Sustainable development – why is it so important?

What is sustainable development?

Most people intuitively associate the concept of sustainable development with environmental protection. This is not a mistake, but just an oversimplification. In fact, it means a balance between the three factors of civilization progress: social, economic and environmental.

According to the most popular definition, sustainable development is a way of managing our planet so that the welfare of modern people does not mean limiting the degree of meeting the needs of future generations. Colloquially speaking, the Earth that we leave to our children should be at least in the same state as when we received it from our ancestors.

It is worth emphasising that thinking about the future does not have to mean sacrifices or limitations in the present. The aim of sustainable development is to manage the available resources in such a way that the needs of modern society are fully satisfied. Is it even possible?

A brief history of the idea

The inspiration for the concept of sustainable development was forest management. Humans have been needing wood for thousands of years and exploiting it extensively. At some point, however, they realised that the key to survival is setting such a pace of logging and planting that the forest always has a chance to regenerate.

In a global context, sustainable development first appeared in 1987 as part of the G. Bruntland report “Our Common Future”, presented to the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Being a revolutionary and clearly needed idea, it also dominated the course of the 1992 UN conference, commonly known as the Rio Earth Summit. Its fruit was the famous Agenda 21 document, which formulated the basic guidelines for the implementation of sustainable development in the world, especially in the context of local life.

Over the next two decades, the topic only gained relevance and importance. At the 2002 Johannesburg Summit, known as “Rio 10+”, a partnership plan was prepared in order to achieve development goals. Ten years later, again in Rio (“Rio 20+”), UN representatives focussed on the institutional framework and the so-called green economy.

The principle of sustainable development was also included in the binding Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. According to article 5, it is to guide the actions of the State, ensuring appropriate environmental protection.

Goals of diversified development

Even the most beautiful ideas mean little if they are not reflected in actions. Therefore, the latest UN document, known as the 2030 Agenda, formulates 17 real and specific goals to be achieved as part of the sustainable development policy. They concern key issues such as:

• reducing the level of poverty, hunger and promoting health prosperity;
• providing access to education and gender equality;
• sustainable water and energy management;
• supporting economic development and reducing unemployment;
• improving safety in cities;
• counteracting climate change and water pollution.

Each of the aforementioned objectives includes a detailed implementation plan with postulates regarding the expected results in 2030. They include detailed guidelines, such as reducing the level of waste generation and restoring degraded areas. Other parts also include, inter alia, limiting illegal financial flows and putting an end to poaching and trade in protected species of plants and animals.

A very important aspect of the contemporary sustainable development implementation plan is global partnership. The signatories of the 2030 Agenda undertake to provide financial development aid, transfer of environmentally friendly technologies, as well as to promote open and fair trade.

Sustainable development in the chemical industry

The chemical industry was one of the first in the world to start to base its business on introducing reliable and solid principles of sustainable development. Clean and safe technologies, modern environmental programs and product certification are only some of the actions taken to bring chemistry closer to ecology. Starting from adapting to local and international standards, through individual strategies, companies such as the PCC Group are implementing more and more environmental aspects into the operating plans.

Entering the “green revolution”, the PCC Group defined a number of important aspects of sustainable production that it implements at its installations of chemical products. Among them, we can mention the reduction of waste production, limitation of the use of harmful substances, and the use of energy-efficient production technologies and energy from renewable sources. The PCC Group’s offer also includes a whole range of ecological products that were created in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, among which we can particularly distinguish the PCC Greenline® products.

Can individuals have an influence on sustainable development?

All of the above-mentioned goals and guidelines clearly relate to the activities of governments and international organisations. Can the choices and habits of an individual have any significance for sustainable development? As it turns out, they can.

On the one hand, it is the institutional, legal and economic framework that determines the life of the individual, so negative global changes can be blamed on the entities that constitute them. In a speech at the Manchester International Conference on Sustainable Development in 1995, Australian scientist M. A. Kahn gave an interesting example of these interdependencies.

He described a hypothetical man from a given geographic area who is unemployed and therefore poor and socially rejected. Desperate, he resorts to felling trees and burning them in order to survive. Other poor people follow, which leads to deforestation and sterilisation of the soil. The food grown there contains less minerals, so the local community does not eat healthy enough to meet the challenges of progress and education. As a result, the entire region is in economic stagnation, which creates further unemployment and poverty.

How can you contribute to the sustainable development of the planet?

Let’s assume that you do have a job, are able to take care of your family, and provide adequate education for your children. As you have free will, you make decisions every day that are within the established legal framework, but leave you with a lot of freedom. For example, you can, but do not have to, follow the guidelines for environmental management.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals depends not only on governments, but on the daily decisions of citizens. In particular, they can protect the environment by:

• using energy-efficient light bulbs and devices, and turning off unnecessary lights;
• waste segregation;
• saving water in the kitchen and bathroom;
• limiting the consumption of meat in favour of plant-based foods;
• selecting reusable containers;
• limiting unnecessary purchases.

However, the role of an individual does not end with ecology. Within the idea of ​​sustainable development, educated and gifted people would help others by sharing their knowledge and skills. Solving local problems, providing voluntary service and developing innovative business activities are challenges that determine the well-being of a given community and its future.

Criticism of the concept of sustainable development

It might seem that the grandiose assumptions of the United Nations are beyond reproach. Critics point out, however, the three most important shortcomings of the idea of ​​sustainable development: it is too boring, too general and, what is more, it is too late.

In the opinion of opponents, the concept itself is not attractive enough to win people’s hearts. Rational management of depleting resources does not appeal to the imagination, nor does the idea of “polluting less”. More positive reactions could probably be triggered by plans for “flourishing development” or an ecological revolution.

The generality of phrases that are difficult for the average person to interpret also does not help. Sustainable development is often perceived as a beautiful slogan with no specific content. Some critics even suggest giving up the vision of improving all aspects of human life and focussing on environmental protection first.

Finally, the argument that it is too late for sustainable development is appearing more and more often. Many ecosystems have been destroyed, thousands of species have become irretrievably extinct and climate change has gone too far. Perhaps, instead of talking about sustainable development, we should rather focus on survival?