Sustainable development – what it represents and what is your role, as a consumer, to the achievement of SDGs?

Introduction

Natural resource crises and climate change (observable, for example, through the visible increase in extreme natural events), as well as the increase of social inequity, have led to increasingly numerous debates worldwide on the need to replace the traditional development model with one that considers, in addition to economic growth, aspects related to social well-being and environmental protection. In this conditions, sustainable development emerged and it has three pillars: economic, social and the natural environment.

Thus, in this article, we will try to capture how and why sustainable development appeared, what are the main definitions and public policies in the field, what can I do as an individual to contribute to ensuring sustainable development and where can I find useful information in the this field.

• How the model of sustainable development appeared?

The notion of sustainability began to take root since the time of Aristotle. Around 1960s, it consolidated in the USA with the development of the green movement (UN, 2012; Zaharia, 2018: p.19). Then, in 1972, the word “sustainable”, as we know it today, was first mentioned in the Report of the Club of Rome, which highlighted the fact that economic growth was based on the significant and rapid use of energy resources (Meadows et al., 1972; Zaharia, 2018: p.19-20). Thus, at that time, an alarm signal was raised based on global scientific evidences that the current development model cannot support, on the one hand, the economic growth from that time and, on the other hand, the population growth in a fast pace globally.

Although “sustainable development” was first used in the “World Conservation Strategy” (IUCN, 1980; Zaharia, 2018), referring only to the natural environment pillar, Brundtland et al. (1987) proposed the first generalist definition of sustainable development, which is still valid and used today, in a study that was supported by the United Nations (UN). However, starting from this moment, its definitions multiplied and became more and more specific, based on the appearance of numerous criticisms from scientists and representatives of various NGOs in the field. For example, equity, local consumption and sustainability reporting are topics that appear more and more often in the discourses on sustainable development, not only of politicians, scientific researchers and representatives of non-governmental organizations, but also in those of companies and individuals in various offline or online platforms. At the same time, the rethinking of the definition of sustainable development was also requested by the lack of knowledge and understanding of the concept, as well as the need to consider elements related to equity, proximity in consumption, and other elements of our social well-being, which are not considered in the classic definition (Zaharia et al., 2021).

• Sustainability and sustainable development – definitions

To understand the basic concepts in the field, we need to differentiate between renewable and non-renewable resources or sources. In the case of non-renewable resources, such as soil, water in certain situations, or natural gas, depletion of stocks or loss of environmental quality can be combated either by preventing, stopping or reducing consumption, either by technological progress and innovation (Pearce et al., 1989: 37; Zacharia, 2018). In the case of renewable resources or sources (for example, wind, tide), which appear to be unlimited, their consumption at a fast pace and in a large amount, can lead to the impossibility of restoring the resources according to the rate of consumption. Thus, the need arose to evaluate the ability of the environment to support our development through, for example, the carbon footprint.

In this context, “sustainability is a necessary and sufficient condition for a population to be at/below any carrying capacity” (Daily & Ehrlich, 1992). Although, nowadays, sustainability is confused with the concept of sustainable development, originally, it mainly referred to the environmental pillar of sustainable development.

Today, the most general and well-known definition of sustainable development is the one proposed by Brundtland et al. (1987): “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. This was complemented, over time, by other definitions, such as Soubbotina’s proposal (2004, pp.9-10), which presented it as “equitable and balanced” and “equality of opportunity for well-being”. Another example is the definition of Turner (2005), who considered it “a notion of integration beyond economic, social and environmental concerns…”.

Thus, at the individual level, it is important to remember that although there is no universally accepted definition of sustainable development, when we talk about this issue we must consider economic, social and environmental aspects equally. Thus, let’s think about what impact we have on the natural environment, how an action of ours can affect the health and general well-being of both us and others, how we could manage our money better so that we live better and so on.

• Why did sustainable development emerge?

Numerous people (Meadows et al., 1972; IUCN, 1980; Brundtland et al., 1987; Pearce et al., 1989; Soubbotina, 2004; Zaharia, 2018) drew and still draw attention to the main causes that led to the need to have a sustainable development, among which we mention:

• The rapid growth of the population, which led to the increase in the consumption of goods and waste of any kind;
• The degradation of the natural environment, the depletion of natural resources and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change;
• Biodiversity loss caused by intensive agriculture, species extinction and global warming;
• Economic crises, negative effects of globalization, inequitable distribution of wealth and gaps in development.

These are just a few of the great challenges facing global society today. These must be kept in mind whenever we make daily choices in order to raise awareness, understand and motivate us to find the answer to the question: what should we act differently?.

• Which are the main public policies related with sustainable development?

In the following, some strategic milestones are presented, which support sustainable development proposed at the global (UN, 2024), European (European Commission, 2024), and national (Guvernul României, 2024) levels:

• Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030
• The European Green Deal
• A Strong Social Europe For Just Transitions
• EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030
• A Farm to Fork Strategy
• A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe
• National strategies on sustainable development, such as: The național stratedy for sustainable development of Romania 20230

• How can I contribute, as a consumer, to ensure sustainable development?

