Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is the ability to maintain an ecological balance in our planet’s natural environment and conserve natural resources to support the wellbeing of current and future generations.
Environmental sustainability is about ecological balance. For nearly two millennia, humans have been carbonizing our planet, which has contributed to global climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, it is undeniable that human actions have impacted the planet, resulting in the warming of the atmosphere, ocean, and land.
As we continue to see the negative impacts of climate change, an increasing number of governments, organizations, and individuals are embracing and promoting environmental sustainability. These various groups are working towards the lofty goal of decarbonizing our world to protect our global ecosystems for the sake of future generations.
The three pillars of sustainability
Sustainability is about meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. There are three main pillars of sustainability that many organizations strive to achieve:-
Social sustainability: For businesses, social sustainability includes important workplace and employee issues like health and safety, inclusion, empowerment, professional development opportunities, and work-life balance.
Economic sustainability: While it may seem like this pillar is focused on an organization’s ability to remain profitable throughout its lifetime, economic sustainability isn’t just about money.
Environmental sustainability: This pillar is all about protecting the environment for future generations. Environmentally sustainable organizations take steps to enhance efficiencies, reduce resource consumption and waste, and measure and monitor carbon emissions across the entire supply chain.
Environmental sustainability is important for the wellbeing of current and future generations. Climate change presents a variety of complex environmental, social, and economic challenges for countries across the globe.