Section outline

  • Sustainability can have a variety of meanings, depending on the context it is used, and broadly relates to the capacity for something to endure. When we talk specifically about environmental sustainability, we mean “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance” (Oxford Languages).

    We rely on a healthy planet for our very existence; but we are seeing changes to that healthy balance due to increased concentration of carbon emissions in the atmosphere, use of synthetic chemicals, changes to land use, to name just a few. The more the environment around us is degraded, the greater the risk that more species will become extinct, it will become more difficult to live in certain areas, and some places could become uninhabitable. Climate change is an existential threat – but we very much have the power to turn things around and create a flourishing planet.

    Sustainable Development – is the concept that we can continue to develop, without doing harm. It is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, agreed in 1987 through the Bruntland Commission Report.


    Watch this video (4:28) to learn more.




    At the University of Essex, we’re taking it seriously how important it is to play our part in reducing environmental harm. We are working hard to make sure that it is embedded in what we do, and how we do it. Sustainability isn’t a sector, or a separate issue to others; it is intrinsically linked to everything that we all do, from what we eat and the clothes we wear, to the services we use and the ways we travel. The following sections introduce some of the key aspects of sustainability, and sustainable development, with the aim of helping you to make more informed choices.

     

    To learn more about what the University of Essex is doing on sustainability, visit our website.



    • How informed do you feel? Choice


      This Moodle course is designed to give you an overview of sustainability and sustainable development; while not comprehensive we hope that you will finish it feeling more informed about what you can do to make a difference. Right now, how informed do you feel about Sustainability and the climate crisis?