About Sustainability
The purpose of this webpage is to introduce and provide links to useful sustainability information and resources.
The links below lead you to Northern Territory Government initiatives as well as other interesting and useful sites. The views expressed in the linked websites should not be considered to be the views of the Northern Territory Government.
What is Sustainability
The concept of sustainability has been debated and given many definitions over recent years. The Oxford Dictionary defines sustainable as ‘to keep in existence; or maintain’.
From an ecological point of view and in practical terms, sustainability involves using precious resources wisely, finding better ways of doing things to conserve resources, such as using renewable technologies, and minimising or eliminating environment impact.
In reality ecological sustainability is not achievable without considering social and economic sustainability as well. For example if ecologically sustainable business practices were not economically feasible then businesses would not consider them, and if ecologically friendly lifestyle choices were not socially acceptable then society would not take them up.
Sustainable development is one component of moving towards the big picture of sustainability. One of the most popular definitions, from the Brundtland Report Our Common Future, states:
'Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.'
Australian governments adopted the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development in 1992, defining it as:
“a pattern of development that improves the total quality of life, both now and in the future, in a way that preserves the ecological processes on which life depends”
The principles of sustainability can be applied to business and give an indication of business success by considering environmental and social performance as well as economic performance. Triple Bottom Line decision making is one means of doing this and requires consideration of economic, environmental and social performance information in decision making. Triple bottom line reporting or accounting is often used by companies to express their performance.
Eco efficiency is another concept closely related to sustainability and means doing more with less and minimising environmental impacts.
The views expressed in the linked websites should not be considered to be the views of the Northern Territory Government.
