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The Importance of Sustainability for Present and Future Generations

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The Importance of Sustainability for Present and Future Generations
Sara Goldstein
Southern Connecticut State University

Sustainability as an ecological idea has been around for quite a while. It hasn’t been until recently, however, that it has been applied to other areas as well. The concept does not just refer to how the environment stays productive and healthy, but also how our economic and social systems should as well. But what exactly is sustainability? Perry and Eweje (2011) explain in their book, Business and Sustainability: Concepts, Strategies and Changes, “Sustainability consists of actions that extend the socially useful life of organizations, enhance the planet’s ability to maintain and renew the biosphere and protect all living species, enhance society’s ability to solve its major problems, and maintain a decent level of welfare and personal freedom for, present and future generations of humanity” (p. 9). This is a very loaded definition of the word, but to put it simply, sustainability refers to the actions that humans can take that will ensure the health and wellness of our economic, social, and environmental communities.
At such a tumultuous time in human history, achieving sustainability has never been more difficult, or more necessary. Our carbon emissions are destroying the planet, many people around the world live and work in unjust environments, and economic troubles have affected billions of people. There are ways to fix these problems, however. Not any one organization or government is responsible for this shift, we all have a duty to create sustainable systems that will ensure our own and future humanity’s survival and prosperity. In this paper, I will be discussing the three main pillars of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) and how they relate to me as an individual, the business sector, and the world as a whole.

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