to cap it at 1.5°C. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement includes commitments from both developed and developing countries 19 2024 - EU Green deal The EU Green Deal, launched in 2019 and signed in 2024, is the European Union's roadmap to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. It aims to transform the EU into a sustainable, circular economy by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting clean energy, and preserving biodiversity. Key initiatives include: Carbon neutrality by 2050. A 55% emissions reduction target by 2030 (fit for 55) Investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Green finance to support sustainable projects. Transition strategies for industries and regions heavily reliant on fossil fuels.