Assessment 1 Develop workplace sustainability

Questions

What are the sustainability issues?
Unsustainable activities have led to changes in our environment, or have been identified as having the potential to lead to future changes. The types of changes that are occurring or are predicted to occur form the key issues for sustainability.

The following Table 1 provides a summary of the key issues. They are related to changes to the physical and cultural (being the way we live) environments, which in turn relate to the economic environment.

What does sustainability mean?

Every day we hear the term ‘sustainable’ or ‘sustainability’ being used to describe a large number of issues and news items. There is the ‘sustainable economy’, ‘sustainable agriculture’, ‘economically sustainable’, ‘the need to be sustainable’, ‘sustainable work practices’ and ‘sustainable water supply’ to name a few.

The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, is seen by many as one of the first global reports to address sustainable development. This report defined sustainable development as:

“…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Brundtland (1987)

National strategy for ecologically sustainable development

Sustainable Development is defined by the Australian Government’s
National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development as:

“…using, conserving and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be maintained.”

Commonwealth of Australia (1992)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) defines sustainable development in reference to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, spanning from