Three dimensions of sustainability

-By Rakshita Bhatt

Sustainable development is more than just caring about the

environment, or generating money through economic growth.

It is the intersection of three pillars:

 Environment: The environment pillar of sustainable

development is crucial; once we understand that the
resources that the planet offers are finite it becomes clear
that current methods of consumption are using up more resources than the planet can
afford.
 Economic : The economic pillar is often made to be the strongest or even the only pillar in
“development”. To ensure economic development and sustainability at the same time, we
need to look at issues such as:
1)Fair trade
Putting in place mechanisms which ensure that everyone gets their due reward
That corporations, industries and governments or Industries do not use up resources and
put a strain on the environment.
We need mechanisms to “measure” sustainable development. This is why indicators are
used. One of the current issues is that the indicator used, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is
not appropriate for measuring sustainable development. Firstly, it is based on money.
Secondly, using GDP as measure does not reflect social inequality or resource
overexploitation.
 Society. Health, education, peace, Food security, technology and communication, equal
opportunities etc comes under social dimention. Also everyone should be equal, and not be
discriminated against because they do not have the same resources or wealth as others, or
because they are a girl or belong to a specific community etc.

However, when society, economy and environment are viewed as separate, unrelated parts of a
community, the community's problems are also viewed as isolated issues. Economic development
councils try to create more jobs. Social needs are addressed by health care services and housing
authorities. Environmental agencies try to prevent and correct pollution problems. This piecemeal
approach can have a number of bad side-effects:

1] Solutions to one problem can make another problem worse. Creating affordable housing is a good
thing, but when that housing is built in areas far from workplaces, the result is increased traffic and
the pollution that comes with it.

2] Piecemeal solutions tend to create opposing groups. How often have you heard the argument 'If
the environmentalists win, the economy will suffer,' and its opposing view 'If business has its way,
the environment will be destroyed.

3] Piecemeal solutions tend to focus on short-term benefits without monitoring long-term results.
The pesticide DDT seemed like a good solution to insect pests at the time, but the long-term results
were devastating.

Rather than a piecemeal approach, what we need is a view

of the community that takes into account the links between
the economy, the environment and the society. The following figure is frequently used to show
the connections:

Another representation of sustainability showing how both

economy and society are constrained by environmental
limits.

Hence,

These pillars are Interdependent and mutually reinforcing.

(The United Nations, 2005 World Summit)