What is Sustainability?

The Department of Sustainability and Environment has a neat definition of sustainability on their website:

Sustainability means managing our development so that we don't limit the options of future generations.  It's about:

• doing more with less

• making sure we don't leave the cupboard bare

• being proud of what we leave behind

 
So what might that look like?  

 
Well Former Chief Economist for the Word Bank, Herman E. Daly, does a good job of laying out a road map:

 
1. Renewable resources such as fish, soil, and groundwater must be used no faster than the rate at which they regenerate.

 
2. Nonrenewable resources such as minerals and fossil fuels must be used no faster than renewable substitutes for them can be put into place.

 
3. Pollution and wastes must be emitted no faster than natural systems can absorb them, recycle them, or render them harmless.