There are numerous solutions proposed both by organizations in the field and by researchers, among which are:

• Personal lifestyle awareness using questions such as:
• What are the goods (products and services) that I buy monthly?
• How do I manage and plan my budget?
• What do I do for the community in which I live?
• Is there a balance between professional and personal life?
• What do I do to stay in good health? Etc.
• Informing and educating about what sustainable development entails, through simple actions such as, for example, reading the information on product packaging;
• Paying more attention to the garbage and the waste generated: although recycling is highly promoted in recent years, we must remember that prevention is the most sustainable option, followed by reuse and then recycling. Prevention can be achieved by: planning purchases in such a way as to eliminate waste of goods, giving a period of thinking about a purchase, using as much of the purchased good as possible and for as long as possible, emphasizing quality and the provenance of a certain good, etc. Also, if there is still waste, it would be good to first reuse it for another purpose or donate it to others who find a use for it.
• Consumption of local products and services, which means, on the one hand, buying goods from local producers (locally means from those in the area where you live in) and, on the other hand, buying goods from the proximity of your personal home or of the workplace;
• Reducing individual transport as much as possible and predominantly using public transport. Also, in the case of transport, it is preferable to use non-motorized vehicles: a simple classic bicycle. In addition to the fact that it contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it gives us extra health and it even helps us to reduce our monthly expenses.
• In the food field, ensuring the need for food not only from a caloric point of view but also from a nutritional point of view, where we also consider the provenance, proximity, packaging, traceability and effective usefulness of the purchased food, reducing meat consumption and food waste (Zaharia et al., 2021). In this case, researchers from Harvard University (2005) propose two useful tools – Helathy eating pyramid healthy eating pyramid and healthy eating plate.
• Reducing the consumption of water, electricity, natural gas, wood, etc. used in the household, but also at the workplace.

Online calculators that generate carbon footprints and other types of assessment at the individual level, but also at the organizational level, can be a useful tool in the awareness and analysis of our lifestyle. Thus, you can calculate your ecological footprint on the Global Footprint Netwoork’s website and the carbon footprint in Romanian language on the website of Coaliția pentru Economie Circulară.

• If I want to know more about sustainable development, where can I find information?

1. Organizations that propose strategic directions in the field of sustainable development, such as: United Nations, International Institute for Sustainable Development, European Commission, Romanian Government through the Department for Sustainable Development, Ministerul Mediului, and other public institutions adjacent and subordinate to it.
2. International and national databases reporting statistics or legislation in the field of sustainable development, such as: UNSTATS – SDGs, Eurostat – sustainable development indicators, EUR-Lex, the World Bank, institute statistice naționale.
3. Digital online learning platforms such as: Coursera (for example, the courses offered by Columbia University, University of Michigan, University of Copenhagen, Lund University și Lund University), Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, edX, TedTalks.
4. Companies that make sustainability reports or that are listed on the stock exchange in different fields of activity (which can be easily identified by a simple search on google.com like „sustainability reporting”).

In this case, an important resource is the European Union Directive on sustainability reporting by companies – Directive (EU) 2022/2464.

5. Non-profit organisations: World Association for Sustainable Development (WASD), International Society for Development and Sustainability (ISDS), Asociația Română pentru Dezvoltare Locală Durabilă, Asociația pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă în Educație, Ambasada Sustenabilității în România și Fundația Sustenabilității.
6. Universities and research institutes (eg. Bucharest University of Economic Studies, by its Faculty of Agrifood and Environmental Economics, who organizes the master courses “Sustainable Development of Businesses and Economic Organizations”).
7. Events organized in public-private partnerships and more, such as: Climate Week NYC or UN conferences in the field, which offers opportunities for events in which you can participate online for free.

Conclusion:

Finally, we must bear in mind that the planet has limited space and limited resources, especially considering today’s global rate of consumption. This aspect leads over time to the depletion of natural resources, to the degradation of the natural environment – which is the support of our lives -, to the increase of prices and to the deterioration of our well-being. Specifically, if we continue in our current style of consumption, we will actually contribute to the deterioration of our health and lifestyle in general.

Thus, by contributing to ensuring the objectives of sustainable development through responsible consumption of goods, by reading the information on the packaging, by supporting the local community in which we are a part of, and by making conscious choices in our everyday life, then we will certainly help ourselves to live better, healthier and longer.

Bibliography:

Brundtland, G., Khalid, M., Agnelli, S., Al-Athel, S., Chidzero, B., Fadika, L., Hauff, V., Lang, I., Shijun, M., Morino de Botero, Okita, S., M., Singh, M. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. (\’Brundtland report\’). UN Documents: Gathering a Body of Global Agreements. Disponibil online la: http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf. (accesat la 12.02.2016)

Daily, G. C., & Ehrlich, P. R. (1992). Population, sustainability, and Earth’s carrying capacity. BioScience, 42 (10), 761-771.

European Commission (2024). European Union law. Accessed in July 2024 at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html.

Guvernul României (2024). Strategia națională pentru dezvoltarea durabilă a României 2030, Departamentul pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă. Accesat în Iulie 2024 la https://dezvoltaredurabila.gov.ro/strategia-nationala-pentru-dezvoltarea-durabila-a-romaniei-2030-i

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UN (2024). Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Accessed in July 2024 at https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

UN (2012). United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio + 20. Road to Rio. Disponibil online la: https://rio20.un.org/resolutions-more. (accesat la 16.11.2015)

Zaharia, A., Diaconeasa, M. C., Maehle, N., Szolnoki, G., & Capitello, R. (2021). Developing sustainable food systems in Europe: national policies and stakeholder perspectives in a four-country analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), 7701.

Zaharia, Alina (2018). Politici energetice și dezvoltarea durabilă, București: Editura ASE.

Author :

Alina Zaharia

Lecturer at the Faculty of Agrifood and Environmental Economics , Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

InfoCons – European Organization for Consumer Protection and Promotion of Programs and Strategies , a full member of the World Organization Consumers International , founding member of the Federation of Consumer Associations , and member of ANEC .