What is Sustainability?

Bruntland Report Definition

In 1987, The World Commission on Environment and Development published a report called, "Our Common Future". It was chaired by the Prime Minister of Norway, Mrs Gro Harlem Bruntland, and has become known as The Bruntland Report.

CIEC: What is Sustainability?

This link is to a very user friendly site developed by The Chemical Industry Education Centre (CIEC). It provides a basic definition of Sustainability being used by UK companies. It also provides a simple history of Sustainable Development along with some reference website links and related tools.

CIEC: A brief history of Sustainable Development

The following text provides a brief history of Sustainable Development. It was prepared by The Chemical Industry Education Centre (CIEC). This and more introductory materials and tools are available through their website link.

Our Common Future

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), which had been set up in 1983, published a report entitled «Our common future». The document came to be known as The Brundtland Report after the Commission's chairwomen Gro Harlem Brundtland. It developed the guiding principles for sustainable development as it is generally understood today. While this is a long document, the Chairman's Forward (pp 11-17) and summary sections provide a baseline perspective on this topic that is extremely valuable.

Definitions of Sustainable Development

These definitions were offered by the Smart Communities Network. See their website for additional Smart Community Resources.